NHL In Conflicting Positions

It sure does not look like the NHL is used to being in a situation where it is not in control. With their bid for the Coyotes they are now in several positions of conflict of interest and have an unfair advantage over other bidders.

First of all the NHL is the second largest secured creditor of the Coyotes. As a result they have a right to help determine which bid is most acceptable to the creditors. The NHL is also in charge of approving proposed owners, so they believe they have the right to determine who is in the auction. Now, the NHL is also a bidder for the Coyotes. This would mean that one bidder believes they can control who the other bidders are and also have the right to help determine who the winning bidder is.

According to the NHL, a bankruptcy judge isn’t really required is it?

One of the interesting elements here is the Ice Edge bid and how they have no problem with the NHL now being a bidder. This speaks to both the credibility of the Ice Edge bid and also to the backroom discussions that must be in place between Ice Edge and the NHL. The NHL Board of Governors has yet to formally accept Ice Edge as approved owners and they have yet to approve Ice Edge’s plan to play five home games a year in Saskatoon. If Ice Edge were truly an independent bidder they would have a major problem with the fact that a competing bidder will be the one that approves their suitability for ownership and their business plan.

When we take this a step further, we look at the NHL’s motion to vacate the Balsillie bid. With the NHL now in the role of a bidder in the auction, they are asking that the judge to vacate a competitive bid. This may well give Balsillie’s team further ammunition in its attempt to invalidate the NHL’s vote of him being an unacceptable owner, and therefore bidder.

Since the NHL’s bid states that the Board of Governors has approved their bid, the question that begs to be asked is; when did they approve this strategy? The bid is very detailed so the strategy was not approved yesterday. Was this in fact a strategy when they voted to reject Balsillie as an owner? Is that not a further conflict of interest and grounds to invalidate the vote?

From Judge Baum’s perspective this could well be viewed as an attempt to pre-empt a fair and competitive auction. The NHL launched its bid only after Reinsdorf pulled out and is basically stating that their bid is there just in case a bid that they don’t like may win. The NHL also expects Judge Baum to be fine with the NHL being the entity to approve who can bid in his auction (their claim that only NHL approved owners can bid), help determine a winner (their status as a secured creditor), and be a competitive bidder all at the same time.

The NHL’s bid only contains a one year commitment to Glendale and the comment that the Glendale lease is not workable for a local owner. They further state that they may have to sell the team to a relocating buyer in a year with a percentage of those gains going to the NHL. Why would this be acceptable to the bankruptcy judge since his job is to secure the best deal today for the creditors, not to approve a deal to a party that plans on selling the asset in a year at a profit when there already is such a relocation bid on the table?

The judge may well ask himself the following questions. Is the NHL truly committed to Glendale as they originally stated? Was the NHL truthful in its claim of having numerous local buyers? Is the NHL trying to prevent a relocation bid today which would provide more money for the creditors and current owner, with the intent of selling to a relocation bidder a year down the road when they will reap a profit? In view of the preceding, was the NHL acting impartially when it voted against Balsillie being a suitable owner?

It will be very interesting to see how Judge Baum reacts to the NHL’s bid when the hearings resume next Wednesday.

NHL Bids For Coyotes

With the spotlight shining bright on lease negotiations between Reinsdorf and Glendale the talks fell apart and Reinsdorf pulled out of the auction for the Coyotes. At the same time the NHL jumped in with an offer to purchase the team. No details of the NHL bid have been released, but their stated intent is to try and sell the team to a third party that will keep the team in Glendale.

The reality is that such a buyer will not be found. When this bankruptcy was declared the NHL stated they had four interested parties. The reality is that with the possible exception of Ice Edge, no bidder could be found with a long term commitment to Phoenix. Reinsdorf was likely fronting a bid to keep Balsillie out of the game, but he was not willing to risk real money on this venture, or to accept a lease with Glendale that was not more favorable and did not come with an out clause. The Glendale council met on Monday to review the lease negotiations and on Tuesday Reinsdorf dropped out of the bidding.

This left the NHL with the possibility that the only bidder standing at the time of the auction could be Balsillie. There was real concern that Balsillie may have been successful in challenging the NHL’s position that he could not be allowed to purchase the franchise. That possibility became more real with Reinsdorf dropping out. If Balsillie did succeed, the only way the NHL could block him would have been through launching an appeal. That process would have unknown costs and may have exposed them to liability in regards to the other creditors that were denied payment. The NHL’s solution was to launch bid themselves and pull the team out of bankruptcy.

Where the NHL has an unfair advantage, and where Glendale is exposed, is that NHL is in a conflict of interest. They are the second largest creditor. They are the organization that approves potential owners. They are the organization that derives revenue from expansion. Now, they are also the bidder for the franchise.

All other bidders must be relatively honest in their bids. If they desire to operate the team in Glendale they must negotiate a lease with Glendale that they can live with. If they want to relocate the team they must do that as part of the bankruptcy process so that they know what their liability to Glendale is. The NHL has to do neither.

What the NHL can do is purchase the team in bankruptcy and state their goal is to find a local buyer. If this is impossible, the NHL can walk away from Phoenix by declaring Chapter 7 bankruptcy after this season. Sure any other buyer can do that as well, but then that buyer would lose their investment. What the NHL can do however is auction off a new expansion franchise to recover their Phoenix costs while using Chapter 7 to shield them from ongoing liability towards other creditors and Glendale’s lease.

The “cover story” for this will look quite pretty for the NHL. They will blame Balsillie and Moyes for poisoning the Phoenix market to the point that no buyer could be found. They will boast about how they stepped up to the plate and took losses for a year in an attempt to be loyal to Phoenix. Then they will reluctantly disband the franchise under Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

As a totally unrelated event, they will declare a new expansion franchise for the GTA with the full blessing of MLSE. MLSE will build and manage the new arena and surrounding development and welcome the new team with open arms and wallet. The NHL will then use the $400 million or so expansion fee to cover the Phoenix costs, provide indemnification payments to MLSE and Buffalo, and disburse the remainder to the other loyal governors.

All in all it’s a pretty interesting strategy. Will Glendale go along with this plan, or will they see that a quick deal with Balsillie in the $50 million dollar range may be the best way to protect their investment?

This and That

Well Dany Heatley finally spoke about his desire to leave the Senators. Somehow he feels that he’s a loyal fellow and a great teammate. He says that his problem with the Senators is that his role has been diminished. This argument doesn’t appear to hold water since neither his ice time or production have not gone down with the new coach. He pointed out that he didn’t want his trade demand to become public, but that does not take away from the fact that he did demand to be traded after signing a contract that included a no trade clause that he asked for. He said that he loves Edmonton as a hockey town, but he wanted to have more options and choices. Strange isn’t it, you demand a trade, but in his case I guess that means the team must find several trades for you so that you can choose which one you, the player, like the best. Of course Heatley is not about to walk away from all his money out of principle, so if a trade that he likes isn’t made, he’ll show up with the Senators at training camp anyway. It seems to be all about Dany in his world.

Balsillie probably made a big mistake by including Melnyk in his court filings. Melnyk was one person that may have been an ally to Balsillie if the NHL’s stand against him started to break down, but now he may have lost that ally. Melnyk certainly took exception to being drawn into the court case, but I was surprised by him wanting to make this more public. I think everybody is pretty bored by the details of Balsillie’s legal filing and Melnyk’s OSC settlement is old news so nobody really raised an eyebrow when Balsillie included him in the filing. I think he would have been smarter to just let this slide by instead of taking shots back at Balsillie. Maybe the NHL nudged him into making the public statement, though I really don’t see the point.

The Rogers tennis tournament produced some good tennis and upsets. Normally upsets are great, but you always have to wonder about them when it happens at this tournament. Serena Williams seemed particularly disinterested in her semi-final loss on Saturday. The reality is that many of the top players use this tournament as a tune up for the US Open and do not plan on a long stay here so the top seeds going down quickly has become the norm. All said though I must admit that I can’t complain too much about watching Maria Sharapova make it all the way to the finals in her comeback bid. There is something about her game that I just like.

Also in the world of woman’s sport we had the Solheim Cup in golf which pitted the top US golfers against those from Europe. This year’s version not only produced some great golf, but the enthusiasm of team golf is a great change from the routine tournaments that we see each week. For me, the Ryder Cup, President’s Cup and Solheim all compare right up there with the majors as must see TV. The US women’s team featured a changing of the guard with Creamer, Pressel, Kim, Wie and Gulbis all involved. Michelle Wie had a great weekend and seemed to rediscover some of her fire for the game. Hopefully her success in this tournament puts her career back on track. The tournament was also likely a finale for Julie Inkster and Laura Davies on the world golf stage.

Lastly, let’s congratulate Toronto’s newest champions. A champion in Toronto you ask? Yes, the Toronto Nationals won the 2009 Major League Lacrosse Championship in their first season. For those not familiar with this league, it is outdoor lacrosse played on the equivalent of a football field. Somehow I managed to find it on television and witnessed the last two minutes. As of yet I have not heard of a planned parade on Bay Street but I’ll let you know if anything gets planned.

Teachers Increase MLSE Stake

While the Balsillie battle escalates, the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan quietly increased its ownership in MLSE by buying out the 7.7% stake of CTVGlobemedia. The understanding is that CTVGlobemedia wanted to pay down some of its debt from the CHUM acquisition and strengthen its bottom line due to the general softening in the media market.

The knee jerk reaction is to shudder at the teachers obtaining more control of MLSE. They have been vilified for a long time for not caring about the performance of the teams that they owned and only caring about the financial results. This view was not totally wrong, but I have seen a new approach over the past few years which is encouraging.

The problem a few short years ago was that Richard Peddie had a tight control over the sports operations of the Leafs and the Raptors. Peddie is no doubt a great businessman, but he likely craved some of the media spotlight that is associated with running the prime Toronto sports franchises. Instead of hiring experienced managers to run the teams, Peddie hired people like Babcock and Ferguson Jr.

These managers were not sought by other teams to run their franchises and were very indebted to Peddie for getting the change to run teams here. They did not have the strength to run the teams as they saw fit, and were very susceptible to influence from Peddie and the board. A player like Domi could go to an owner and the resulting pressure from above would effect the team. With weak managers in place, Peddie continued to be the face of the franchises and was constantly in the media spotlight. While the spotlight was not flattering, it still allowed Peddie more fame and recognition then a business executive would normally receive.

The results on the ice and on the court were however a disaster. Both the Leafs and Raptors became more of a laughingstock as the ineptness of the managers was revealed. Peddie stayed loyal to them as long as he could but soon the situation became untenable and risked his position.

The Raptors suffered first because they were new and needed to be perceived as a winner to build a following. The bungled Carter trade was an embarrassment and made the team the butt of jokes across North America. This low, was likely the catalyst that MLSE needed to realize that it had to hire professionals to run their sports teams. Their concern was not so much that they wanted to win, but they had to protect the “Maple Leaf” brand since they were using that to sell condos and develop other projects. If MLSE was perceived as a joke, then the brand would suffer and the value of their overall investment would start to crumble.

Colangelo’s hiring brought instant dividends. The team improved on the court, but more importantly the image improved. The Raptors were no longer a joke in the NBA and by extension MLSE gained credibility which can be translated as brand loyalty. This forced Peddie off the court so to speak and last year MLSE followed that successful model by handing the hockey operations over to Brian Burke. With two articulate professionals running the teams the credibility and image of MLSE is back on the rise.

With salary caps in effect in both leagues, MLSE can not be asked to outspend other teams. The only thing they can be asked to do is spend to the cap and to hire the best possible managers to run their teams. With Colangelo and Burke they have finally not gone the cheap route and have done exactly that.

I believe that MLSE has finally come to realize that for financial success their teams can no longer be allowed to become jokes. If that is the case, then the increased stake of the teacher’s pension fund is not the bad news that some would think.

Burke Brewing Big Acquisition?

The Fan 590 had a very interesting interview with Burke this morning. He stated that he was not interested in pursuing any of the free agents still on the market, but would more likely use the Leafs remaining cap space to make up the salary differential in a trade for a top flight forward.

What that means is that Burke would look at trading an excess defenseman for a prime forward on a team that wishes to save or open some cap space. This type of trade would not be an even talent for talent trade, but would be as much about the other team moving a contract that they no longer like.

Looking at the possibilities with this type of trade is interesting. An immediate team that comes to mind is San Jose who has just taken the captaincy and assistant-captaincy away from Marleau and Thornton. These players have led the Sharks to great regular seasons but the constant playoff flops has soured the team on both of them. Marleau is on the last year of his contract earning $6.2 million, Thornton has two years left at $7.2 million and the Sharks have no cap space left. The Leafs obviously do not have talent on defense to match up with those players, but a Van Ryn or White coupled with a high draft pick might give the Sharks something to think about. For the Leafs it would mean taking on an oversized contract for soon to be free agents, but those are the type of players that would look great on the front line and could be resigned.

The other thought that keeps popping up is Phil Kessel. Training camps are less then a month away and Kessel still remains an unsigned RFA controlled by the Bruins. The Bruins have stated that they will match any offer made to Kessel, but they have less than $2 million of cap space available. The Kaberle/Kessel trade did not work out this summer, but might the Leafs and Bruins be interested in a trade that sends Kessel to the Leafs for White and the Leafs number one pick next year? Kessel is likely a $4 - $5 million player and that appears to be more then the Bruins are willing to commit to him. The Leafs could make that trade, sign Kessel to a long term deal and pen him in on their number one line for the next five years. Spending a number one pick for him makes sense since there are no sure things in the draft and Kessel will only turn 22 at the start of the season.

One other situation that could involve the Leafs is the eventual trade of Heatley. While the Leafs do not have interest in Heatley, they could become involved as a third team in a trade where they pick up a pricey young forward allowing the other team to afford the Heatley contract.

Other teams worth keeping an eye on include Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Pittsburgh. All these teams have an excess of young talent up front and could either use back end help or additional cap space.

Johnson More Than An Expiring Contract

Colangelo has completed almost a full makeover of the Raptor team that started last season. Twelve new faces join the team, with only Bosh, Bargnani and Calderon remaining from the group that gathered last year at training camp. Last season was a major disappointment for Colangelo and it was interesting to watch his calm demeanor at the end of the season. He did not talk about blowing the team up, but that is exactly what he did. He just did it very quietly and he did it without announcing it first.

The trade of Delfino and Ukic is another one of his trades that works on a couple of levels. With this summer’s moves neither player was going to see meaningful playing time with the team. Ukic still has potential to grow into a solid NBA player, but with Calderon and Jack already on the team he was not going to see court time. Instead of letting him rot at the end of the bench, Colangelo packaged him off to Milwaukee where he should get to see more playing time. Delfino may well start for the Bucks, but he required a multi year commitment and here he would have only been the fifth guard. The depth he would have provided would have been offset by cluttering up the rotation and taking playing time away from DeRozan, Jack and Belinelli.

The acquisition of Amir Johnson is interesting. He was one of the last high school players that jumped directly to the NBA and was buried on the Pistons bench. His development has been slow, but at age 22 I think he is more than just an expiring contract. He has the physical skills and attitude to rebound and play defense and may be able to provide some athletic minutes in the rotation. His natural position is power forward but he can also play some center and provide a different look then Nesterovic off the bench if more athleticism is required for a particular match up.

If Johnson can develop under Triano and Iavaroni he could be part of the future if Bosh decides to leave after next year. His upside in that scenario could see him play with Bargnani and Turkoglu in 2011 where he would provide a nice athletic compliment to their skill games. Should Johnson not pan out, both he and Weems are in the final year of their contracts so there is no financial commitment beyond this year.

During this makeover Colangelo has done an almost perfect job of not taking on any bad contracts. The only contract that he would like to get rid of is Banks who will be making about $4.5 million this season and next. While that contract is likely not movable now, it will be next year when it becomes an expiring contract.

Another angle that I am curious about is whether these moves are intentional in trying to balance the makeup of the team between international and US players. Turkoglu and Belinelli are both skill European players and their additions fit along nicely with Bargnani and Calderon. The lack of grit that hurt the team last year has been addressed by bringing in Evans, Jack and Johnson, and the drafting of the athletic DeRozan. This provides the team with a change of pace off the bench which they did not really have last year.

This team looks very exciting, but it will be a new starting five, a new rotation and a new coaching group so training camp will be critical. I think that Triano and Iavaroni may be the perfect coaches for this group with the ability to organize, teach and think outside the box.

Colangelo has put together a very interesting team and if all the pieces fall in place they could be ready to move up the ladder fairly quickly.

Kaberle Stays, Playoffs the Goal

Despite the hype on draft night, the Kaberle trade window came to a close on the weekend with Kaberle still a member of the team. Burke views Kaberle as a premier defenseman and was not willing to move him unless he could get a top six forward that fit into the team’s long term plans in return. The problem is that Kaberle is coming off a couple of average seasons and will need a strong showing this year to regain his trade value.

Kaberle remaining on the team is by no means all bad. The team has added grit and toughness on defense so his ability to move the puck, generate offense and quarterback the power play is a great need. This year he will likely be paired with 6’4, 240 pound Mike Komisarek. Komisarek is a tough player and good defender, but has trouble moving the puck under pressure. With this pairing his game will be simplified and all he has to do is get the puck over to Kaberle. Kaberle too should see an improvement in his game since he will have Komisarek to watch his back and clear the front of the net.

It was good for the team that Kaberle agreed to waive his no-trade clause at the last trade deadline. This established a level of trust with Burke which will be good for the overall team. If the Leafs are playoff contenders this year Kaberle will play a key role. If the team struggles, it would not be surprising to see Kaberle again waive his not trade clause at the trade deadline with a deal more likely.

With Kaberle staying, the roster will not change much prior to the start of the season. Burke will try and move an excess defender, but the deal may well be one for prospects or draft choices. At this point of the summer we can finally start trying to figure out if the Leafs have a realistic shot at the playoffs this season.

Last year they were 12 points and 4 spots out of the playoffs. To make it this year, they have to pass Ottawa, Buffalo, Florida and either Montreal or New York. This will not be easy, but none of those teams enters the coming season without question marks.

The Senators still have the Heatley situation hanging over their heads, have done nothing to improve their defense and are counting on Leclaire to finally be the answer in goal. Buffalo stood still over the summer and Florida will feel the loss of Bouwmeester. With Toronto’s strengthened defense they may well be able to pass these three teams if they get solid goaltending from Toskala and Gustavsson.

That leaves Montreal or the Rangers as the other team the Leafs have to pass to get into the playoffs. The Canadiens may well be the team that will slip this year. Montreal has completely rebuilt their roster and brought in a new coach. Gone are Koivu, Kovalev, Higgins, Komisarek, Tanguay, Lang, Schneider, Dandenault and Brisebois. Montreal did bring in new players to fill the spots but the new skill players are very small and the back end does not look like it will be as strong. Jacques Martin has never been known as a communicator so trying to mold this group into a team under the glare of the Montreal media might be too much of a challenge. Price will also need a quick start so that he can regain his confidence.

The big challenge for the Leafs will be having players grow into offensive roles on the top two lines. What Burke did manage to do this summer was build a defense that will be among the very top in the East. At this point it looks like they should be able to make a run at a playoff spot and maybe even push the Rangers for seventh.

Las Vegas Tigers of Hamilton

This is being written tongue in cheek but with the upside down world of reality in the NHL you have to wonder some days.

Jim Balsillie wants to put a team in Hamilton and Gary Bettman would love to have a team in Las Vegas. Are we at an impasse? I say no. Why don’t they put their heads together and come up with a solution that gives both of them what they want. I say they come out of these negotiations and announce the “Las Vegas Tigers of Hamilton” who play all their home games in Hamilton.

Ridiculous you say? Well the NHL Board of Governors has encouraged the Ice Edge group to move ahead and make a bid that includes playing some of Phoenix’s home games in Saskatoon, so they have set a precedent that they would consider this type of arrangement. I’m just saying that we take it a step further and play all of Las Vegas’ home games in Hamilton. Yeah, that’s the ticket!

We’re borrowing the concept of the team name from MLB. They already have the Los Angeles Dodgers of Anaheim. On the schedule and in the standings the team is already just being referred to as Los Angeles. Originally the team was the Anaheim Angels and contractually they have to keep Anaheim in the team name, but MLB thought it would be better to promote the name Los Angeles so voila, they accomplished both.

The NHL can just take this one step further. Jim would have his team. Hamilton would have NHL hockey. Gary can ignore the tiny detail of where the games are being played and sell the new “Las Vegas” franchise to the television networks. This will even provide some logic to the idea of having the NHL awards ceremony in Vegas each year.

Can’t you just see the team winning the Stanley Cup and Gary handing them the trophy at Copps Coliseum. He would then smile that big smile of his and say, “Gee, hockey sure looks like it’s doing well in Las Vegas!”

The more you think about it, this could be a match made in heaven. Even the Tigers name is perfect. It has tradition in Hamilton and even makes sense for Vegas. As a compromise the tiger could be white in honor of Siegfried and Roy. That would give it that Vegas connection and to respect the fans of Hamilton it would of course be set on the base colours of black and gold.

I don’t think Gary would have any ethics issues here, but if that were the case, then maybe one or two home games could be played in Vegas as a compromise. All the games would likely be sell outs and this “Las Vegas” franchise would be a sure fire success.

I think we better get this idea over to the boys at league headquarters right away.

Leafs Net Work

The trade of Pogge and signing MacDonald puts the Leafs in solid shape in goal with plenty of options for the future. The MacDonald addition seems like a trivial signing but it is a smart move for Gustavsson’s development because of the insurance factor.

Toskala will be the starting goalie and this should be a bounce back year for him. He is coming off groin surgery and that hurt his play last year. There is some concern however in that Toskala is not a goalie built for a super heavy workload. He can wear down and he has a history of nagging injuries. Ideally he will play a solid 55 games this year which would leave plenty of games for Gustavsson to work his way into the league.

The point of exposure the Leafs had is what happens if Toskala goes down. One thing you do not want to do is rush Gustavsson into a heavy workload as a starter before he is ready for it. I have got great hopes for Gustavsson, but until he has a chance to prove himself in the NHL you can not just assume that he is an NHL starting goalie. MacDonald played just under 50 games for the Islanders last year and had a solid save percentage. He provides the Leafs with a goalie that can step in for Toskala if he gets injured and still allow Gustavsson to work his way into the NHL without being rushed.

Should Gustavsson live up to expectations and show he is ready to start by the mid point of the season, MacDonald gives you a proven backup should the opportunity arise to trade Toskala at the deadline. This is a long shot, but if Toskala plays well and if a contender suffers a goaltending injury, then Toskala and his expiring contract become a pretty attractive option. Failing that, you let Toskala leave as a UFA at the end of the season and MacDonald can be resigned as your experienced backup next year.

The other nice thing about MacDonald joining the depth chart is that Gustavsson will now be pushed. MacDonald does not want to spend the year with the Marlies so he will be busting his butt for playing time. This type of competition is nothing but good news for Gustavsson’s development in that it will provide him with extra motivation. MacDonald’s presence also allows the Leafs to move Gustavsson to the Marlies for a short time period should he require a bit more playing time then he is ready for at the NHL level.

All three goalies are on the last year of their contracts so Burke can evaluate the situation at the end of the season. The Leafs have control of Gustavsson as an RFA, so if he performs as expected they will sign him to a long term contract. If Gustavsson is not ready to be the number one next year Burke will have the option of resigning Toskala or entering the free agent market to pick up a replacement.

Adios Rios

The numbers that matter with Rios are not his declining batting average or home runs, it is the salary commitment that the Jays had for the next five years. Beginning next year, his salary will jump to $9.7 million in 2010 followed by salaries of $12 and 12.5 million the following four years.

Those numbers aren’t crazy, but they are a big risk for an outfielder that has only hit 20 home runs once in his career and has never had a 90 RBI season. Rios makes up for some of that by being a very good defensive right fielder with a great arm, but he also is known for brain cramps during games and an apparent lazy attitude. While you can’t always tell what a player is thinking, Rios does not come across as a player whose head is always in the game. He also has that easy going style that makes you wonder how committed he is to hard work and just how much he cares about winning. I do not mean to be hard on Rios since he is a decent ballplayer with plenty of upside, but there is a great risk that he is not a $12 million per season player.

It is becoming very evident that the Jays will tighten with their payroll and they have holes to fill on their team. They also have two very important players in Scutaro and Barajas that will be free agents after this season. If the Rios money is used to help resign those players and fill another need then letting Rios go makes sense for the team. He may well thrive in Chicago, but with the budget that Rogers appears to be setting for the Jays he is no longer a luxury that they can afford. This team is no longer just making baseball moves. Each player transaction is now also a budget move and at this moment budget needs trump baseball needs.

An unfortunate thing when looking at the Jays and where they are going is that I have lost complete faith in JP Ricciardi. I do not necessarily mean that as in his ability to judge baseball players, but more in his desire to tell the truth to the fans. I have documented his dishonesty before, but the Rios case was another prime example.

When Rios was claimed by the Sox a few days ago Ricciardi claimed it was a non story. He hid behind the truth that many players go on waivers this time of year and that Rios was no different. It is true that many players go on waivers, but what was not true was that Rios was no different. The truth was evident when Ricciardi stopped his statement there and let the issue hang over the weekend. If it was business as usual, Ricciardi would have added that Rios would only be moved if a good baseball trade presented itself. Instead he let the half truth hang in the air and it was sad to see that Rios was surprised when the Jays let him go. Sad in that Ricciardi is obviously not being honest with his players and that is not the way to build loyalty.

Ricciardi now talks about the flexibility this salary dump gives the Jays. Of course he does not use the term salary dump, but at the moment that is exactly what it is. Maybe they will use the money in the off season to resign Scutaro and Barajas and pick up another bat for the outfield, maybe they won’t. We just don’t know and that makes it harder to care.

The problem is Jays fans no longer have someone speaking on behalf of the team that they can trust.

NFL Pool Coming UP

We’re just about a month away from the start of NFL season and I plan on adding NFL commentary as we get into the season.

Also, I’m interested in running a little pool for anybody that would like to take part. No cash or prizes, just pride and I’ll keep track of the results. What I plan on doing is sending out the lines for the following week once they are set and then anybody that wants to take part can just email me back their picks before the first game each week.

Instead of having people pick all the games, I’m thinking that maybe people just pick their top 5 games, but let me know what you think. If the majority would rather pick all games then we’ll do it that way.

Feel free to pass this idea on to your friends and please have anyone interested in taking part send me an email to jplaudis@rogers.com

When you send me the email please let me know if you prefer a Pick 5 approach or whether you'd rather pick all the games. I will not publish anyone’s email address and will only use the address for this purpose.

Just to let you know about my football leanings, my top three teams are San Francisco, Cleveland and Buffalo. With the Niner’s I go back to the John Brodie days and with the Browns I was cheering through all the heartbreak of the Brian Sipe years. As for the Bills, they’re just the closest to a local team that we have so they’ve kind of grown on me.

Bettman's Slippery Slope

I think Bettman took a major hit this week when Judge Baum ruled that Jim Balsillie can take part in the September 10 auction for the Phoenix Coyotes. Bettman still has a couple of cards to play but Balsillie has progressed much further then he ever thought possible.

The major advantage that Balsillie had was that this sale was put in the hands of the judge and he rejected the NHL’s initial request to invalidate the bankruptcy. That forced Bettman to play his game in public and it also called his bluff on there being four potential purchasers interested in keeping the Coyotes in Phoenix.

The judge has tried to respect the NHL’s desire to keep the team in Phoenix and the Glendale lease. His ruling was to hold an auction for only those interested in keeping the team in Glendale first, and only if that failed would he permit an auction for those wishing to relocate the team.

What possibly surprised Bettman was that no suitable bid came forward to keep the team in Phoenix by the deadline for that auction. The Reinsdorf bid was basically a no cash offer that did not pay off the major creditors and required concessions and an out clause from Glendale that they can not give. As a result the major creditor, SOF Investments, did not back that bid and all parties requested that the first auction be delayed.

At the same time Bettman had the NHL’s board reject Balsillie’s application to be an owner. With that rejection he sought to have the judge remove Balsillie from any auction and even suggested that no second auction was necessary since there were no longer any qualified buyers for a relocation auction. The judge didn’t exactly go along with this idea and he has now consolidated both auctions into one and has specifically permitted Balsillie to participate. One of the reasons he agreed to Balsillie taking part in that auction is that the major creditor has stated that at present Balsillie’s bid is their preferred choice.

If the bids stand as they are today the judge may well have to select Balsillie’s bid since it is the only one that will pay off the major creditors. I can not see how Bettman or the NHL will let it get to that point. At that point the NHL could not block Balsillie without entering into a long and costly legal battle during which time they would likely have to fund the team. Getting into that fight would not be smart for the NHL since Balsillie would have nothing to lose while the NHL would have everything to lose.

What would not surprise me is to see a new relocation bid enter the auction for either Kansas City or Las Vegas at the last minute. Such a bid may even involve Reinsdorf as an owner. The NHL would pre-approve the owner of the new bid in the same manner as it already approved Reinsdorf. If this new bid was close to Balsillie’s it would likely be accepted by the judge since it would provide less uncertainty for the creditors. Bettman would be able to duck responsibility for abandoning Phoenix since it would be the judge, not the NHL, that selected the bid.

The hearings next Tuesday will be interesting to see what issues the judge wants resolved prior to the September auction. My guess is that one item will be an agreement on a relocation fee. That requirement would scare the heck out of the NHL and may force Bettman to start looking for that second relocation bid, or to look at a way to make a deal with Balsillie.

This situation is far from over and gives us something to watch during the dog days of August.

Character Over Skill

It was sad to see the Rangers walk away from the Nikolai Zherdev arbitration ruling and not have anyone jump up to sign him. On paper, Zherdev is exactly the type of player that the Leafs would love to add to their team. He’s young (24), has the size (6’2, 205), has tons of speed, one on one skills and scoring ability. On paper he would be a perfect fit as a first line winger.

The only problem is that Zherdev appears to lack the character and drive to be part of a winning NHL team. It was telling that Russia chose to invite the Leafs Nikolai Kulemin to their summer Olympic camp but left Zherdev off the list. At 24 you have to wonder how deep the character flaws are that prevent even the Olympic squad from inviting him to take part in their camp.

I would think that Burke has taken a close look at Zherdev and may well be shaking his head at how such a talent can just let it slip away. If there is any way that he believes that Zherdev can turn his attitude around under the guidance of Wilson you know that he would love to add him to the team. Hopefully Zherdev can find that drive, but it doesn’t look like the Leafs think their tough love approach would work with him.

I enjoyed listening to Burke this week talking about the team and how he approaches players. I like that he believes in treating players fairly, but that does not mean that he believes in treating players equally. Now that Pogge has fallen down to number four on their goaltending depth chart he will do whatever he can to move him to a team where he will have a better opportunity. The reason for doing this is that Burke described Pogge as a good kid with a good attitude. For that type of person Burke has shown that he is willing to make moves to help the player. Burke also said that if a player is an “a-hole” then he would not care and would have the kid tough it out. That approach is not equal to everyone, but I agree that it is fair and it builds loyalty.

I am having a hard time keeping a pessimistic view of the Leafs this year. Since we are only in the first year of the rebuild we should be looking at another out of the playoff season and a high draft pick, but I don’t feel that is going to happen. It looks like Burke and Wilson will have a team that will have players motivated to perform to keep their roster spots. Burke keeps talking about eliminating the sense of entitlement that the Leaf players have felt for years. That will make them a hungry team and therefore a tough team to play against.

A part of me would like to see them swing a deal for a top six forward, but I also see the wisdom of keeping room on the roster to give the younger players something to shoot for. This year we will see if Tlusty and Kulemin are top six forwards, and if Grabovski really belongs as a center on one of the top two lines. We will also start to see where Bozak, Gustavsson and Hanson fit in as NHL players. A bit further away are Stalberg, Stefanovich, Didomenico and Kadri who all have potential to be major contributors in two to three years.

With this depth of forwards on the rise you can see why Burke would be very hesitant to take a flyer on a player like Zherdev. Neither Burke nor Wilson will tolerate a player that tries to float by on skill alone. I believe that this year we will see a team that we can not only cheer for, but also be proud of.

Coyotes Auction, Clearer or Muddier?

Not much happening in the world of sports during August so we’ve been following the Coyotes sale a bit closer the last few days.

Things did get interesting Friday when leaked confidential information provided us with insight into the concessions that Reinsdorf is looking to get from Glendale. The first part of the concessions is the desire to create a special tax zone around the arena which will hopefully bring in $23 million per year in additional revenue for the Coyotes. This revenue would be generated by a special 11% sales tax in the area which would go to the Coyotes. One of the first objections to this proposal came from the owners of the Phoenix Cardinals NFL team since their stadium is in that area as well and their fans would be hit by the tax when they go for pre or post game meals. It appears that the strategy of an additional tax on the public is way for Glendale to get around directly subsidizing the Coyotes. With the economic climate in Phoenix you have to wonder what effect an additional 11% tax would have on the businesses in the area. In addition there has been some talk that Glendale may have to makeup any shortfalls in this additional revenue if the sales taxes fall short.

The other part of the Reinsdorf bid is that he is asking for an out clause should the Coyotes not be profitable after five years. The reported request is that if the Coyotes are not profitable after that time, then Glendale would subsidize up to $15 million per year of losses, or permit the team to be sold and moved. The idea of subsidizing future losses will not be an easy sell to the taxpayers so the out clause may well have to be moved up to a shorter period of time.

The other big difficulty with the Reinsdorf bid is that he is not offering cash to the creditors, but instead is only willing to assume and restructure the debt. The largest creditor, SOF Investments (owned by Michael Dell), stated that they are only interested in being paid out in full and oppose the Reinsdorf bid as it is currently structured.

The NHL is now making noises that Reinsdorf may be frustrated in the process and may pull out due to the obstacles of Moyes and Balsillie. Glendale is also positioning the leak of this confidential information as potentially causing Reinsdorf to pull out. To me it appears that Reinsdorf may pull out because the creditors won’t accept his no cash bid and the Glendale concessions that he was looking for are not attainable. Glendale may well realize this and are now setting up Moyes for a damages law suit due to the leak of information.

The Ice Edge boys are still plugging along, but there approach makes no sense to me. Gretzky being a cornerstone of their bid and their interest in giving him a longer term coaching contract makes no sense. They also state that they are not looking for an out clause in the Glendale lease and again that does not suggest a well thought out plan.

Despite the NHL voting Balsillie down as a potential owner, the judge referred to Balsillie’s bid as the “highest and best” bid he has seen so far. On Wednesday the judge is supposed to rule on what will happen with a relocation auction, or if he will combine both auctions into one.
Right now the “keep the team in Phoenix bids” are not looking strong so it may be time for Bettman to get additional relocation bids in place to compete with Balsillie. We should know more about how the judge views Balsillie’s status in these proceedings in a couple of days.