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rfmcdonaldFor the past decade, the number of Canadian hockey teams in the NHL has been shrinking, with Canada losing both the Quebec Nordiques (now the Colorado Avalanche) and the Winnipeg Jets (now the Phoenix Coyotes). Now, as The Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail (among other papers) reported above the fold, Jim Balsillie, co-CEO of Blackberry-making Research in Motion, wants to bring the failing Coyotes to southern Ontario alongside the Toronto Maple Leafs. (Southern Ontario, here, seems to be defined not as that portion of the province located below the Canadian Shield, but rather, that part of Ontario located south of Toronto. RIM is located in this southern Ontario city of Kitchener.)
NHL commission Gary Bettman is on the record as opposing the move, arguing that the team should stick it out, and the Arizona city of Glendale is reportedly preparing to sue to keep the team in town. That said, it does seem likely that even if the Coyotes don't move north, a second team will pop up in southern Ontario sooner or later. After all, when reached in Prague Prime Minister Stephen Harper--a hockey fan--came out as supporting a second team in southern Ontario. (Even if he was trying to strengthen Conservative support, he did say it.) There's also not a little pressure on the part of hockey fans elsewhere in Canada, in Winnipeg for instance, to get a NHL team. Bettman's southern expansion may have failed; going north might be the NHL's only option.
Wayne Gretzky's publicly stated belief that the NHL will ultimately place another franchise in southern Ontario could be close to becoming reality.
And, in theory at least, the Canadian hockey icon may be part of it.
The Phoenix Coyotes, coached and partly owned by Gretzky, were plunged into bankruptcy yesterday after months of teetering on the edge of insolvency.
Included in the bankruptcy filing was a $212.5 million (U.S.) offer by Waterloo-based billionaire Jim Balsillie to buy the team and move it to Ontario, likely Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, on a temporary basis at least.
Balsillie, chief executive of Research In Motion (RIM), maker of the famous BlackBerry brand, has previously tried to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators, but was unsuccessful.
"I think this is an enormously exciting opportunity," Balsillie told reporters last night in Toronto. "I'm clearly just a passionate hockey fan. I just really look forward to this opportunity to bring a seventh team to Canada in the unserved market of Southern Ontario.
NHL commission Gary Bettman is on the record as opposing the move, arguing that the team should stick it out, and the Arizona city of Glendale is reportedly preparing to sue to keep the team in town. That said, it does seem likely that even if the Coyotes don't move north, a second team will pop up in southern Ontario sooner or later. After all, when reached in Prague Prime Minister Stephen Harper--a hockey fan--came out as supporting a second team in southern Ontario. (Even if he was trying to strengthen Conservative support, he did say it.) There's also not a little pressure on the part of hockey fans elsewhere in Canada, in Winnipeg for instance, to get a NHL team. Bettman's southern expansion may have failed; going north might be the NHL's only option.
