Reminder: Hockey Is A Canadian Sport

One of my favorite sports stories of the year thus far, in terms of entertainment value, has been the train wreck that has taken place in the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes. To make a (very) long story short, the Coyotes aren't making any money (you know, because hockey doesn't go over so well in a city that hasn't seen snow since Captain Caveman was roaming the land; and possibly before that. Who would've ever guessed?). However, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman swears up and down that hockey can be profitable in Arizona (no really, he honestly believes this), so he's refusing to sell the team to a guy, Steve Balsillie, who's offered the most money for the team during the bidding process. Why? Because Balsillie has made it well-known that he's sending the Coyotes to Hamilton, Ontario on the first thing smoking out of the desert.

Things have gotten more interesting lately as Chicago Bulls and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf has thrown his name into the 'prospective buyer' hat. Unfortunately for Reinsdorf, the current ownership group isn't as fond of his bid and wants Balsillie's money, so they're dragging their feet through the bankruptcy litigation process. The NHL, who has been subsidizing the Coyotes so that they can make payments, is challenging Balsillie's bid, and the owners have voted 26-0 AGAINST allowing him to buy the team.

Again, all because he wants to move the team back to Canada. You know Canada, the country that invented the sport and has sent the most talent of any single nation to the NHL in its history? Yeah, that one.

Yes, Balsillie seems to be somewhat of a prick and is flaunting his public-relations-nightmare-for-the-NHL intentions. It's hard to look at a fan base and tell them that you're giving their team to a guy whose sole intention is to move it (unless you're NBA Commissioner David Stern looking at Seattle, but I digress). I would like to defend the NHL's moves here, but they just don't add up. Sending hockey from a disinterested market to one of the largest markets in North America (Hamilton is basically South Toronto) makes perfect sense. Especially for a league in serious need of interest right now. Unless you're Gary Bettman, that is.

Furthermore, many "hockey" towns have lost their teams in recent years (Quebec, Winnipeg, Hartford, Minneapolis prior to being awarded the Wild) and the NHL hasn't put up nearly the resistance to those moves that it has to this one. Once again, the HOCKEY team is attempting to move from PHOENIX to CANADA. What's so hard about this one? Sometimes things are so perfectly aligned that people think there must be a catch. But there isn't one here. Hamilton would support the heck out of a hockey team; 3/4 of Phoenix's residents wouldn't even notice that the Coyotes were gone.

In the end, I expect the NHL or one of the we-promise-to-keep-the-franchise-in-Phoenix buyers to win control of the Coyotes. Balsillie will continue to look for a team to move to Hamilton, and Arizona will continue not to care about hockey. Another smart move in the long, illustrious history of the NHL with Gary Bettman as commissioner. You know, the guy who presided over a crippling lockout, told ESPN 'no thanks' and signed a TV deal with Versus, and refuses to send a desert-based hockey team with no fans to a Canadian city ready to welcome it with open arms.

And you wonder why puckheads are worried about the future of the league.

~~ Lank