Posts Tagged Jim Balsillie
Maloney, Doan talk Turris … CBA talks to begin after All-Star Game … Doughty fined … Bogosian, Deveaux up for suspension?
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Videos on November 24th, 2011
- Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic: Coyotes GM Don Maloney on Kyle Turris:
“He felt that he decided he wanted to go down a certain route and certain things he was looking for; and for us as an organization, very few times in the CBA where you do have some leverage, and we just felt strongly that we needed to use our leverage now,” he said.
“Looking down the road with some other players … we just felt it was important to set a standard on how we operate.”
Maloney added the process was always about business as Turris was looking for a contract worth a lot more than he got. Captain Shane Doan on having Turris back in the locker room:
“Obviously, we’re going to tease him, we’re going to have fun with him,” he said. “This room is a pretty good group of guys that’s gonna give it to him, and the reason you give it to him is because you like him so much.
“Everybody wants him back. So we’re looking forward to it, and I’m sure he’s looking forward to playing hockey again, that’s what he does, and he does it really well.”
- Jim Gintonio via twitter: His gut feeling is that Turris will remain with the Coyotes.
- Dan Gelston (AP) in the Raleigh News & Observer: The NHL’s CBA is to expire on Sept. 15th 2012, but talks are scheduled to begin just after the NHL All-Star Game.
- Iain MacIntyre via twitter: Canucks forward Mason Raymond is getting close to returning, with the possibility of him being in the lineup next week during their homestand.
- Pierre LeBrun via twitter: Kings defenseman Drew Doughty was fined $2,500 for his hit on TJ Oshie.
- Bob McKenzie via twitter: Blair Jones was put on waivers by the Lightning. Predators Niclas Bergfors cleared waivers.
- Nick Kypreos via twitter: Jets defenseman Zach Bogosian will have a hearing this afternoon for his hit on Capitals Cody Eakin. Andre Deveaux will also have a hearing for his elbow on Tomas Fleischmann. How many games do you think Deveaux will get?
Coyotes 3-pronged goalie stategy … Hiller to skate in July … Callahan talks “just begining” … Balsillie could get team if he’s good
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on June 10th, 2011
- Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic: Not re-signing Ilya Bryzgalov opens up some new windows for the Coyotes.
“It’s an opportunity to potentially spend less, hopefully find a way to be as good and use that excess resource in other ways to put a better team in front of our goaltending,” Maloney said. “So this to me isn’t something that we’re staring into our lemonade and going, ‘Woe is us.’ “
Coyotes GM Don Maloney has a 3-pronged strategy for his goaltending search. 1. Acquire top young goalie by trade: “There’s three or four in other organizations that may be available in a trade that would cost a good asset but may potentially solidify your goaltending for a long time; that’s one obvious way to look at it.” 2. Sign a UFA: “There’s two or three players in that grouping that we like. We think in our system with (goaltending coach) Sean Burke would be good fits for us.” Tomas Vokoun’s price may be too high. 3. Bring in a veteran goalie: “I’ve had a couple conversations (this week) regarding some very good established goaltenders on other clubs that for financial reasons they might be looking to make some changes.” The Coyotes expect to re-sign RFA Keith Yandle, and expect to pay a high price. Re-signing Vernon Fiddler, Radim Vrbata and Lauri Korpikoski are also on the Coyotes wish-list. Ed Jovanovski’s return is doubtful, Maloney hasn’t spoken with Jovo or his agent.
- Jesse Spector of the NY Daily News: The decision has been made by the Rangers to buyout Chris Drury, a source added “He’s gone.” The buyout will save the Rangers $3.3 million, he was scheduled to have a $7.05 million cap hit. Ryan Callahan contract talks are “just beginning”
- Eric Stephens of the OC Register: Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller will resume skating in July. Hiller has been bother by vertigo since Feb.
“He’s fine,” Murray said. “He’s in good spirits. We talked about a couple of things. He’ll be skating on the ice sometime around the middle of July. “He’ll be doing a camp early in the week and then skate with some pros after that.”
Ducks GM Bob Murray hasn’t spoken with UFA goalie Ray Emery. “I haven’t really thought about it at this time,” Murray said when asked about re-signing Emery. “We have Jonas and Dan Ellis. Until something tells me we don’t have that, then I’ll deal with that.”
- David Staples of the Edmonton Journal: Edmonton Oilers GM Steve Tambellini has been ‘talking out loud’ about the possibility of trading the 1st overall pick in the 2011 NHL draft. “I’ve had a few calls of people kicking the tires of how they can help me make the Oilers a better team,” Tambellini told reporters. “For me to move the No. 1 pick would have to be something exceptional. This is a huge building block again.” Staples thinks that if they were to trade the 1st pick, they would still need to pick in the top 5 or 6. The Oilers top scout sees Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Adam Larsson as a cut above the rest (Jonathan Huberdeau, Dougie Hamilton, Gabriel Landeskog or possibly Sean Couturier).
- TSN: Forbes magazine is reporting that Gary Bettman has told Jim Balsillie that he could get an NHL team if he does not “create any more spectacles or bad publicity for the league”.
Top 30 Salary Cap Numbers – Centerman
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News on August 1st, 2010
Listed below are the Top 30 Salary Cap Hits for centerman heading into the 2010-11 NHL Season. We’ve used the salary cap number over the total salary for this season, due to the front loading of contracts. If a free agent signs and makes the list, we’ll update accordingly, but that is unlikely to happen.
Take a look at Top 30 salary cap numbers by position:
Centers | Left Wingers | Right Wingers | Defenseman | Goaltenders
| Rk. | Player | Team | Age | 2010-11 Cap Hit | 2010-11 Salary |
| T1 | Sidney Crosby | Pittsburgh | 22 | $8,700,000 | $9,000,000 |
| Evgeni Malkin | Pittsburgh | 23 | $8,700,000 | $9,000,000 | |
| 3 | Eric Staal | Carolina | 25 | $8,250,000 | $7,500,000 |
| 4 | Brad Richards | Dallas | 30 | $7,800,000 | $7,800,000 |
| 5 | Vincent Lecavalier | Tampa Bay | 30 | $7,727,000 | $10,000,000 |
| 6 | Scott Gomez | Montreal | 30 | $7,357,000 | $8,000,000 |
| 7 | Joe Thornton | San Jose | 30 | $7,200,000 | $7,200,000 |
| 8 | Chris Drury | NY Rangers | 33 | $7,050,000 | $8,000,000 |
| 9 | Jason Spezza | Ottawa | 27 | $7,000,000 | $8,000,000 |
| 10 | Patrick Marleau | San Jose | 30 | $6,900,000 | $6,900,000 |
| 11 | Anze Kopitar | Los Angeles | 22 | $6,800,000 | $6,000,000 |
| T12 | Pavel Datsyuk | Detroit | 31 | $6,700,000 | $6,700,000 |
| Nicklas Backstrom | Washington | 22 | $6,700,000 | $6,000,000 | |
| 14 | Paul Stastny | Colorado | 24 | $6,600,000 | $6,600,000 |
| 15 | Jonathan Toews | Chicago | 22 | $6,300,000 | $6,500,000 |
| 16 | Henrik Sedin | Vancouver | 29 | $6,100,000 | $6,100,000 |
| 17 | Mike Cammalleri | Montreal | 28 | $6,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
| 18 | Mike Richards | Philadelphia | 25 | $5,750,000 | $6,400,000 |
| 19 | Shawn Horcoff | Edmonton | 31 | $5,500,000 | $6,500,000 |
| 20 | Ryan Getzlaf | Anaheim | 25 | $5,325,000 | $5,125,000 |
| T21 | Mike Ribeiro | Dallas | 30 | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 |
| Tomas Plekanec | Montreal | 27 | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 | |
| Jeff Carter | Philadelphia | 25 | $5,000,000 | $5,500,000 | |
| Ryan Kesler | Vancouver | 25 | $5,000,000 | $5,000,000 | |
| 25 | Michael Nylander | Washington | 37 | $4,875,000 | $3,000,000 |
| 26 | Alexei Yashin (Buyout) | NY Islanders | 36 | $4,755,000 | $4,755,000 |
| 27 | Patrice Bergeron | Boston | 24 | $4,750,000 | $5,750,000 |
| 28 | Andy McDonald | St. Louis | 32 | $4,700,000 | $5,200,000 |
| T29 | Tim Connolly | Buffalo | 29 | $4,500,000 | $4,500,000 |
| Daymond Langkow | Calgary | 33 | $4,500,000 | $4,250,000 | |
| David Legwand | Nashville | 29 | $4,500,000 | $4,500,000 | |
| Jason Arnott | New Jersey | 35 | $4,500,000 | $4,500,000 |
NHL Admits Second Team in Southern Ontario Possible
Posted by Derek in NHL News, NHL Rumors on November 9th, 2009
“NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly acknowledged Monday morning that the establishment of a second franchise in Southern Ontario is a possibility.
And if the Toronto Maple Leafs don’t like it, Daly said in so many words, they can lump it.
However Daly would not speculate on when this could happen.
“I suppose, without talking about time frame, there may be,” he said of the possibility.”(source-David Shoalts, Globe Sports)
After all the speculation as too the possible reasons for why the NHL was so intent on blocking billionaire Jim Balsillie from re-locating The Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton during the off season, it’s still somewhat unclear what was really going on.
What is clear is that the league already had designs on putting a team in southern Ontario, and it’s more likely than not that it was the expansion fee that would be collected from the potential buyer(s) that was the real motivator to block Balsillie.
The expansion fee amount is speculated to be in the neighbourhood of $500 million (US Dollars), which is over double what Balsillie was bidding for the Coyotes.
It’s hard to say what’s really going on behind the scenes when you’re talking about the NHL front office, but this had the feel of lawyers all over it and it truly re-enforces the fact that hockey (all major sports for that matter) is really a business.
That’s not to suggest that I ever had any other impression of the reality here, but it does sting a bit with the whole “make it 7″ campaign that Balsillie was trumpeting. For me that whole thing wasn’t about Canada or patriotism per say, it was about the feeling that the fans had a voice and Balsillie was listening.
What a novel idea?
To actually listen to the people who fill the stands, gather in bars and restaurants, crowd around the television at home and friends houses to watch the product your selling. The same people who are wondering why the NHL is so opposed to what seems so obvious to them. Why wouldn’t the NHL want to listen to the voice of the passionate hockey fans who only want something to cheer for?
There’s no doubt that Balsillie was looking to make money too but at least he gave the impression that he was interested in serving the southern Ontario hockey fans with an option other than the Toronto Maple Leafs. The NHL is giving an entirely different impression.
Quebec Looking for New Arena
Posted by Derek in NHL News, NHL Rumors on October 16th, 2009
“ Quebec City has announced its intention to build a modern arena in the hope of bringing back an NHL team, a decade and a half after the city lost its beloved Nordiques.
Mayor Regis Labeaume told a news conference Friday that the city’s longstanding dream of hosting an Olympic Games is also a pipe dream without a new arena.
He said he’s hired engineering firm SNC Lavalin to conduct a feasibility study, and hopes to see the arena built from 2010 to 2012.
Labeaume said he expects the arena to cost about $400 million — and that the city would put up $50 million.”(source-TSN)
15 years after watching their beloved Nordiques go south to Colorado, and win the Stanley Cup the 1st season there, Quebecers might have something to look forward to. This is the proper first step to getting an NHL franchise to relocate to Quebec, and we all know there will be no shortage of candidate franchises in the coming years.
Despite all of Jim Balsillie’s efforts to strong-arm the NHL into selling him a team to relocate to southern Ontario, it makes much more sense to actually build the infrastructure necessary to facilitate an NHL team before trying to get the NHL to allow such a move.
The Nordic fans were always loyal, despite limited success, and as Mayor Regis Labeaume stated “hockey is a religion to Quebecers”.
Hmmm, I wonder what reasons Gary Bettman can conjure up to deny this hockey market. You know he’s looking at Kansas City and Las Vegas. It’s understandable to want to build the game in a huge market like Vegas but how about having a few more self-sufficient cities under your belt before spreading the game even thinner in the southern USA.
Maybe he’ll just repeat what happened to Quebec last time, allowing Quebec fans to nurture the Nordiques through all the growing years and then ripping the franchise away when it finally became competitive.
Now What for the Coyotes?
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News on September 30th, 2009
He said it was a possibility, and he was true to his word, Judge T. Baum turns down both the NHL`s and Balsillie`s bids for the Phoenix Coyotes. On the Balsillie side of things:
Judge Baum threw out the bid by Balsillie, saying it could not work because he could not properly satisfy the NHL’s rights regarding relocation. “In the final analysis, the court cannot find or conclude that the interests of the NHL can be adequately protected if the Coyotes are moved to Hamilton without first having a final decision regarding the claimed rights of the NHL and the claims of the debtors and (Balsillie),” he ruled.
It sounds like the door was left open for the NHL to adjust thier bid if they would pay `all` creditors.
He then ruled that the NHL’s bid would not work because it allows the league to specifically select the creditors will be paid. The NHL said it would pay all their creditors in full – with the exception of former head coach Wayne Gretzky and majority owner Jerry Moyes.
Kessel and the Coyotes Situation
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on September 17th, 2009
- It sounds like the Phil Kessel trade rumors could come to end by next week. October 1st is a key date, as each team much be under the salary cap by then. The Bruins are supposedly around $1.7 under the cap. The longer the Bruins late to trade him, the difficulty they may face is someone puts in an offer sheet a day or 2 before Oct. 1st. If the Bruins followed up with their statement of matching any offer for Kessel, they would have to dump other salary in a short period of time to get under the cap. Minnesota has joined the Leafs, Predators, and Rangers in showing interest in acquiring Kessel. The Leafs and Preds have made the best offers.
- The City of Glendale appears to be siding with the NHL’s bid for the Coyotes, even with Balsillie ponying up $50 million for the city to let him take the team to Hamilton. If the NHL wins the bid, I doubt they will find a buyer who would want to keep the team there, and the Coyotes will be gone after this season. Balsillie is hell bent on moving the team this season, but it might be too late for that if he wins the auction. So either way it seems this will be the last season of NHL hockey in Phoenix. I’m wondering if the city of Glendale is siding with the NHL as they feel that they might be able to get more than the $50 million for having the lease broken a year from now? About 2,000 fans crammed into the Jobing.com arena last night to watch their first pre-season game.
- The San Jose Sharks are close to signing Manny Malhotra.
NHL and Maple Leafs Square Off
Posted by Derek in NHL News, NHL Rumors on August 31st, 2009
Ok. Despite all efforts made to avoid this ridiculous situation unfolding in Pheonix, with the potential sale of the Coyotes and subsequent relocation to southern Ontario as proposed by RIM billionaire Jim Balsillie, the plot is getting too thick to ignore.
In an article from The Globe And Mail today, it’s been revealed that apparently the Toronto Maple Leafs are at odds with the NHL regarding how many of the Governors votes are required to move a team into another teams territory. In a nut shell, the NHL states the a simple majority would suffice while the Maple Leafs argue that a unanimous vote is required. The part that’s really interesting to me is that this would qualify as “news” to anyone that Toronto (and likely Buffalo) would oppose the possible relocation of a franchise within their “territory”.
With all due respect to Mr. Brunt (I mean that honestly, I’m a fan of his) it seems pretty obvious that any business would’t want competition in their backyard, much less a business that thrives on public support and loyalty, we’re not talking about a coffee shop here.
It seems to me that the longer this drags out the worse Balsillie is looking to the general public but I’m not sure he really deserves all the critisism. Businesses are bought out of bankruptcy all the time and clearly the NHL expanded to a city that doesn’t have the hockey culture to support it. One would think the NHL would be pleased to move out of town and relocate and probably would under the right circumstances.
The simple facts are that the NHL will not act in any way to threaten the Toronto Maple Leafs profits. The Leafs are the most profitable franchise in the NHL and the leagues fortunes hang in the balance. Think about it, if you were the NHL would you allow it?
Phoenix Coyotes Bidding Now Open to Anyone
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News on August 6th, 2009
The botched handling of the Phoenix Coyotes situation continues to make story lines. They say that ‘Any press is good press’, but I don’t see how this whole situation will have any good effect on the NHL (other than maybe removing a team from a non-hockey market and placing it in a hockey market). Bettman has turned this league into a laughing stock. NHL owners must be shaking their heads. How do they continue to have faith in this guy? It’s time to put an end to this nonsense.
The first auction date to keep the team in Phoenix (at least for a 36 games) has been moved to September 10th, and now can include bids that wish to relocate. So Jimbo Balsillie is back in the picture. If the single goal of this auction is to get the most money to pay back all the creditors, I don’t see how it can’t be Balsillie’s offer, since his bid is supposedly $62.5 million more than the Ice Edge Holdings offer, $64.5 more than Reinsdorf’s no-money-upfront-with-other-stipulations. It’s impossible to predict how this ‘Gong Show’ will play out as it seems that there is a new twist every couple days.
Here are some articles for today on the Coyote mess:
The Coyotes Go To Reinsdorf
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News on July 30th, 2009
After being rejected by the NHL once again, Jim Balsillie vows to continue his quest of owning a NHL team in Hamilton. Apparently there is no 3rd time charm good ole Jimbo, as his offer to buy the Coyotes was unanimously rejected. I wonder if he learned anything from this whole process. I doubt it.
The NHL governors unanimously accepted Jerry Reinsdorf’s bid to buy the Coyotes, as they felt he was the best qualified potential owner.
From the Globe and Mail:
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in an e-mail message that Mr. Balsillie was rejected under bylaw 35 of the league’s constitution. That section says the league can reject potential owners if it does not believe they are of “good character and integrity,” as well as for financial reasons. Daly declined to comment when asked to be more specific.
I think it’s going to take some major ass kissing for Balsillie to get into the NHL. He needs to take a more business-like approach and stop challenging the league. It’s an ‘old boys’ network, and I don’t think the board of governors (the guys who ultimately decide his fate) like the way he has conducted his approaches to buying the Predators and Coyotes.
Another Interested Buyer for the Phoenix Coyotes
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News, NHL Rumors on July 25th, 2009
It is now being reported that the Phoenix Coyotes lost more than $60 million last season. And there are people still interested in keeping the team in Phoenix. Are you kidding me? $67.1 million in net loss, including operating costs, interest and other costs.
Yesterday was the cut off date for the bids to be submitted for the auction. Jerry Reinsdorf has already submitted his bid at $148 million with concessions set up with the city of Glendale.
In a move that probably won’t sit well with Jim Balsillie, former RIM executive, Anthony LeBlanc, along with fellow Canadians Keith McCullough and Daryl Jones, submitted a letter of intent at $150 million. They also think the team could thrive in Phoenix, and plan to utilize Wayne Gretzky more effectively.
Have these people looked at the financial records? Maybe check out how many people actually paid for tickets, and at what price they paying for them?
Todays Snapshots
Posted by Derek in NHL News, NHL Rumors on June 19th, 2009
Here’s a quick look at some of today’s news stories…
- Tom Timmermann of the St. Louis post reports “The Blues want Keith Tkachuk back, Tkachuk wants to be back with the Blues and both sides may get their wish soon”…
- Steve Gorten of South Florida Sun says Jay Bouwmeester could be dealt before the start of free agency July 1st.
- Mark Everson of the New York Post writes that the New Jersey Devils are looking to sign Johnny Oduya before he becomes an UF.
- Randy Sportak of Sun Media quotes sources stating the Calgary Flames have interest in hosting an outdoor game at McMahon Stadium.
- The AP reports that a golf resort developer duped nearly two dozen NHL players out of $25 million.
- Steve Buffery of Sun Media explains that the Toronto Maple Leafs are tight-lipped about the visit of swedish goaltending prospect Jonas Gustavsson, whom they are trying to rectuit.
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