Paul Hunter, of the Toronto edition of the Star, reported yesterday on Jim Balsillie's attempt to get MLSE exec Richard Peddie on the record. The article, Leafs trying to block me: Balsillie, details Balsillie's desire to have Peddie under oath and on the grill.
It's amazing it has taken this long for Balsillie to turn his attention to the Maple Leafs who have a history of standing against expansion in Canada. This stance isn't a Peddie thing, it goes back to the days of the WHA and the addition of teams in Winnipeg, Edmonton and Quebec City, the Leafs have always opposed more teams in Canada.
The Leafs enjoy being Canada's team, and they are, in a far more meaningful way than the Dallas Cowboys could ever be called America's Team.
The NHL has attempted to block the deposition of Peddie, suggesting the cart is being put in front of the horse. The NHL argues that relocation isn;t on the table until an owner is decided, and in some respects they are right, the question really comes down to how long Judge Baum wants to stretch out proceedings. The issue of ownership and relocation may best be decided in one fell swoop to allow the franchise to pick up and move on no matter the decision.
Interestingly the NHL has moved to depose Balsillie, somethign Balsillie's camp has now agreed to. The Balsillie camp will get a chance to sink it's teeth into Bettman, his right hand Bill Daly as well as Wild minority owner Craig Leipold and Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs.
This has been bad puppet theater from the get go and it looks like it will only get worse before being resolved. There are problems on all sides in this case, a league unwilling to look deal with real problems, an owner unwilling to live by the terms of his membership and a billionaire not used to hearing "no".
What's more embarrassing, dog fighting, PED using, gambling, wife-beating players and a shady ref or an entire league being undone in such a silly fashion?
Friday, August 14, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Daly says no evidence, conclusions or accusations.
Last week Bill Daly spoke briefly on the NHL's investigation of long-term contracts given to Chris Pronger and Marion Hossa. Admitting that there was no evidence of wrong doing the league will snoop around the Chicago and Philadelphia front offices.
Chief among the concerns expressed by Daly was the fact that the players would be 42 at the end of their contracts, unlike other recent long term deals with similar shape.
When Detroit signed Henrik Zetterberg to a long term contract that pays him an average of six million dollars per season for 12 years there was no public investigation declaration. Of course Zetterberg's contract expires when he is 40 years old.
The contract slides from payments between seven and eight million dollars, in the first 9 years of the contract, to payments of one million dollars in the final two years.
Remember folks, it's not the length of the contract or the large dip in yearly payments at the end of a deal. It's whether or not you'll be 42 at the end of the deal that raises a red flag that should be addressed in the public forum.
You can find Daly's appearance on XMRadio here: http://www.nhlhomeice.com/audio.php
Look for "Bill Daly on HTN" August 6, 2009. The segment on Pronger and Hossa begins at around 13:50 of the audio clip.
Chief among the concerns expressed by Daly was the fact that the players would be 42 at the end of their contracts, unlike other recent long term deals with similar shape.
When Detroit signed Henrik Zetterberg to a long term contract that pays him an average of six million dollars per season for 12 years there was no public investigation declaration. Of course Zetterberg's contract expires when he is 40 years old.
The contract slides from payments between seven and eight million dollars, in the first 9 years of the contract, to payments of one million dollars in the final two years.
Remember folks, it's not the length of the contract or the large dip in yearly payments at the end of a deal. It's whether or not you'll be 42 at the end of the deal that raises a red flag that should be addressed in the public forum.
You can find Daly's appearance on XMRadio here: http://www.nhlhomeice.com/audio.php
Look for "Bill Daly on HTN" August 6, 2009. The segment on Pronger and Hossa begins at around 13:50 of the audio clip.
Colin Campbell asked to defend Playoff discipline
Campbell tries to defend his early playoff rulings and finds no quarter.
06.02.09 Head shots, Cap flexibility, Hamilton
Bettman dances around the issue of injuries in the last two weeks of the season. Talks about bankruptcy relocation.
01.25.09 Defending Phoenix, Celebrating Crosby
At the 2009 All-Star Game. Gary explains why Phoenix is ok, why Balsillie is a quitter and how everyone should be more like Sid Crosby.
Welcome Back
After a catastrophic failure with the former set-up we're back to chronicle the demise of the NHL.
Bear with us as we go about rebuilding the catalog of Bettman interviews and begin writing new material about the travails and failures of the NHL. One thing is for certain with the on going Phoenix saga, the petulant behavior out of Ottawa, and the embarrassing stuff coming from Chicago's golden boy there will not be a lack of material.
Bear with us as we go about rebuilding the catalog of Bettman interviews and begin writing new material about the travails and failures of the NHL. One thing is for certain with the on going Phoenix saga, the petulant behavior out of Ottawa, and the embarrassing stuff coming from Chicago's golden boy there will not be a lack of material.
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