Gary Bettman flew to Phoenix and spoke to the media March 8 2011 about the state of the Coyotes and the likelihood of the team remaining there. The strings which would have to be pulled to achieve the survival of the club in the desert would make the labyrinth at Knossos seem a kids park, which is another way of saying welcome back to Winnipeg.
That despite what Bettman had to say in Phoenix: "There are arrangements in place approved by the city of Glendale that would enable the Coyotes to live happily ever after in Jobing.com, and that would ensure the arena doesn't go dark," he told media.
NHL Smoke Screen: Time and Place to Lower Boom
The NHL commissioner has pundits and talk show hosts such as Dave Pratt on Vancouver's Team 1040, literally stumbling over words in a rush to condemn him for his statements at that Phoenix press conference. What Pratt and others don't see in all of this is that Bettman, and the league, know the mess that Phoenix is now and want to avoid the mess it could become were they to tell the truth.
It's March and there's another month until the end of the regular season. Would this have helped? "It's been nice but the time has come to say goodbye to this franchise," a falsely downcast Gary Bettman tells the cameras. "Matt Hulsizer, the Goldwater group, the city of Glendale, just can't get together and the money lost already is enough to build a dozen arenas that could sit idle. And you fans here haven't a clue what good hockey is. Hello again Winnipeg, we never should have left."
Coyotes as a Lame Duck (Franchise)
The truth would kill what attendance there might be over the next few weeks and the specter of the stands even less full would look grim. And the media would surely show the paltry attendance as the Coyotes season ground to a halt. Lots of clips of empty NHL seats.
You can grab three tickets, for 49 bucks total to see Coyote games. In Canadian cities you would pay more for junior hockey and in Winnipeg they pay more for the AHL Manitoba Moose. Make the above announcement and you couldn't give 'em away. Tell the truth and talk about an idle arena, you'd have attendance figures under that of the Nanaimo Clippers of the BCJHL.
So Bettman is biding his time. Feigning anger at the Goldwater group, whom he knows are there to protect the public interest and knows to be smart enough to see that the public putting more money into a moribund franchise makes no sense. Bettman knows, he just can't let us know that he knows.
Phoenix to Winnipeg: Coyotes Flying on Jets
You have to wonder what was wrong with Jim Balsillie and his $212 million offer two years ago. What was it that Bettman did not like about the man? Was it personal? Or was it simply that Balsillie wanted to move the franchise? Spare the league the bankruptcy and bad press the last two years have brought? Whatever the reason we're gonna - hooray - end up back in Winnipeg.
And it's not like Bettman hasn't dropped hints to soften the forthcoming blow. While in Phoenix on the 8th Bettman laid the groundwork for putting the Coyotes out of their misery when the time comes. "I will not say today when the end is and I will not set a deadline," he said. "But at some point, we may have no choice but to begin pursuing alternatives."
About the time the Coyotes stop playing this season.
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