Report: Bettman tells Balsillie he could still get a team

[james99]

Jim Balsillie's endless attempts to get an NHL team may prove fruitful after all.

According to Forbes magazine, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has told Balsillie that he will get an NHL team in the future if he does not "create any more spectacles or bad publicity for the league"

[runnin']

I'll believe it when I see it.

[GrimJack]

The league needs cash positive teams to subsidize the ones losing money. It's harder for Bettman to deny another Canadian team to the board of governors with the success in Winnipeg.

[Walter Dnes]

A couple of opinions from me. I've been following an NHL-related forum. The consensus there is that...

1. Forbes doesn't have a clue about the NHL.
2. Balsillie will NOT get an NHL franchise before...
   

See ncbsports.com for a denial. I feel that the NHL would sooner contract a team than sell it to Balsillie.

A bit of background info... Gary Bettman is the monkey... the NHL BOG (Board of Governors) is the organ grinder. They set the policies and sign Bettman's paycheque. Bettman is merely their hired help who does their bidding.

Jim Balsillie's back-door attempts to get a team for Hamilton have probably poisoned the well for Steeltown. The Phoenix Coyotes could've been sold by now if Balsillie didn't connive with Moyes to force things into bankruptcy court. The NHL was forced to buy the Coyotes franchise at an exorbitant price (relatively speaking) to keep it out of Balsillie's hands. They are also covering the losses in excess of $25 million that City of Glendale covers. The BOG are EXTREMELY unhappy with the money they've had to spend.

If Bettman told them to sell a franchise to Balsillie, Bettman would be out of a job so fast your head would spin.

And forget about Balsillie. In another 5 or 10 years, RIM will become Canada's next Nortel. This of course, will wipe out most of Balsillie's wealth, so he'll no longer be able to purchase a team. If anybody owns RIM shares, I suggest that you...

• fire up your laptop and connect it to the internet
• carry the laptop to your bathroom
• pull down your pants and sit down on the toilet
• put the laptop on your knees
• watch a Balsillie interview on YouTube
• listen carefully to what he says approximately 3 minutes and 20 seconds in
• if you follow my instructions, you'll avoid a laundry bill

[markf]

If he does get a team, I can only imagine how much the relocation fee will be to somewhere like Hamilton.

If it costs $60 million to move a team from Atlanta to a tiny market like Winnipeg, how much will they be looking for to move to Hamilton/Southern Ontario? I would think it would have to be double or triple that figure at least, so the costs would be at least $120 to $180 million higher than just picking up a team. Of course that's just speculation, but it would solve the problem of the money the NHL has put into Phoenix.

I think the NHL was trying to poison the Canada well by going to Winnipeg (smallest available market, smallest arena) so that they could show everyone that Canada was not a viable option for moving franchises. Obviously the people of Winnipeg proved them wrong, so hopefully someone else will get a chance as more American franchises fail.

[reidw]

markf: So far the people of Winnipeg haven't proven anyone wrong. It has become obvious since last Sat. that a lot of tickets were grabbed by out of town scalpers who plan to resell them. That's unfair to the people of Winnipeg but it will be interesting to see how many of the internet buyers actually show up in person to claim their tickets. Until then we don't know if Winnipeg has actually got 13,000 or so bonafide subscribers. (I should add that I hope they do).

As for "Mr. Rim", I couldn't help thinking how different the approach of True North was from Mr. Rim's. I agree with those here who feel that h.ll will freeze over before Mr. Rim will get a team. He took the wrong approach and antagonised precisely the people he needed to win over (i.e. the very conservative "old boys" NHL BOG). True North made their try in a more businesslike manner and thanks to a number of other factors falling into place at the same time got their team.

(Footnote to ponder: Pledging to buy season tickets is somewhat akin to making a pledge to a local PBS station. About 20% of those who make an pledge never follow up. I got those figures from WNED PBS Buffalo when I was a member and volunteered to help the station with a Toronto/ROM promotion).

[PlayitSimple]

If Bettman told them to sell a franchise to Balsillie, Bettman would be out of a job so fast your head would spin.

Remind me again why Bettman being fired would be a bad thing?! This league is in desperate need of a makeover, shakeup, overhaul- call it what you will. He has taken it in the wrong direction IMO (namely south when it should be moving northwards- that includes the US not just Canada). He has also brought on boards some shady characters as owners (DelBiaggio is a good example). He failed time and again to secure a TV contract in the US, in the end he signed with a fledgling start up channel (Versus) that has limited distribution and also signed a deal with NBC where they make no money but instead just give the product away.

CHANGE is long overdue in the NHL and it should start at the top with the removal of Bettman.

Bettman is merely their hired help who does their bidding.

If you believe that then you need to give your head a shake! This guy wields his share of power and control otherwise he would no longer be the Commissioner.

[Jase88]

We've heard the RIM doom & gloom predictions from the beginning back in 1999. Yet the company is still here and doing well.

Having said that, Balsillie has burned his bridge with the NHL. He's presented himself as a sneaky, and thus untrustworthy, individual. The NHL owners have voted against Balsillie as an owner. It won't happen, period. They don't need Balsillie, and they won't have him.

I would lose respect for the NHL if they decided to give Balsillie another chance...

[james99]

No team for Hamilton until Bettman is gone.

[markf]

They don't need Balsillie, and they won't have him

While I know the second part of that statement is true, the first part is not as much as they think it is. Who else is throwing cash towards the NHL in hopes of picking up a money losing franchise? Now that True North has theirs, other than maybe Quebecor, who else is in line for one of the many franchises out there for sale?

Having said that I think that there are two facts that are quite clear to me:

1. They won't take Balsillie as an owner.
2. As previously mentioned, as long as Bettman is Commissioner there will be no team in Hamilton.

[Walter Dnes]

Originally Posted by reidw

Until then we don't know if Winnipeg has actually got 13,000 or so bonafide subscribers. (I should add that I hope they do).

There are also 8,000 people on the OFFICIAL waiting list. Getting on that list means...

• a $50 one-time non-refundable fee
• plus $100 per year, which will be applied to any season tickets you end up purchasing.

I don't think there are that many scalpers, i.e. 8,000 plus. And what of the people who couldn't log on to the website at all?

Originally Posted by reidw

(Footnote to ponder: Pledging to buy season tickets is somewhat akin to making a pledge to a local PBS station. About 20% of those who make an pledge never follow up. I got those figures from WNED PBS Buffalo when I was a member and volunteered to help the station with a Toronto/ROM promotion).

I believe that people had to submit their credit card online to get season tickets. This is not as lackadaisacal as a "PBS pledge". There is real money involved.

[reidw]

Originally Posted by Walter Dnes

There are also 8,000 people on the OFFICIAL waiting list. Getting on that list means...

• a $50 one-time non-refundable fee
• plus $100 per year, which will be applied to any season tickets you end up purchasing.

I don't think there are that many scalpers, i.e. 8,000 plus. And what of the people who couldn't log on to the website at all?

I believe that people had to submit their credit card online to get season tickets. This is not as lackadaisacal as a "PBS pledge". There is real money involved.

@walter: Hope you are right. PBS pledges are often by credit card too but some people have found ways to pull out without a payment being made (or perhaps reversed through a phone call to the credit card company?).