{"id":1089,"date":"2009-09-07T23:16:07","date_gmt":"2009-09-08T03:16:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/heroesinrehab.ca\/blog\/?p=1089"},"modified":"2009-09-07T23:16:07","modified_gmt":"2009-09-08T03:16:07","slug":"coming-from-america-why-the-maple-leafs-will-sooner-or-later-have-neighbours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/heroesinrehab.ca\/blog\/2009\/09\/07\/coming-from-america-why-the-maple-leafs-will-sooner-or-later-have-neighbours\/","title":{"rendered":"Coming from America: Why the Maple Leafs Will Sooner or Later Have Neighbours"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Copps<\/a>

Coming Soon to This Corner - NHL Hockey?<\/p><\/div>\n

\nJames Mirtle’s work following the Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy matter<\/a> as it has unfolded has made for a fascinating read.\u00a0 If you ignore for a moment the fact that this corporate soap opera is a passion play wreaking havoc with the emotions of fellow hockey fans – fans\u00a0 who are loyal, hardy and dedicated enough to (in the middle of a desert, mind you) root for a perenially underachieving and brutally mismanaged team that has so often been an unwanted afterthought for its own owners – it’s been an entertaining diversion, and a way to fill the days in an off-season locally short on summer weather.\u00a0\u00a0 At some point in the next few days Judge Redfield T. Baum will deliver a ruling as to whether Jim Balsillie’s company, PSE, is a bidder qualified to participate in the upcoming auction of the team.\u00a0 Many other consequences will flow from that ruling for the Coyotes and their fans;\u00a0 depending upon the identity of the successful bidder, a greater or lesser likelihood that the team will leave town.\u00a0 Whatever the result, appeals and further litigation remain a distinct possibility.\u00a0 For the Coyotes, all that is presently certain is that there will be uncertainty surrounding the future of the team.<\/p>\n

Regardless of Mr. Balsillie’s status upon delivery of that ruling, however – whether he’s declared a qualified bidder or not -Balsillie’s desert offensive is likely to have far-reaching implications for fans of NHL hockey in southern Ontario.\u00a0 Specifically, it now seems very probable that at some point, someone<\/em> will bring another NHL team to southern Ontario.\u00a0 If and when that happens, fans settling into their seats before the faceoff will have Balsillie and his attorneys to thank for it.<\/p>\n

Balsillie’s choice to force his showdown with the NHL into the public arena via the courts has, for the NHL and the Toronto Maple Leafs in particular, opened a kind of Pandora’s Box.\u00a0 As a result of the public nature of this dispute, we now know the following things about the business of hockey in southern Ontario:<\/p>\n