Yes, Bettman won the battle, but the creditors, I suspect, lost the
war. I feel sorry for the Coyotes' unsecured creditors such as the
advertising and marketing folks because they will get nothing. The
secured creditors will end up with cents on the dollars. I feel little
sympathy for the residents of Glendale who built and subsidize the
arena.

The franchise will end up a ward of the NHL for at least a season,
akin to the Expos last season in Montreal.

How does Bettman survive this mess?

To use a metaphor from a different sport, in reading the opinion, the
judge effectively punted the issue. The relocation portion of the
contract could represent the straw that broke the camel's back. If
Moyes had followed a more conventional bankruptcy filing, then
Balsillie would have owned the franchise following a bankruptcy
auction. The issues involved in this bankruptcy were more complicated
than the judge could bear.

On Jun 16, 2009, at 5:02 AM, Craig wrote:

> From today's Hamilton Spectator;
>
> Now the question is what does the NHL do? You have got a basket case
> franchise left in Phoenix that is bleeding red ink and costing all
> other teams a ton of money. Who is going to operate this team now
> and pay off the creditors? Bettman won the battle - now what does he
> does with the spoils of victory?
>
> Craig



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