Judge doesn’t show his hand as Coyotes bankruptcy auction enters 2nd day

Judge doesn’t show his hand in Coyotes case

PHOENIX — The auction for the Phoenix Coyotes entered its second and final day Friday and, after four months, the judge is offering few hints on his decision.

Judge Redfield T. Baum raised the possibility Thursday that he might reject both bids and simply have no sale.

NHL attorney Tony Clark told the judge Friday that, if both bids are tossed, the NHL would seek a ruling allowing it to take control of the team in preparation for a resale.

In other words, the league would not mind a “no sale” determination.

Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie’s attorney, Jeff Kessler, on the other hand, likened such a ruling to “letting the patient die.”

Balsillie has offered to buy the team for some $242.5 million, contingent on moving it to Hamilton, Ontario, over the objection of the NHL.

The NHL, led by commissioner Gary Bettman, has bid $140 million with plans to resell the franchise outside of bankruptcy.

Balsillie wants the judge to overrule the NHL board of governor’s 26-0 rejection of the Canadian as an owner, citing him as untrustworthy. Balsillie also wants Baum to allow the team to be relocated without the league’s approval and to set a fee to be paid for that relocation.

The NHL waived its opportunity to cross-examine Balsillie, but the league had some critical comments about the persistent Canadian, who failed in previous attempts to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators.

If Balsillie “wants to understand why he has been rebuffed in his sincere and indisputably passionate desire to be a team owner, what he needs to do is he needs to look in the mirror,” Clark said. “He brought this about on himself by his refusal to abide by the rules.”

“Perhaps someday (Balsillie) will meet up with a recognition on his part that he isn’t above the rules that apply to all the other NHL owners,” Clark said. “‘Maybe he will find a way to express an honest regret and a humility and acknowledge where he went wrong.”

If he apologizes, Balsillie would perhaps be able to “achieve his dream” to own a team, Clark said.

Clark said there are three requirements to be an NHL owner. The first two are to be wealthy and love hockey.

“Mr. Balsillie has that in spades,” Clark said.

The third requirement, the NHL attorney said, is “to play by the NHL rules.” Then Clark cited a song by Meat Loaf.

“It’s called ‘Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad,’” Clark said, “but that doesn’t cut it to own a team in the NHL.

Baum later warned the attorneys to not make their arguments personal.

“If I said anything that went over the line, I apologize your honor,” Clark said.

Kessler told the judge that the NHL and city of Glendale waived their right to cross-examine Balsillie in a “desperate” act aimed at preventing Baum from seeing what a good, upstanding citizen he is and that he shouldn’t have been rejected as an owner.

Kessler said evidence shows the NHL acted in bad faith in failing to consider relocation of the team to Hamilton.

As he has done several times, Baum referred to the fact that the ruling Balsillie wants would be unprecedented.

“Doesn’t it strike you as unusual,” he asked Balsillie attorney Susan Freeman, “that in the bankruptcy code of 1978, 31 years later, nobody’s ever crossed this bridge before and approved this kind of relocation?”

Clark said the NHL considers Hamilton a potential area for expansion and is aware of the number of rabid hockey fans there.

“And we love every one of them,” he said.

Clark ridiculed Balsillie’s claim that the real reason for rejecting him as an owner was fear of a lawsuit from the Toronto Maples Leafs, believed to be the most valuable team in the NHL.

“They have spun a tale that rivals (Alice) ‘Through the Looking Glass,” Clark said, referring to the Lewis Carroll tale.

“A Mad Hatter’s party here?” Baum responded.

The auction came one day before the Coyotes are to open training camp at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale.