NHL chief Gary Bettman hopeful of keeping the Phoenix Coyotes in Arizona -NHL News
The National Hockey League (NHL), the representative and regulatory body of the professional ice hockey teams from the USA and Canada, has confirmed to be engaged in talks with a number of parties on the prospective deal for keeping the Phoenix Coyotes in
Arizona for the future.
Yet NHL commissioner, Gary Bettman, has refused to give details around the talks, saying it was not a particular requirement at the moment as they are trying to keep the process out of the reach of an outsider influence.
Bettman also declined to speculate a timeline about finalisation of the prospective deal with any of the parties that the league office has negotiated terms of the potential deal with.
He said:
"We're not setting a timeline. We're dealing with it, and we're continuing to pursue a solution and reach a point where we conclude we can't reach a solution, we'll deal with it. But we do hope we can reach a solution so that the timing will become irrelevant."
The commissioner added that the proposed deal talks with the different parties were at different stages and were “seeing if they can get it done and at the same time reach an agreement with the city.”
According to a couple of reports earlier, a group led by Greg Jamison, the former CEO of San Jose Sharks, is talking to Glendale city council about the lease of the arena area.
However, the commissioner did not give any details around the talks, saying it was not necessary to go into any details at this stage.
Furthermore, he declined to comment on the chances for success of the talks as compared to a year earlier when the side was unable to attract any buyer.
Bettman said:
"We're continuing to work on it. I know that's been a constant theme and perhaps annoyingly unsatisfying answer, but it is what it is. We're going to continue to pursue this as long as we can."
A number of reports recently pointed out the potential parties interested in the deal to be three, but their names and take on the issue remains unknown.
Local media reports in Arizona have set hopes for reaching a deal with any of the three anonymous parties by the end this month. Again, the claim is neither approved nor rejected by the league.
In spite of the availability of sketchy information around the talks, the NHL chief remains hopeful of finding a buyer for the team. It will be a great help for the side, which has recently achieved a milestone achievement.
Coyotes, formerly the Winnipeg Jets, have won the Pacific divisional title for the first time in franchise history. They are starting their first-ever playoff run with a game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, April 12, 2012.
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