St. Louis Blues ownership woes end as Board of Governors approves sale -NHL Update
St. Louis Blues’ management and team can finally concentrate on other important aspects of the game as the National Hockey League (NHL) Board of Governors approved the sale of the franchise to a group of investors which is being led by Tom Stillman on Wednesday,
May 9, 2012.
Stillman is known to be the beer distributor for St. Louis and was always keen on running the team. Seeing how they become one of the elite clubs in the NHL during and after the 2011-2012 NHL regular season, reason to make the purchase was even stronger.
The settlement price has not been officially announced by either Stillman or the league, but it is believed to be somewhere around the $130 million mark, making him the eighth owner in St. Louis Blues franchise history.
Seeing how Stillman is known around the St. Louis community to be passionate about the sport of hockey, players think that it will definitely be beneficial for the Blues in the long run.
"(He is) a local guy that's passionate about the game, he's around the rink as much as the players are," Blues captain, David Backes, said Tuesday. "He's on road trips, he's skating himself with (Blues) alumni. A guy that's passionate, from the St. Louis
area ... what more could you want. It's nice to hopefully have that situation stabilized and stop talking about it and get onto business, which is in the ice and taking care of business there."
Blues were one of those teams coming into the previous season without having any proper ownership management to overlook the affairs in all aspects. Now that the Blues have proved their worth and are on route to become one of the best in the league, Phoenix
Coyotes are also hoping for the same sooner than later.
"Fans of the Blues have reason to be comfortable and excited about the future of the club," NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman, said earlier this year.
Stillman had a 10 per cent share in the Blues franchise earlier to this but is lucky his bid to buy the team paid off after Chicago based businessman, Michael Hulsizer, tried but failed in his attempts.
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