As I recall.... there was a report from either a reporter from ESPN or one of the local Portland OR media outlets that informed... Paul Allen was interested in the Coyoytes, had been tracking the situation for some time, employs a number of executives who had formerly worked for NHL franchises & quite familiar with the teams & leagues operations, did an extensive amount of due diligence, were aware of the then pending new broadcast contracts (2013/14) however.... at $170M including rosy projections the numbers simply didnt pencil out or make sense for them.... Winnipeg however at no time balked at the price tag for the Coyotes, were running silent & deep as per NHL directives, on stand-bye check in hand, the Coyotes only saved in 2010 when the City of Glendale agreed to pay the $25M "insurance premium" to the NHL which bought them another year. Had Glendale not paid it, then ya, the Coyotes would have returned to Winnipeg in 2010 for 2010/11 season....
The next year, 2011, the NHL again demanded $25M from the COG who's City Council was unaware that Winnipeg was no longer a threat, TNSE in conjunction with the NHL re-directed in secret to Atlanta to negotiate a deal with ASG. TNSE had budgeted $170M for the Coyotes and Peter Thomson not willing to pay any more including the Relo Fee for Atlanta (or anyone else for that matter). With Bettman inserting himself into the negotiations between ASG & TNSE, he managed to get them down to $110M, with the additional $60M which TNSE had budgeted all-in being called a "Relocation Fee". That the NHL had actually "assigned a valuation to Winnipeg & its $170M" when in fact no valuation of anykind was ever done at all. That $170M the price TNSE (or anyone) wanting to buy the Coyotes would have to pay and no, no Relo Fee on top of it. So....
It leads one to question Bettman's judgement, to look at how he handled these situations & its not flattering. Why didnt he sell the Coyotes to Winnipeg for $170M & be made "whole" again, stopping the spin & insanity that continued to unravel in Glendale Az & which continues to this day? Why didnt he determine exactly how much it was that Paul Allen was prepared to pay for an NHL franchise which surely must have been in the $100M-$125M range, waived the Relo Fee altogether, arranged to sell him the Thrashers & BAM, theres your first of 2 US Pacific Northwest teams. Instead, he & Bill Daly lied to the City of Glendale, the fans & sponsors, carrying on with the charade, extorting $50M, enabling a shallow, vacuous group of Moon Shot Artists to get the Cities signature on a $225M +++ Arena Mgmnt Contract & Lease that blew up in their faces. And for what? The quick $60M in Relo Fee's they carved out of TNSE's purchase of the Thrashers. Thats what. A lousy $2M & change per team, like a 2nd or 3rd line Center's contract over one season. Whoop dee doo.
Anyhoo. Food for thought. But sure. If it had been Paul Allen & not Jim Balsillie... if Paul Allen had been willing to pay the full $170M for the Coyotes or had Gary Bettman gone for the double play in moving those two clubs as he should have...................................... and that being said, where was the League in 1996 & through the early 00's in Arizona when during that clubs formative years it desperately needed a steadying hand. If they had a clue, the very thought of the Coyotes leaving could have been, would have been & shoulda been laughable.... Ditto with the Thrashers. Clear to anyone checking out ownership a decade earlier & watching it devolve that serious serious storm clouds were on the horizon, better you get out in front of the situation early, chart a new course. But no, they believed the obvious lies of the greasy, slimy hydra headed reptiles who made up Atlanta Spirit Group, got played badly & guess what... checkmate. Lost the South Morons.
