Balsille isn't going to fade quietly into the night

[OLYMPIA STADIUM]

I doubt we ever see another team in Canada as long as Bettman is running the show. Kansas City seems to be at the top of his list.

Well the way i look at it is if the team is not going to winnipeg or quebec then i am in favor of bringing the kansas city scouts back to the NHL.I just dont think that the NHL will work in Hamilton.

 

[krudmonk]

If expansion is inevitable and no team is moving, I'm all for Balsillie's Hamilton plan. Boots can go die, though. Screw AEG and their shiny box in KC.

I just dont think that the NHL will work in Hamilton.

Aren't you the guy who said the Sharks aren't a continuation of the Seals franchise (among other things)? I think your saying this means that the NHL will succeed there.

 

[OLYMPIA STADIUM]

If expansion is inevitable and no team is moving, I'm all for Balsillie's Hamilton plan. Boots can go die, though. Screw AEG and their shiny box in KC.

The NHL would be better off without teams in Nashville and even Anaheim and Carolina. The NHL also does not need to be in Hamilton. i am in favor of more teams in canada. the league needs to go back to Quebec and Winnipeg.

 

[Eichel 9]

Is this guy ever gonna go away?

 

[Northern Dancer]

From the westernmost tip of Mississauga - sure, fine. From the "meat" of Mississauga to K-W itself (and winding through whatever traffic one has to wind to get there), 1.5 is reasonable. Heck, it can take 15-20 minutes sometimes to get onto the 401, depending on where you are starting from.

As a former resident of beautiful downtown Port Credit, you are bang-on, even if one took the 403 route (via hamilton) it is a 1 1/2 hour trip with the GTA grid-lock.

But back to the Balsillie. He is one stubborn man who feels compelled to go the distance in these matters. He has a huge ego. This smells very similiar to his batttle when running RIM over the law suit over the patent. He could have settled out of court for something like 450 million, instead he went thru the courts and lost with a 750 million settlement. The process cost shareholders dearly, the only people who gained were all the lawyers and I am sure they are all advising him to take the NHL to court. (ching/ching)

This arguement should not be confused with whether the GTA could support another team or not, that is a different arguement. It should all be about why Balsillie thinks he can determine the rules of engagement into a business that has ample precedent into proper entry. As for the alleged support he has from 5 or 10 NHL owners, I really find that hard to believe and especially from Gretzky (who is really not a bona fide owner anyway). How he can support a man who openly wants to hi-jack a franchise, alientate in the process the fan base in that city, accept deposits in another city, (which is one and maybe two existing teams territory) and do all this openely prior to ANY presentation let alone approval to the BOG. And to top it off he pulls this stunt during the NHL SCF which was a nasty distraction the NHL did not need.

If Balsillie wants into the NHL, he would be gladly accepted if he followed the proper protocol, it is only his massive ego that causes him to want to front page himself every day or perhaps this is a well thought-out plan to divert any publicity about the S.E.C./O.S.C. investigations into his rather generous stock option plan he gave to himself.

This guy is NOT the saint that some portray him to be.

 

[Proboscis]

If Balsillie wants into the NHL, he would be gladly accepted if he followed the proper protocol, it is only his massive ego that causes him to want to front page himself every day or perhaps this is a well thought-out plan to divert any publicity about the S.E.C./O.S.C. investigations into his rather generous stock option plan he gave to himself.

This guy is NOT the saint that some portray him to be.

I do not know what Jim Balsillie is like, but he certainly did not try to "front page" himself from 2002 until late 2006, a period during which he was constantly in the hunt for an NHL team. The only presence that his operation had was his point man, Richard Rodier, who was fronting something called HHC (Hamilton Hockey Club?) Acquisition Corp. JB stayed way in the background as a mystery investor.

It does not sound like Balsillie started out on the publicity hound path this time around either. If what Rodier claims is true, not even Gary Bettman knew about the dealings between Balsillie and Leipold until he was asked a question about them by Darren Dreger of TSN. Beyond that point, it may be the case that Balsillie decided that playing things quietly was not getting him anywhere, so he decided to launch a public campaign in order to see if that would work.

 

[Proboscis]

From ticketmaster.ca:

**Predators Sports and Entertainment has advised that it is still planning to purchase the Predators Hockey Team and media reports to the contrary are erroneous

 

[Lunatik*]

Point:

"arse" is considered attempting to circumvent the filter, as is a$$ and so on.

It's ok, folks ... you can go ahead and type ass - just don't get carried away with it or direct it at someone else.

That is all.

just curious why ass is now allowed but ass pluralized isnt

and i too am beginning to think the problem is a combination of this supposed Bettman bias agaisnt Canadian teams and a dislike for Baisille

 

[Brazz]

I don't know why Balsillie would try to go after another team Bettman has made it clear that the league does not want him as an owner. If he were to go after another team my guess would be the Florida Panthers

 

[dubey]

I don't know why Balsillie would try to go after another team Bettman has made it clear that the league does not want him as an owner. If he were to go after another team my guess would be the Florida Panthers

They don't want him as an owner? or they don't want him to move the team to Hamilton? Huge difference. Anyone offering way more than a struggling team is worth would be welcomed with open arms by the owners. It increases the value of their franchise and I doubt he'll have a tough time getting the support of a majority.

Also (in regards to the OP), how will keeping the team in Nashville and expanding into Kansas City and Hamilton do anything good for the leauge? You've got two money bleeders and another team in Canada. I thought the NHL was all about growing their presence in the states?

 

[Brazz]

They don't want him as an owner? or they don't want him to move the team to Hamilton? Huge difference. Anyone offering way more than a struggling team is worth would be welcomed with open arms by the owners. It increases the value of their franchise and I doubt he'll have a tough time getting the support of a majority.

Balsillie has no interested in owning a team that is not located in Southren Ontario. I mean if you just wanted to own a team in any location why would he pass up the Penguins with all their young talent, that would be a sure way to get your name engraved on the cup.