DrunkUncleDenis
Condra Fan
- Mar 27, 2012
- 11,820
- 1,682
One thing to keep in mind is that it is two very different things to have the franchise for sale on the open market, and Melnyk being approached with an offer he can't refuse. The team doesn't need to be posted for everyone to see on MLS or AutoTrader for a buyer to be "found". That's not how deals worth hundreds of millions are done.Nah, it seems to me that Bettman completely dismisses the implication that the team could be for sale.
In my mind, what's more likely is that Melnyk is trying to get the City of Ottawa to pony up some of the arena financing, and that Bettman is helping him with that negotiation. They tried it in Edmonton and they tried it in Calgary. It's in the NHL's interest to get civic funding of any new arena.
The fact that Alfredsson said he hoped for a new owner isn't the news. It's that he implicated Watson in that same position.
IMO it is likely that one day we will hear serious rumblings of a sale, and within a day or two the deal will be done.