Part XVIII: Phoenix -- Imminence Front

[Dado]

...(NHLPA retains Rodier)....

Very cool.

Maybe Fehr is going to take the "you want concessions, get rid of the crap revenue locations and put teams where fans are paying" approach to the next CBA negotiation.

 

[Killion]

Oy. Lock-out scoreboard: Yes-1 No-0

.....gevalt! Yes-2 No-0.

 

[Whileee]

No matter how we dissect it, I think what Whileee & goyotes are juxtaposing both sides of the same coin, but know that only only side can land facing up...

And if I was going to call which side would face "up" in this seemingly 50:50 decision, I would call the same side Whileee is betting on...

My "2" cents.

My approach has been more to try to analyze and understand what is going on based on what is publicly known and reading between the lines.

As of today, I am actually very surprised that there has not been more concrete movement towards finalizing the deal. Coming out of the December 14 council meeting, which approved the lease, one would have expected things to move consistently towards finalization. However, immediately after the meeting there were suggestions that the COG would sit with the GWI to iron out their concerns. I thought that was odd, unless the COG were concerned about GWI's potential to block the deal. We heard about how the COG had kept the parking studies from the Arizona Republic, and even city councilors. Next we saw this rather bizarre public statement from the City of Glendale going straight after the GWI with a PR salvo. The GWI fired back and didn't seem to have backed down. Previous suggestions that the deal is being reworked to suit the GWI seem to be a fading memory and instead the dispute is focusing on whether the COG has met its obligations to be transparent in its dealings.

That is why I am speculating that there is something going on beyond just the "timing of the bond market" that is constraining the COG from finalizing the lease agreement and facilitating the purchase. I think that the COG are more worried about the GWI than they have let on, and not just over the "gift law". Of course this is just speculation, but something is askew in how things have progressed since city council approved the lease.

 

[AllByDesign]

I have a feeling tomorrow night's council meeting will be an important one.

Call it a hunch.

That's a hunch!

 

[MaskedSonja]

In before the chapter lock


The amount of information that seems to be coming out about this, and the possible scenarios it is opening up, is just beyond belief. I guess the lack of info from the NHL is pretty much them sitting back and letting CoG work through this?

I wonder what news, if any, we get this week....

 

[goyotes]

My approach has been more to try to analyze and understand what is going on based on what is publicly known and reading between the lines.

As of today, I am actually very surprised that there has not been more concrete movement towards finalizing the deal. Coming out of the December 14 council meeting, which approved the lease, one would have expected things to move consistently towards finalization. However, immediately after the meeting there were suggestions that the COG would sit with the GWI to iron out their concerns. I thought that was odd, unless the COG were concerned about GWI's potential to block the deal. We heard about how the COG had kept the parking studies from the Arizona Republic, and even city councilors. Next we saw this rather bizarre public statement from the City of Glendale going straight after the GWI with a PR salvo. The GWI fired back and didn't seem to have backed down. Previous suggestions that the deal is being reworked to suit the GWI seem to be a fading memory and instead the dispute is focusing on whether the COG has met its obligations to be transparent in its dealings.

That is why I am speculating that there is something going on beyond just the "timing of the bond market" that is constraining the COG from finalizing the lease agreement and facilitating the purchase. I think that the COG are more worried about the GWI than they have let on, and not just over the "gift law". Of course this is just speculation, but something is askew in how things have progressed since city council approved the lease.

I think the delay has much more to do with the tanking of the bond market and hoping for a better interest rate, than anything with the GWI. MH was on the local tv broadcast of a coyote game about a week ago. He said 2 - 3 weeks back then. We are close to 2 weeks, but only half way to 3 weeks. When this is all said and done, the urgancy is based upon sabre rattling (what a local reporter called it - not me) of the GWI, and some expectation that the ASG would usher in a deal. In the final analysis, I don't think anything has changed from what has come out of the mouths of the players to this deal. I think frustration from outsiders is what is driving the discussion.

 

[MaskedSonja]

Very cool.

Maybe Fehr is going to take the "you want concessions, get rid of the crap revenue locations and put teams where fans are paying" approach to the next CBA negotiation.

I admit I don't know much about Rodier, but I'm assuming he's a hardball economist type?

 

[RR]

.....gevalt! Yes-2 No-0.

Aw, sheeit, indeed.

 

[RR]

I admit I don't know much about Rodier, but I'm assuming he's a hardball economist type?

He was the architect of the Balsillie strategy that got shot down by Judge Baum. If the league's distrust of Balsillie on a scale of 1-10 is a 10, then distrust of Rodier is, at a minimum, an 11.

 

[Whileee]

I think the delay has much more to do with the tanking of the bond market and hoping for a better interest rate, than anything with the GWI. MH was on the local tv broadcast of a coyote game about a week ago. He said 2 - 3 weeks back then. We are close to 2 weeks, but only half way to 3 weeks. When this is all said and done, the urgancy is based upon sabre rattling (what a local reporter called it - not me) of the GWI, and some expectation that the ASG would usher in a deal. In the final analysis, I don't think anything has changed from what has come out of the mouths of the players to this deal. I think frustration from outsiders is what is driving the discussion.

You might well be correct, but do you really think that they are trying to time the bond issue within a 2-3 week time window? Perhaps they are trying to line up investors first.

In the meantime, why bother firing a PR salvo at the GWI if they are basically irrelevant? Just plain strange.

 

[Dado]

I admit I don't know much about Rodier, but I'm assuming he's a hardball economist type?

He was Balsillie's hockey lawyer.

 

[roccerfeller]

This is about a year old...

but I wonder if it has any relevancy today to the seemingly shadow tactics recently beings discussed/debated?

..."Glendale's actions represent a lack of respect for the court and the law," said Carrie Ann Sitren a Goldwater Institute attorney. "In addition to wasting taxpayer money on a bankrupt hockey team, the city government is thumbing its nose at its obligation to keep its citizens informed. Clearly, stern action is warranted."

Judge Burke has ordered Glendale to comply with Goldwater's public records request on four separate occasions. In addition to finding the city in contempt, the Goldwater Institute would like the judge to set a schedule for producing records that the city must follow....

http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/article/4321


I wonder why, one year later, GWI seems to still be having some similar issues...if they are indeed similar issues or entirely new cases of failed public disclosure?

I also wonder if GWI just shut up and sat there quietly waiting for this time to strike...when the deal going through matters the most..

 

[Major4Boarding]

He was the architect of the Balsillie strategy that got shot down by Judge Baum. If the league's distrust of Balsillie on a scale of 1-10 is a 10, then distrust of Rodier is, at a minimum, an 11.

And Balsillie's Penguins bid, Predators bid, and the not-so-talked about HCC Acquisitions bid to buy the Senators. All avenues with intersections involving Hamilton.

 

[MaskedSonja]

He was the architect of the Balsillie strategy that got shot down by Judge Baum. If the league's distrust of Balsillie on a scale of 1-10 is a 10, then distrust of Rodier is, at a minimum, an 11.

He was Balsillie's hockey lawyer.

And Balsillie's Penguins bid, Predators bid, and the not-so-talked about HCC Acquisitions bid to buy the Senators. All avenues with intersections involving Hamilton.

"There's a new sheriff in town....."

Oh MY things are going to get very interesting......

All the ones Fehr could have picked, and he picked the one that the NHL distrusts the MOST....no, that wasn't intentional at all

 

[RR]

And Balsillie's Penguins bid, Predators bid, and the not-so-talked about HCC Acquisitions bid to buy the Senators. All avenues with intersections involving Hamilton.

Correct. But the attempt to snag the Coyotes was the first one to get before a judge, who in his ruling supported the NHL position that it controls where its teams play. A smack-down to the Rodier/JB theory. Now the NHLPA adds Rodier to its leagal team as we approach a new CBA. Even if it is because the PA respect Rodier's legal mind, they have to know the league is watching and may have just dug its heels in a little deeper. And could be on a higher level of alert for legal shenanigans.

 

[ducks2010]

Correct. But the attempt to snag the Coyotes was the first one to get before a judge, who in his ruling supported the NHL position that it controls where its teams play. A smack-down to the Rodier/JB theory. Now the NHLPA adds Rodier to its leagal team as we approach a new CBA. Even if it is because the PA respect Rodier's legal mind, they have to know the league is watching and may have just dug its heels in a little deeper. And could be on a higher level of alert for legal shenanigans.

When do we see the formal collusion claim being made against NHL owners? If you are an NHL owner, this news has to cause a pain in your @ss.

 

[Major4Boarding]

That's where I thought you were leading to RR, but wasn't 100% sure so I expanded it. My apologies.

 

[No 19]

Any news on when the 'Yotes are moving back Winnipeg?

 

[Coach]

Any news on when the 'Yotes are moving back Winnipeg?

It won't be during this thread maybe next one.

 

[Killion]

Even if it is because the PA respect Rodier's legal mind, they have to know the league is watching and may have just dug its heels in a little deeper.

Indeed, and as I stated on another thread, germaine & contemporaneous to the situation in Phoenix, as a work stoppage of short duration would cripple the re-building process, a long one could easily kill it altogether. This hire clearly signals a depth of militancy afore-to unseen within the PA & does not portend a concilliatory or compromising strategy heading into negotiations with the league. A case of "hey honey, look who Ive' brought home for dinner, Kim jong il, Ayatollah Ali Khameni & his little buddy Mahmoud Admadinejad".

 

[Jesus Christ Horburn]

It's almost time for a "nervous breakdown".

 

[Confucius]

And Balsillie's Penguins bid, Predators bid, and the not-so-talked about HCC Acquisitions bid to buy the Senators. All avenues with intersections involving Hamilton.

So maybe the NHLPA offices will move to Hamilton.

 

[yotesreign]

It's almost time for a "nervous breakdown".

The feeling is imminent!

 

[JetFan4Ever]

Assuming this goes to a BOG vote, what is the procedure for voting in a new owner who is rumoured to have 8-10 investors? Is it only the majority owner that is voted on or are all the other investors at least looked at?

 

[OthmarAmmann]

Assuming this goes to a BOG vote, what is the procedure for voting in a new owner who is rumoured to have 8-10 investors? Is it only the majority owner that is voted on or are all the other investors at least looked at?

We're getting the $170 mm we fronted? Approved.