NHL Rumors: Latest Developments in Sale of Phoenix Coyotes Not Good for Hockey

The latest developments in the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes suggest that the struggling franchise might remain in Arizona for the foreseeable future, which is not a good thing for the NHL or the sport of hockey.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has been determined to keep the Coyotes in Arizona, but he needs to realize that this effort does not help the sport, and that the franchise is better off being relocated to a city where it will receive more support.

According to the Phoenix Business Journal, former San Jose Sharks executive Greg Jamison has a group ready to finalize the purchase of the Coyotes:

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The deal still has go through final approvals and due diligence as well as through the city of Glendale which owns Jobing.com Arena. But Jamison, the NHL and Glendale are close to a final deal, according to sources familiar with the hockey team.

The NHL is trying to keep the sale price at $170 million in part to help the value of other franchises. The league bought the Coyotes out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009 for $140 million.

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If the league cannot complete a deal to sell the Coyotes to Jamison's group, then there are a few other options.

Via the Phoenix Business Journal:

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If a deal can’t get done, the NHL could look to sell the Coyotes to another ownership group led by Chicago Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf and Phoenix attorney John Kaites.

If those Arizona bids don’t work out the NHL can still look to sell and relocate the Coyotes to Seattle or a Canadian market.

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The NHL has not had much success selling the team to a new owner(s), likely because the team has struggled financially for several years now due to reasons such as low attendance.

The Coyotes are currently dead last in both total attendance and attendance percentage for home games. The team only fills about 70 percent of Jobing.com Arena each game, which is terrible for a professional sports team. Last year the Coyotes were second to last in total attendance and attendance percentage for home games.

When you consider the fact that the Coyotes have been a very good team over the last few seasons and have made the playoffs two consecutive years, there is no excuse for the fans not to show up. If the team was bad, I could see why fans would be reluctant to spend money to watch the team, but not supporting a successful team is a real issue. Two years ago, the team finished with 107 points, the most in franchise history, yet fans only showed a large amount of support when the playoffs arrived.

The league needs to move the Coyotes to a city where fans will show up each night no matter how well the team is performing. The perfect example is Winnipeg's support for the Jets. The franchise was moved to Winnipeg this season after being in Atlanta since 1999 when they were then known as the Thrashers. The people of Winnipeg have shown amazing excitement and support now that the NHL is back in their city.

Having new owners won't guarantee that the fans will show up more than they do now. And just because it looks like the team will remain in Glendale long term, it won't necessarily make fans more supportive of the Coyotes.

Cities such as Quebec, Hamilton and Seattle are far more deserving of an NHL franchise than Glendale, but with new ownership a likely possibility for the Coyotes, there's a possibility the team won't be relocating any time soon.

The NHL shouldn't be in Arizona, especially if the Coyotes fans aren't being very supportive of a winning team. Supporting your team is showing up for the entire season, not just when the playoffs arrive and the Coyotes are playing popular teams like the Detroit Red Wings in a best of seven series.

The latest developments in the sale of the Coyotes is a bad sign for the NHL, who need to bail from the Phoenix market as soon as possible.

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