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Winners and losers in Coyotes case

September 30, 2009 09:09 PM | Posted by   Elliotte Friedman  

A quick rundown of winners and losers now that the Coyotes future is decided – for a few months anyway.

Winner: Gary Bettman. In the courtroom, Bettman gets almost everything he wants.

Technically, the NHL did not win the case. But more importantly to the commissioner, it did not lose to Jim Balsillie.

There is now legal precedent that the league controls its franchises. You want a team, you've got to go through him.

Loser: Gary Bettman in the court of public opinion. The commish has a lot of work to do to regain the public trust.

First, he vehemently denied reports the Coyotes were under NHL control. That was a fib.

Then, he was willing to guarantee only one more year of hockey in Arizona, which can be taken as admission the team shouldn't be there in the first place.

Finally, he has taken an enormous beating from Canadian hockey fans.

Bettman worked hard to win them over after Winnipeg and Quebec City moved on his watch.

He fought for the Canadian Equalization Plan when the dollar was about four cents American, stabilized Ottawa and Edmonton's ownership situations and spun the lockout as insurance that small-market Canadian teams would be able to succeed. That's gone.

Right now, I'm not sure he could show up in a Canadian arena without Obama-esque security. Fans have loooooooooooooong memories.

Also, are there more teams in trouble? Florida, for example?

Loser: Jim Balsillie. He said he won't appeal, so it's a total defeat.

Prior to his hostile takeover attempt, there were some NHL governors wondering if it was time to let him into the club. Now there's zero support.

However, Balsillie is not someone who handles rejection well. We haven't heard the last of him. He'll spend the rest of his life trying to find a way to own a team.

Loser: Wayne Gretzky. I have posted a link to Larry Brooks' column from last Sunday's New York Post because I wish I had written it myself.

It isn't Balsillie's fault because his Make it Seven campaign was genius from a Canadian standpoint - but it turned this country's hockey fans against Gretzky. The Great One's loyalty to the NHL and his family was seen as traitorous by those who wanted the Coyotes in Hamilton. That's very unfortunate.

Bettman should get on a plane to Phoenix or Los Angeles or wherever Gretzky is right now and fix the relationship between the league and its greatest player.

Winner: Coyotes employees. Quite simply, the people who deserve to win.

They get to keep their jobs in this economic climate. That's a nice thing, considering the recession's clobbered Arizona's economy worse than most states and provinces.

Winner: Jerry Reinsdorf and/or the Ice Edge guys. Back in the game, if they want to be.

It would surprise no one if the NHL continued to work on a sale to one or both of them, even after they'd publicly announced a withdrawal. Now it's a mostly private sale instead of a very public one. That will definitely please Reinsdorf, who is the league's first choice.

Loser: Hamilton. A girl without a date at the prom. Again. How many times can this city get jerked around?

Winner: The Greater Toronto Area. An NHL expansion team is coming. It's a matter of when - and how much. But there will be a second team in the region in my lifetime. (I'm pushing 40).

Winners: Lawyers. I'd love to see the legal bills from this case.

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