One last off-ice melodrama still drags on amidst the Stanley Cup Conference Finals – the fate of the Phoenix Coyotes.

While we can’t help but root for Dudley and his horse, Horse, to rush in and save the day, we’re still concerned that poor Nell is falling for Snidely’s roguish charm, and may lose the ranch. Then Whiplash would move it back east to southern Ontario.

The Coyotes attempted to file bankruptcy without the NHL’s permission, ostensibly to clear the way for yet another visit from that potential bad boy team owner – Jim Balsille.

Yes, the CEO of Blackberry is still trying to buy an ailing NHL team and move it to Hamilton, Ontario. The team would share the Toronto Maple Leafs’, Buffalo Sabres’, and Ottowa Senators’ markets, possibly taking Canadian border fans from Detroit as well.

Oh, and hockey would be gone from Phoenix.

Like it would have been gone from Nashville and Pittsburgh had Inspector Fenwick not intervened.

What bothers me is that he doesn’t just want to own a team and roll with the big boys in the pro sports game. He specifically wants to put an NHL team only in Hamilton, and he doesn’t seem to care where it comes from. His motive is either intentional competition to the Leafs, Sabres, and Sens or the sheer vanity of owning his nation’s game in his own backyard.

Isn’t it like 100 miles or so from Hamilton to Toronto? Buffalo seems pretty close, too, and then there’s the TV issues. With 3 eastern region teams to cover on CBC, someone’s going to be left out many nights.

And, of course, there’s the question of conference re-alignment. Does the Hamilton team stay in the West? Who jumps over to the Pacific to even it out? Or do they go to the East, and then what?

And what about Winnipeg, where they came from? Isn’t there any interest in bringing them back? Don’t those people have to go all the way to Calgary for games? When such large areas of Canada, including Newfoundland and the Islands, are unrepresented, what is the motivation to put a team in an area with 4 others?

I’m a Red Wing fan from Detroit living in Las Vegas, and I’ll lose a drivable NHL team if Balsille wins. But I’d gladly sacrifice it for Winnipeg. I’d still have LA in driving distance.

I’m guessing these are some of the things coming up in these negotiations. A person like Balsille could make the Coyotes work profitably just where they are, or back in Winnipeg. I have a feeling his refusal to consider this is part of the holdup.

His claim that there is an arena deal in place and more than enough fans to fill the seats even with the other teams is not unreasonable or even outlandish. We’re talking Ontario, so, yeah, there’s likely enough demand. But, with so much competition in such a small area, those assertions don’t immediately outweigh all the other factors. Ontario has hockey – with or without Balsille.

So, what about markets that don’t have it or won’t anymore if Balsille wins? What are they – chopped octopus?

If the Coyotes are sold, who knows where they would go? Winnipeg? Kansas City? Portland? Boise? Grand Forks, North Dakota? Salt Lake City Olympic Arena? There is even a rumor here about TV magnate Jerry Bruckheimer bringing the Coyotes to a Las Vegas arena that Bally’s is building.

In any case, the NHL is unlikely to approve a move to a glutted market. Large numbers of northeastern transplants live in the southwest US, and they still want hockey, though not necessarily at New York prices. Winnipeg and Phoenix share that mid-price level status. Especially under these current economic conditions, owners have to be willing to take
less at the door in return for filling the seats. This was the solution for the Jets, still untried even now as the Coyotes. It’s not the market that’s causing the problem.

Considering the cause of the team’s problem is paramount. Phoenix is not a bad hockey market, but the media in the southwest really doesn’t give hockey it’s due, and a good, well-known owner like Balsille pouring some promo cash into the Coyotes could turn that whole market around in a season. This was also never tried in Winnipeg. An owner like this
could probably have made that work, too.

Then there’s the basic issue – what makes a franchise movable? Just because the owner wants to? Because the profit margin is too low? Because they don’t want to spend money on development or promotion? Or should you just look at attendance factors?

Oh, wait – then the Islanders would have to move.

Hamilton would be fine.

May the best billionaire win.