Conflicting reports on Coyotes ownership front

Could we be nearing the end of the long ownership saga
surrounding the Phoenix Coyotes?

A report from Mike Sunnucks in the Phoenix Business
Journal indicates that the NHL is close to finalizing
a deal to sell the team to former San Jose Sharks
executive Greg Jamison that would keep the Coyotes in
Glendale.

Sunnucks writes:

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 has owned the team after purchasing it for $140
million during bankruptcy proceedings nearly three years
ago.

The league, however, is denying the sale of the
franchise is imminent.

NHL
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told a Seattle television
station that nothing is close to final.

“We are the owner of the team, and thus should know if and
when we have a deal to sell the team,” Daly said to KING 5
Tuesday.

Seattle has been rumored as a possible landing spot for
the Coyotes if a deal can’t be struck to keep them in the
Valley. A plan for a brand new
arena in Seattle was unveiled last week, although
construction couldn’t begin until the city could acquire a
franchise in both the NBA and the NHL.

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