Report: Coyotes sale getting closer

According to Pierre LeBrun of
ESPN.com, a sale that would keep
the Phoenix Coyotes in Glendale is getting closer to
completion.

LeBrun wrote Thursday night that Coyotes president and
chief operating officer Mike Nealy had positive news
concerning the potential deal that would end in former San
Jose Sharks executive Greg Jamison gaining control of the
team.

“I’m still in a situation where I believe it
is going to happen,” Nealy said. “A lot of this is in the
hands of the NHL, of course, as the owner and they are
working with the Jamison group. … Things are going well
with both Jamison and the City of Glendale because he has
to work out a deal with the city, the city has to have a
deal with him that the NHL is comfortable with, and I
think that’s getting there. The money has to be there, and
I think that is getting lined up, so we could be looking
in the near future.”

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly was also optimistic
according to LeBrun, but not as much as Nealy.

“We are continuing to work with Greg Jamison
and with the City of Glendale to move the process
forward,” Daly said via email. “We remain hopeful that we
can get a deal done, and we can move forward from there to
close the transaction and transition ownership locally.
Having said that, nothing is done yet, and no timeline for
completion has been established.”

The Coyotes are in their third season of being owned and
operated by the National Hockey League.

Phoenix currently leads their best-of-seven Western
Conference semifinal series against the Nashville
Predators two games to one.

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