Report: Arizona Coyotes deal ‘appears to be falling apart’

PHOENIX — If it’s a day that ends in “y,” ownership of the Arizona Coyotes must be in flux again.

A New York news outlet has reported that the deal to sell the hockey team to Philadelphia hedge-fund manager Andrew Barroway is breaking down and Barroway is ready to bolt.

The New York Post reported:

Remember how a few short weeks ago Andrew Barroway was on the verge of gaining majority control of the Coyotes, the news first reported by The Post?
Not so fast, for now comes word from a plugged-in source that the deal appears to be falling apart, with Barroway seemingly on the verge of backing out.

Slap Shots has been told the current ownership has directed GM Don Maloney to shed payroll … which would mean stripping the club with the league’s third-lowest payroll into a bare-bones operation.

Fox Sports Arizona said two team sources contradicted the story.

#Coyotes source on @NYP_Brooksie report: “That is completely inaccurate. IceArizona has never directed Don Maloney to shed payroll…”

— Craig Morgan (@cmorganfoxaz) December 6, 2014

#Coyotes source on @NYP_Brooksie report: “Barroway remains on the agenda for the upcoming NHL BOG meetings & the deal remains on track.”

— Craig Morgan (@cmorganfoxaz) December 6, 2014

Am told the budget #Coyotes GM Don Maloney received in June remains the one he is operating under today. No changes, no edicts from mgmt.

— Craig Morgan (@cmorganfoxaz) December 6, 2014

Barroway was set to buy 51 percent of the Coyotes for majority ownership. IceArizona would retain 49 percent. When the deal was announced in October, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman called it “good news.”

The NHL took over the team in 2009, when the Coyotes were going through bankruptcy proceedings.

Over a year ago, businessman Greg Jamison made a bid for the club but that sale fell through.

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