New Hulsizer deal needs to get done for Coyotes, fans
Jun 10, 2011, 3:04 AM | Updated: 4:15 am
Matthew Hulsizer is sniffing around Jobing.com Arena again – thank goodness.
According to ESPN, the once-thwarted Hulsizer has given the city of Glendale a new proposal for the purchase of the Phoenix Coyotes.
This proposal would give the city more options for financing the deal and is more attractive than the deal Glendale previously agreed to, which is presumably still on the books.
The first deal never got a full head of steam thanks to the Goldwater Institute, a conservative group that threatened to sue over the sale of municipal bonds by the city that would help Hulsizer finance the purchase of the team.
Hopefully this new deal removes that fly in the ointment and lets them find publicity somewhere else, because this deal has to go through. For the organization, for the players, for the fans – this deal has to go through.
The Coyotes are entering a very important off-season and have less than a month to prepare for the unrestricted free agency market that opens on July 1. With their chief netminder headed to the home of the cheesesteak, the front office needs to get busy replacing him and several other players – mostly call-up AHL players from last year – to build a team strong enough to remain competitive.
With no other owner, the Coyotes will be forced to use NHL money again to negotiate contract deals. In the free agency market, money talks, but so does location. Plenty of NHL players would likely come to Phoenix, but no professional wants to sign for a team who may end up moving and is the perennial underdog, no matter what sport they play.
The sheer fact that Hulsizer is still around shows his passion for the team. Sure, he is expecting to make some money on a promising franchise eventually, but he’s young, loves the game and loves the Coyotes. The Chicago business man has showed up to games, met fans and dealt with the impossible NHL-Glendale-Goldwater triangle. Hulsizer is the final key for a team like the Coyotes to finally move from the shadows and into the spotlight.
The team is ready, the prospective owner is ready, the fans are ready. It’s now in the city of Glendale’s hands to end this saga once and for all and keep the Coyotes where they belong – in the desert.
