Goodbye, Coyotes

Well, it happened. Our worst fears have been confirmed. It would seem that the Coyotes are indeed going to be moving to Canada.

It's been well known for some time that the Coyote's current owner, Jerry Moyes, owner of the Swift Transportation Company, has been experiencing some financial difficulty. As early as two weeks ago however, it was assured that the Coyotes would not be expecting a move to Canada. That changed recently when Moyes filed for bankruptcy.

BlackBerry executive Jim Balsillie's PSE Sports & Entertainment LP, is the teams expected new owner, another investment group however, could outbid them as long as a new offer exceeds the current bid by at least $5 million. As a stipulation for purchasing the team, the Coyotes would in fact be moved to Ontario, Canada.

What does this mean for the City of Glendale? Well, if things progress this way, the outlook does not look promising. Glendale has already made some major financial concessions to the Coyotes including paying $180 million for the $220 million arena that opened in 2003. For the city's hefty investment, the team signed a 30-year agreement with an early-termination penalty of more than $700 million, unfortunately, the only thing that could nullify that penalty charge would be if Moyes played the bankruptcy card. And that's exactly what he's done.

Glendale, in a statement, said that the bankruptcy filing was an "unfortunate turn of events" and that the city will work to "ensure the public's interest is fully protected."

Is there any hope in sight for what seems to be a dead end for the Coyotes? Perhaps. Arizona hockey fans are scrambling to come up with viable suggestions to keep the Coyotes in the desert. The possibilities are small and the light at the end of the tunnel gets dimmer everyday but don't we at least have to try? The City of Glendale has already lost a lot of money in attempts to support our team, a move to Canada would mean an empty arena with no anchor and an enormous financial burden to an already down-trodden city.