Is the NHL Losing Fight Against Balsillie?

On Wednesday, the presiding judge in the bankruptcy case of the Phoenix Coyotes stated that all bids would be reviewed for the auction that is set to take place on Sept. 10. That ruling allows Gary Bettman's mortal enemy ... err ... I mean, Jim Balsillie a shot at owning the team.

Despite a unanimous, dark, backroom vote of no confidence in Balsillie by the league last week and numerous statements against his potential ownership, the NHL is fighting a battle that it cannot control the outcome of. No matter how they want to spin it, the league is fighting an uphill battle against the billionaire and the court whose service is to the team's creditors and not the NHL.

The Coyotes moved to Phoenix after the 1995-96 season and have proven a failed experiment of the NHL's move to sunnier, southern climates. It's a failed experiment that the NHL is refusing to acknowledge exists at all costs. It's like some kind of cover-up that is past the point where anything is being covered up. It's really quite absurd.

The Phoenix Experiement did not work.

Nothing against the passionate Coyotes fans out there -- and they are out there -- but certain markets cannot support certain professional sports. The team did not post profit in a single year since it relocated to the desert. There's no reason to keep it there unless the city is willing to make concessions and foot the bill, but that would only serve to anger local citizens. Some of those citizens are already fighting back as a preventative measure to keep the city from making concessions.

And then there is the party that needs to be served first and foremost -- the Coyotes' creditors. The largest of them has requested -- and here's a shocker -- to be paid in cash and in full. In the NHL's bizarro world, where the owners get to decide who becomes part of their club, they can exclude Balsillie if they so please. That's what happened in Nashville. But in the real world that the bankruptcy court operates in, the court will decide who is best suited to hand the failed company over to. And there's not much the NHL can do if they don't like it. Sure, they can fight the decision in the court system for a while if they please through costly legal battles, but is it worth it? And in a similar way, if the court doesn't find in favor of Balsillie, he may be able to explore a legal case against the NHL.

They're not hiding any secrets from anyone anymore. The Phoenix Experiment has failed. Why the NHL wants to stay and continue to sell a failing product is beyond me. Unless Jerry Reinsdorf or another bidder comes closer to matching Balsillie's bid, this could be an open and shut case -- at least it is for me. Let's see here. Give it to Reinsdorf, who would keep the team in Phoenix but has all kinds of demands for the city, or give it to Balsillie, who would move the team but would solve all problems with the creditors, thus wrapping up the case neatly and quickly?

Unless the court decides that keeping the team in Phoenix is of the highest priority, may be skating against the Hamilton Coyotes sooner rather than later.