Jim Balsillie's Coyote Bid Still Alive

As we go under 60 days until the start of the 2009-2010 NHL regular season, the Phoenix Coyotes' situation still is unresolved. It appears we are about a month away from getting to that point.

With an auction set for Sept. 10 to finally solve this quandary, the bankruptcy court judge overseeing the franchise's case has ordered Canadian Jim Balsillie's bid to be accepted into auction. Judge Redfield Baum ruled that all bids -- both to keep the franchise in Phoenix and to relocate it -- are to be accepted in auction.

Balsillie's bid for the Coyotes marked his third attempt to move an NHL team from the United States to Canada, specifically Hamilton, Ont. He was stonewalled by the NHL, who unanimously rejected his bid for the team, while approving one from Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

The team is still in limbo, awaiting the decision that comes from this auction next month. The league feels this development, while initially favorable for Balsillie, won't lead to a relocation.

"We remain confident that the successful bidder will be one who is committed to continuing to operate the Coyotes in Glendale for the long term," NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement. "We also remain confident that Mr. Balsillie's bid for the team will never be approved by the court for a variety of reasons, including that his application for ownership was overwhelmingly rejected by the NHL board of governors last week."

Obviously, the league hopes this is the case. Balsillie's bid has been soundly rejected by the NHL, despite being for more money than Reinsdorf. Former Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes has a vested interest as well, as he stands to make millions of dollars from a Balsillie purchase.

August is generally a down time for NHL teams, but there's no question the Coyotes will have more than a few distractions to deal with when they launch training camp in September.