NHLPA Should Fight Potential Coyotes Move, But Will It?

It seems like a song that will never end. The National Hockey League is trying everything to keep Jim Balsillie from buying the Phoenix Coyotes and shipping them to Canada. A hearing Wednesday in bankruptcy court decided nothing, and the league still doesn't know what will happen with the franchise. Since we're inside of a month before the regular season starts, you can understand why this is a bad thing.

Even though it appears to be diminishing by the day, the possibility that the Coyotes could move to Hamilton, Ont., for the upcoming season has not been totally dismissed. If it were to happen, the league surely wouldn't draw up new divisional alignments or a new schedule. They'd have to run with the one they already made, which will do most of the Pacific Division (including the Coyotes) absolutely no favors.

On the Forecheck broke it down by each team's mileage. There are some dramatic increases, especially within the division. The Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, and Coyotes would all see their estimated travel mileage for the season increase by more than 9,000 miles. Not only that, but there are some insane back-to-back dates that this hypothetical move would create.

Imagine playing a game on a Monday night in San Jose, then flying all the way to Hamilton, losing three hours because of the time change, and then lacing the skates up to play Vancouver on your "home" rink. All the teams in the Pacific Division, except for Dallas, have back-to-backs like this that would be seriously impacted by a Coyotes move.

Where is the union on this? The NHL Players Association has not issued any public statements on the topic. It's hard to imagine they would be fully supportive.

Said an involved NHLPA member and veteran on the defending Cup champion Penguins: "I don't know anyone who would go for that. Say you're a team in the East and you have a road trip of Kings, Coyotes and Sharks. That's a typical one. Are you suppose to fly to L.A., back east to Hamilton and then to San Jose? What if they're back-to-back? It's even worse for the teams in Phoenix's division. I can't take it seriously right now. It's hilarious. If it actually happens, only the Red Wings might find it funny. Those guys log a lot of miles."

On the other hand, FanHouse spoke to a member of the team impacted most by this, Phoenix. The player brought up a good point about how the union may look at this issue.

"I don't think you're going to see any Canadian players speak out publicly against the NHL going to Hamilton," he said. Remember, only six of the 30 NHL franchises are based in Canada, and Balsillie has done a lot of rallying, trying to get Canadian fans behind his bid for a seventh.

To be fair, Judge Redfield T. Baum did address this in court Wednesday, noting that the league had a point when they said travel, broadcast, and arena schedules made a move like this on such short notice tough. No ruling was issued, and Baum seems willing to take his time, as the franchise heads for auction next week.

The union would be smart to formally weigh in on the topic. They might not want to be seen as meddling in an ownership matter, but this situation affects a reasonable percentage of the membership. While it's reasonable to suggest the league has brought these concerns up in court, Baum isn't in a position to turn down the players' perspective on the case, especially when it could help him reach a conclusion.

While the enthusiasm in Canada may be great for a seventh franchise, the timing just isn't right anymore. Logistically, this would be too big of a headache for the players, and it's hard to imagine the union being outwardly in favor of the concept.

FanHouse's Christopher Botta contributed to this story.