All eyes are on Judge Redfield T. Baum. Who will he side with: the NHL or Balsillie? On the one hand you have a money losing location on the other you have a hockey mad buyer with cash in hand. If you stay in Phoenix you will guarantee many more years of financial loss. If the team is moved to a potentially better location it’s still a coin flip whether the franchise will be profitable. Attached to that will be lawsuits over a broken lease agreement and other financial obligations to Phoenix. Who’s interests will weigh more importantly? Creditors? The NHL? The bidders? It most certainly won’t be in the best interest of hockey fans.

It’s interesting how easily the Winnipeg Jets franchise was moved down to the U.S. but when the occasion arises to move a team from the U.S. to Canada, all sorts of barriers appear. The NHL is clearly against Canada and however they sure love our money. The NHL cannot exist financially without Canada but it just doesn’t seem to be in the cards that another franchise will appear in Canada in the near future. Maybe we should all become soccer fans.