((HT: GlobeSports/CP))Jim Balsillie has fired back at the NHL and its claim that his attempt to buy the Phoenix Coyotes is a "sham."
The Canadian billionaire says whatever the league's legal arguments are over who actually controls the team right now — as far as he's concerned, the Coyotes remain bankrupt.
"Who owns or controls the team is a distinction without a difference," Balsillie said in a statement Thursday. "The team itself is still bankrupt, voluntarily or not. The owner of the team has a fiduciary obligation towards the creditors."
The NHL claims that Coyotes majority owner Jerry Moyes gave up the right to place the team into bankruptcy when he received financing from the league last year. The league also contends that Moyes has no right to complete a sale conditional on a move to Southern Ontario because that territory belongs to the league.
"Any bid for the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes solely for relocation to Ontario is a sham and should be rejected by this court," the league said in a motion.
Among the other claims the NHL makes in court documents are that Moyes has not complied with all of the rules and procedures he agreed to when he purchased the Coyotes and that there isn't enough time for the franchise to be moved before next season.
The parties will be in a Phoenix courtroom for a bankruptcy hearing next Tuesday.
Balsillie, the co-CEO of Research in Motion, has offered US$212.5 million to purchase the Coyotes. On Thursday, he said that his offer — which is conditional on moving the team to souther Ontario — goes the furthest in "satisfying creditors' claims."
He has twice tried and failed to buy an NHL team (Pittsburgh and Nashville) and move it to southern Ontario. Balsillie reiterated Thursday why he remains motivated to try again.
"At the end of the day, this is about the passion Canadians feel for the game of hockey and a chance to provide those fans with the opportunity to support a seventh NHL team," said Balsillie.
"That's what this is all about, great hockey fans in a great hockey market."
Coverage from CHCH-TV in Hamilton is in black...
GlobeSports Coverage continues with Eric Duhatschek and Jeff Blair
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