((HT: The Star/Hunter))
If Jerry Reinsdorf is successful in his bid for the Phoenix Coyotes, he'll do something most NHL goalies never could pull off: shut out Wayne Gretzky.
Reinsdorf's offer to purchase the Coyotes, filed in bankruptcy court on Friday, excludes the acquisition of several employee contracts, including that of hockey's greatest all-time scorer.
The Great One has coached the team for the last four seasons.
Gretzky, who owns a small piece of the team with majority owner Jerry Moyes, signed an employment agreement in March 2008. It reportedly pays him $8 million (U.S.) a season.
So Gretzky faces two dramatically different fates if one of the suitors that wishes to keep the team in Phoenix is successful at a bankruptcy auction Aug. 5.
He'll either be on the unemployment line or heralded as a Coyote for life.
Another group of Canadian and American businessmen, known as Ice Edge Holdings, wants Gretzky to become a "major shareholder of the newly constituted Coyotes franchise."
In the group's "letter of intent" to purchase the team, which was also filed in bankruptcy court, the group states it intends to offer Gretzky a long-term coaching contract and use him more aggressively to court major corporate sponsorships.
1 comment:
Gretzky is a zero as coach; even less as a community outreach guy. He brings nada to the table. He takes a lot. If he's so great, why aren't other teams bidding on his "services?" Let the NHL hire him to do whatever.
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