Another Suitor For Coyotes...???

((HT: GlobeSports/Naylor))
Add another name to the list... long, growing, or otherwise indicating an interest in the Phoenix Coyotes...

Montreal businessman Steve Stotland is leading a group of Phoenix-area investors who want to buy the NHL’s Coyotes and keep the team in Glendale.

Stotland, part of a group that looked into buying the Montreal Canadiens when they were up for sale in 2000 and again this year, said he began pursuing the Coyotes after the team emerged from bankruptcy court.

Stotland has a group called Camelback Hockey, and he thinks that with improvement on the ice and local ownership that the Desert Dogs can succeed there.

Bill Daly has stated publicly that Stotland does exist as an interested party, and both sides met in New York City last week.

"They will put stipulations which we will have to abide by,” Stotland said to the Globe and Mail. “We’re not in there for one year. We’re committed. But the financial agreements have to be reasonable because the NHL doesn’t want a local group to go through the same thing the last owner did. I want to show the NHL is viable in Glendale. [Jobing.com Arena] is one of the nicest facilities in the NHL. And if we start winning, with a local group in place, we just have to get the fans back.”

For a team that is set to lose US$50-million this year alone, there are a lot of people lining up for the right to own the squad. Those of us at OSG HQ are encouraged, but still think the team needs to go elsewhere for long-term success...