Stars Get Gagliardi As New Owner, Probably...

The Dallas Stars have signed an agreement to sell the team to Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi and have filed a prepackaged bankruptcy plan to help facilitate the transaction.

The Stars said Thursday that the deal is subject to a court-approved auction and NHL approval. The other team once owned by Tom Hicks, the Texas Rangers, pulled the same track to expedite the sale of the baseball team when Hicks declared the same financial fate with them...

"Today's filing culminates months of cooperative effort by the League, the Club, the Club's lenders and Dallas Arena LLC," said NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. "It represents an extremely positive step toward what we expect will be an orderly transition to new ownership for the Dallas Stars."

Gagliardi has tried to get the Stars before, but it hasn't worked out until now. He's a co-owner of the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League and is big in the hotel and restaurant industry in Canada.

A court hearing is scheduled for Monday, when the Stars are expected to present customary motions for court approval.

George Riba of WFAA-TV says his sources are calling the Gagliardi bid a "stalking horse bid."

From Riba...

That means any individual who wishes to get involved in the bidding must up Gaglardi's bid for the team by at least $10 million. The source said Gaglardi's agreement would allow him to buy the team for around $230 million from the Hicks Sports Group, which defaulted on loans in 2009.

More when we know more...

Gagliardi Meets in Hamilton Monday About Thrashers

((HT: The Hamilton Spectator/Peters and Powell))

A Vancouver-based hockey group is interested in relocating the financially troubled Atlanta Thrashers to Hamilton, The Spectator has learned.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger is expected to meet with the second hockey group on Monday.
Eisenberger wouldn't disclose any details of the second group, believed to be led by Vancouver developer Tom Gaglardi, or when the meeting would take place.

But an inside hockey source told The Spectator that Gaglardi is interested in moving the Thrashers to Hamilton, possibly in time for the 2010 season.

Gaglardi heads River City Hockey Inc., a group including NHL stars Jerome Iginla, Mark Recchi, Shane Doan and Darryl Sydor, which purchased the Kamloops Blazers of the Western Hockey League in 2007.

A source confirmed this week that Gaglardi, president of Northland Properties, the parent company of Sandman Hotels, is the key principal in the second hockey group interested in Hamilton. Gaglardi failed in his bid to buy the Vancouver Canucks five years ago.

Hamilton is suddenly a hot property for people looking at the possibility that some financially troubled NHL teams may be looking to relocate.

Gaglardi's group is Steeltown's second NHL suitor. There are now rumours of as many as five groups looking at Hamilton and Copps Coliseum for an NHL team.

City staff are already working on a proposed lease of Copps Coliseum to Waterloo billionaire Jim Balsillie, who hopes to buy and relocate the Phoenix Coyotes to the city for the 2009 season.
Balsillie, who has made a $212.5-million US offer for the bankrupt Coyotes, is battling the NHL for control of the franchise. That battle is being waged in a Phoenix courtroom.

Gaglardi has business ties to fellow Vancouver developer Nelson Skalbania, the former owner of the Edmonton Oilers, who was the driving force behind the relocation of the former Atlanta Flames to Calgary. It is unclear whether Skalbania is involved in the possible second relocation of an Atlanta hockey club north of the border.

One source said the Atlanta move to Hamilton would be permanent.
Gaglardi was unavailable for comment yesterday.

One source revealed that Gaglardi will argue his proposal has more NHL governor support than Balsillie's, which could be a convincing selling point for Hamilton politicians.

Eisenberger told The Spectator yesterday he expects by Tuesday the city should have a "clear picture" of its NHL strategy. That is just one day before a May 13 deadline for sealing a deal to lock up Copps Coliseum requested by Balsillie.

"By next Tuesday we will have a clearer picture of where we are. We're in the middle of discussions with Mr. Balsillie and his group and I will be meeting with the second group. We need to understand their intentions. It's fair to say I will be talking to that second group," Eisenberger said.

The mayor raised some eyebrows this week, however, when he refused to commit to a Balsillie request to have the lease approved by city council by May 13.

"They do have a deadline in mind. I'm not prepared to share with you what it is but they did indicate that end of June is when they expect the court proceeding to wrap up," he said.

But Balsillie spokesperson Bill Walker said his client's representative told the mayor in a Thursday meeting that his client wants a lease pact in place by May 13.

Balsillie is said to be quite upset that Hamilton is considering a second NHL relocation proposal.
There could be conflict next week. Hamilton Councillor Terry Whitehead will convene a meeting Monday morning of the city's NHL subcommittee to hear details from city staff about the proposed lease. Whitehead added the subcommittee may even ask for a Balsillie representative to appear before the group before a lease recommendation heads to city council for final approval.

How that plays with Eisenberger, who has stated publicly that he is the only Hamilton council member who can speak publicly about the Hamilton's NHL pursuits, is unclear.

A well-placed source in the business community, speaking on condition he not be named, said the frenzied climate around NHL hockey, Hamilton, Toronto and Vaughan has made it impossible to separate legitimate bids from possibilities and mere rumours.

He described five scenarios that continue to crop up in conversations, though he emphasized there is no way to know how solid some of them are, especially with many of the potential players simply testing the market before making commitments.

"I don't know what's real and not real," the source said.

Here are five scenarios circulating, in descending order of certainty:
* Jim Balsillie's well-publicized and confirmed bid for the Phoenix Coyotes.
* Property developer Tom Gaglardi leading a group from Vancouver that is coming to Hamilton this weekend in preparation for a Monday meeting with city officials about moving an existing NHL team other than Phoenix to Hamilton.
* A Toronto group offering to pay cash to establish a new NHL franchise in southern Ontario, possibly Vaughan or Hamilton.
* A Toronto group that wants to buy another troubled NHL franchise and move it to Vaughan, possibly setting up temporarily in Hamilton before moving to a new arena there.
* A third Toronto group that would buy and move a team to somewhere in southern Ontario.

Gagliardi and The Coyotes

((HT: National Post via Howard Bloom))

Apparently, it has been confirmed that some members of the Hamilton, Ontario city council prefer the idea of a bid fronted by Vancouver-based businessman Tom Gagliardi in bringing a franchise- Coyotes or otherwise- to Copps Coliseum.

Gagliardi has been in contact with the NHL offices in New York City over the past few days.

Gagliardi, a prominent hotel industry executive, was involved in the attempted purchase of the Vancouver Canucks from John McCaw in 2004 and 2005, but was booted from the ownership partnership by current owner Francesco Aquilini.

SBN and Howard Bloom have confirmed independently to OSG Sports that Gagliardi has the money to put a bid together for the Coyotes and move them to Hamilton as well as the Balsillie group.

OSG Sources Split on Coyotes Future in Canada

Those of us at OSG HQ unofficially polled our sources that work the hockey beat for some insight on the whole Coyotes-to-Hamilton idea...

They're split on what will work best... and what will work...

Ideas range from the Balsillie franchise being the tertiary ((that's "third," kids)) tenant in the ACC- and that being the best idea over time ((albeit very difficult to pull off for the 2nd NHL franchise))- to having the team start at the ACC while Copps Coliseum is being retrofitted... to being in Copps from the absolute beginning.

News coverage on OSG Sports from our friends at CHCH-TV in Hamilton gives the impression that Copps, as is, is ready to go.

As far as the Balsillie-Bettman relationship goes, one of our sources close to the situation thinks it's silly for The Bettman to hold a grudge against someone that has plenty of money and passion for the sport. But we figure it'll be a fight to the death...

NHL UPDATE: via Howard Bloom/Twitter late Thursday night

It looks like Vancouver businessman Tom Gagliardi is interested in buying the Coyotes and moving them to Hamilton as well. Gagliardi made a play for the Canucks once before.

Gagliardi is bump-drafting off Balsillie and trying to give the NHL another, less combative, option as an owner. You'll remember Gagliardi was one of the guys embroiled in the whole Aquilini/McCaw showdown for the Canucks in 2005.