On the heels of a great post at Puck Daddy on the Canadian media's obsession with the potential failure of the Phoenix Coyotes comes a report to be filed in a local magazine by long-time Buffalo beat writer Jim Kelley that the Buffalo Sabres are for sale. The Sabres have responded publicly (and immediately) to deny the allegation. From the Buffalo News:That story also claims that managing partner Larry Quinn has approached Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie as the prospective buyer.I'm not sure what to make of all this, but I can say that there is no love-loss between Quinn and Kelley and this article is sure to make things even less cordial in chilly Erie County.
"Tom is not shopping the team, and I have approached nobody," Quinn replied today, in a phone interview from the National Hockey League's Board of Governors meeting in Florida. "And I would never discuss selling this team to anyone who would move it."
The part I find almost sad is the speed with which the city of Hamilton, Ontario has jumped on this. Looking at the headlines on today's edition of the Sabresreport.com I see no less than four articles (here, here, here, and here) discussing the permutations and possibilities of the Sabres getting sold. We all know they are desperate for another NHL team, but there's little chance that even if Golisano did sell the team he wouldn't do so to anyone that would move it, especially when there are other franchises which would be easier and cheaper to move, and in more desperate financial straits *cough* Phoenix *cough* Florida *cough* than Buffalo.
Now, all of this may not amount to much, but Jim Kelley is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and has been covering the Sabres for more than 27 years. If he says Golisano is exploring options for a sale, then I'd be hard-pressed to call him a liar. But, at the same time, I wouldn't put it above him to not try and make things difficult for them in the process, especially given the nature of the downward spiral of the North American economy, both above and below the 49th parallel.
If Golisano was looking to sell I wouldn't blame him. The economics of the NHL are not sustainable, and contrary to everything our beloved Commissioner would tell you, there are not 30 stable franchises in this league. In the words of Mises Institute President, Lew Rockwell, "They don't call this a correction for nothing." All this talk of possible expansion to Kansas City or Las Vegas is nonsense. The NHL will contract before it expands, and if it does, the league will be stronger for it.
It's important as hockey fans to understand the nature of the creative destruction process that's happening all around us. The NHL does not operate in a vacuum immune to this tightening of credit and falling asset prices. In a depression, everyone's standard of living drops, including, believe it or not, professional athletes and their benefactors. How many financial institutions currently bellying up to the Fed's discount window have their corporate names attached to NHL arenas? Do you really think they'll be using that money to re-up or continue paying that fee?
As much as we Sabres fans hate to admit it, the team could stay in Buffalo with a salary-floor payroll and be about where they are now, fighting for a playoff spot and being a perennial feeder to the teams with deeper pockets. Such is the nature of the small market in tough financial times. It may be cold comfort, but it's better than having no team at all to root for.
Ta,
