Winnipeg’s NHL dreams dashed again

Hopes that Winnipeg could once again host an NHL team took yet another blow yesterday, as councillors in Glendale, Ariz. voted to cover the Phoenix Coyotes losses up to $25 million. The resolution means the team will stay put through the 2010-11 season, while councillors surprised observers with the revelation that the exurb remains in negotiations with two potential buyers of the team—Jerry Reinsdorf and Ice Edge Holdings. This contradicts earlier reports that both parties had thrown in the towel on purchasing the Coyotes. The news had raised optimism in Winnipeg that the club would be coming back to the city after heading south in 1995. The Coyotes are currently under league ownership. But the NHL is said to have an offer on the table backed by billionaire David Thomson that would see the team moved back to the ’Peg, where it was known as the Jets.

Arizona Central