The soap opera saga of the Phoenix Coyotes is over. After four years of being operated by the NHL, the sale of the team was formalized Monday.
A month ago, it appeared the Coyotes were on their way out of town—possibly to Seattle or Quebec City—but the team reached an agreement with the city of Glendale, Ariz. to keep them playing in the Jobing.com Arena.
One of the caveats of that deal was a completion of the sale to Renaissance Sports & Entertainment Group (RSEG), headed by George Gosbee and Anthony LeBlanc.
Now that it's happened, the team will remain in Glendale for at least the next five years. However, if the team is going to remain in the desert beyond the short term, the new ownership group is going to have to push the team hard to Phoenix-area fans.
The Coyotes have had varying degrees of success in the desert since they moved to Arizona prior to the 1996-97 season. Their best season came in 2011-12, when the Coyotes won two playoff rounds before they were beaten in the Western Conference Final by the Los Angeles Kings.
With the turmoil of ownership uncertainty ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Steve Silverman
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August 5th, 2013 by Steve Silverman Leave a reply »
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