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Father of PHX AGM Brad Treliving involved in keeping Coyotes in Glendale?
3:59 PM - 10 Apr 12
On TV last week I was asked about the future of the# NHL Coyotes This exchange has led 2 some questions about my interest in buying the team
3:59 PM - 10 Apr 12
I want to be clear that I am not currently involved in any plan to buy the Coyotes and I do not have any information about their future.
This is exactly how I interpreted the interview. Strombo asked him for his opinion and he gave it. He never intimated that he had any inside knowledge nor that he was interested in purchasing the Coyotes. He is clearly very proud of his son, and very much engaged in the enjoyment of hockey. It also seemed to me that he was amused by the suggestion that he might purchase the team, but all of that is in the eye of the beholder.
First of all, this is likely just another rumour sparked by an offhanded comment, just like all the others.
That said, I can see this move being made if there is any truth to it. As has been previously stated, Jim Treliving’s son is the Assistant General Manager of the Phoenix Coyotes, and Jim Treliving has some business interests in Phoenix (2 Boston Pizza franchises, plus who knows what else). Between them, presumably he has access to a wealth of insider information on the situation. What he doesn’t know, he can find out.
W. Brett Wilson was a member of Dragon’s Den for three years with Jim Treliving, leaving last year. He bought a stake in the Nashville Predators. That means that Jim Treliving is well acquainted with at least one current NHL owner. I would imagine he knows many more, but perhaps he trusts Wilson’s views more than most. The Predators, you will remember, were in a similar situation to the Coyotes a few years ago, when Jim Balsillie tried to buy the club and move them to Hamilton.
So, if he does pursue this, he’ll know exactly what he’s getting into, and presumably he’ll have access to information on how another club got out of this situation. But more than that, the Coyotes have been looking for an owner for three years. If he wants the club, and intends to keep them in Phoenix, he could buy them for a sweetheart deal. The City of Glendale and the National Hockey League have never been more vulnerable in this deal than now. The NHL wants to keep the team there, and this has the potential, if done right, which I imagine Jim Treliving would do, to be a financial gain for him. And even if it’s not, it’s a tax write off. You would also assume that he would have some kind of exit strategy firmly in place before he took the keys. This is a can’t lose proposition for him. Even if he takes a bath, he has an asset that he can sell to Quebec, Seattle, or wherever he wants, and he’ll have saved money in taxes for as long as he owned the club at a loss.
Not rooting for the guy but from the article, this is interesting:
Quote:
At least one of the other groups is from Canada, and multiple sources familiar with the Coyotes situation said Treliving is playing some role in one of those efforts.
Treliving is one of the owners of the Boston’s Pizza chain of restaurants. He’s also chairman of Global Entertainment Corp ., which moved its offices into shared space with the Coyotes in Glendale late last year.
First of all, this is likely just another rumour sparked by an offhanded comment, just like all the others.
That said, I can see this move being made if there is any truth to it. As has been previously stated, Jim Treliving’s son is the Assistant General Manager of the Phoenix Coyotes, and Jim Treliving has some business interests in Phoenix (2 Boston Pizza franchises, plus who knows what else). Between them, presumably he has access to a wealth of insider information on the situation. What he doesn’t know, he can find out.
W. Brett Wilson was a member of Dragon’s Den for three years with Jim Treliving, leaving last year. He bought a stake in the Nashville Predators. That means that Jim Treliving is well acquainted with at least one current NHL owner. I would imagine he knows many more, but perhaps he trusts Wilson’s views more than most. The Predators, you will remember, were in a similar situation to the Coyotes a few years ago, when Jim Balsillie tried to buy the club and move them to Hamilton.
So, if he does pursue this, he’ll know exactly what he’s getting into, and presumably he’ll have access to information on how another club got out of this situation. But more than that, the Coyotes have been looking for an owner for three years. If he wants the club, and intends to keep them in Phoenix, he could buy them for a sweetheart deal. The City of Glendale and the National Hockey League have never been more vulnerable in this deal than now. The NHL wants to keep the team there, and this has the potential, if done right, which I imagine Jim Treliving would do, to be a financial gain for him. And even if it’s not, it’s a tax write off. You would also assume that he would have some kind of exit strategy firmly in place before he took the keys. This is a can’t lose proposition for him. Even if he takes a bath, he has an asset that he can sell to Quebec, Seattle, or wherever he wants, and he’ll have saved money in taxes for as long as he owned the club at a loss.
Maybe Treliving should approach this as a "Dragon's Den" proposition. Work out a very attractive lease agreement with the COG and offer the NHL fair market value to keep the team in Glendale ($100-110 million). Go public with the plan, and then let the NHL squirm. Say what you will about this just being "business", it would be a black mark against the NHL if they were seen as being the culprits by selling the team for relocation when a reasonable offer was on the table to keep the team in the Phoenix market.
As soon as I saw "sources close to the Coyotes" or "sources familiar with the situation", I knew it was a Sunnucks article.
I then proceeded to ignore it completely.
I do like Sunnucks but I did go out of my way to send an email to Lisa Halverstadt yesterday thanking her for listing all of her sources in her articles.
If he wants the club, and intends to keep them in Phoenix, he could buy them for a sweetheart deal. The City of Glendale and the National Hockey League have never been more vulnerable in this deal than now. The NHL wants to keep the team there . . .
If he gets the NHL to sell at a reasonable price, that would be terrific.
Are there any signs that might actually happen? None that I'm aware of.
The most recent statement from the NHL with respect to price is that there are "interested parties" and "price is not an issue."
If Jim Treliving were buying anything, I'd bet you dollars to donuts that price would be an issue. Especially if it were a $170MM thing.
Why would Treliving invest in the Coyotes? It goes completely against his investment history. It's a ridiculous fantasy.
FYI he's been a Canucks' fan since the 70's.
It's funny how HFBoards thinks they know how Treliving wants to use his money more than he does.
Jeff Vinik is a Boston fan that loses money on the Lightning, yet that isn't stopping him from owning the team, and even putting ridiculous amounts of money into an arena he doesn't even own.
Sports teams are hobbies, not "investment opportunities".
Soooo... Sunnucks should maybe put BoH boards as a co-writer on his stories then?
