The Glendale City Counsel action last night was not really what anyone expected in the media leading up to the event. On Monday night it was reported that Ice Edge was the sole bidder and thet they were "pulling out" of negotiations if they couldn't get exclusive rights with the city.
Early in to the meeting, that was being watched nationwide over the internet, it was determined that all the hype about Ice Edge being the only group left was false information. The city revealed that COG was still negotiating with both Ice Edge as well as the Reinsdorf group.
Bill Daly spoke on behalf of the league and stated that they were confident a deal would be done. He indicated that the whole commitment by Glendale to a CFD was merely an insurance policy and that a new owner would be in place by the end of the summer.
It was interesting watching @coyoteshipcheck and @Yotesgurl speak on behalf of the fans on the computer.
In the end, the COG guaranteed the $25 million "insurance policy" to keep the team afloat while negotiations between the league and the two entities continued. This assures the Coyotes and their fans at least another year in Glendale
The CBC has video of Gary Bettman speaking during the meeting assuring them that the media frenzy was just that. Doom-sayer David Shoalts has the Toronto-centric view of the funding.
Pre-Meeting Coyotes Speculation...
Travis Hair had the pre-meeting round-up of opinions on the Coyote situation. Travis had specific instructions for the City Council crowd prior to the meeting.
J T Bourne has a thoughtful piece about the situation and the potential that Phoenix has if they could get a level playing field.
Could Winnipeg get their revenge against Gary Bettman? This post explores how it could happen.
Word is out that an early version of next season's NHL schedule has a Winnipeg option that would shift Colorado to the Pacific. Here's another angle from @TSNBobMcKenzie: I am not saying the Coyotes are going to Winnipeg. I am not saying they're not going to Winnipeg. But I am saying the NHL has more than one Winnipeg "contingency" schedule in place. Kansas City? Vegas? I am told their are multiple options and a schedule for each.
Shawn Gates plays Devils Advocate on the Phoenix dilemma.
Last Night's Playoff Game...
Game six of the series between Chicago and Vancouver was fairly anti-climatic as the Hawks easily won 5-1 to move to the Western Conference finals against the San Jose Sharks.
Coach Joel Quenneville looked like a genius when Troy Brouwer scored the openg goal to get the ball rolling. Brouwer had not played well in the playoffs but was re-inserted into the game six line-up after a few games off.
It was a disappointing year for Vancouver fans who did not get the goaltending they expected from Roberto Luongo in games played on home ice with the Hawks winning three games at GM Place.
Tonight's Playoff Action...
Tonight is a hockey fan's dream with a game seven and a game six lined up to decide the Eastern Conference finals. The only way it could be better would be if the start times were staggered more than an hour.
In the first game at 6:00 CDT Montreal will play at Pittsburgh in game seven action where the loser will go home. This should be a compelling game and if Montreal could score early to take the Pen's crowd out of it, then it will be very interesting.
An hour later, at 7:00 CDT, Boston will play the Flyers in Philadelphia. Many thought this series was over but the Flyers have won the last two elimination games to force the series back to their home ice to try to pus it to game seven. In Monday's 4-0 loss, the Bruins simply did not show up. It will be interesting to see how they respond tonight.
At the World Championships...
The United States is in big trouble as they face off against Finland this afternoon. A loss or an OTL along with a Germany win or OTL could send them to the relegation round. This would be a major blow to a US program that has been flying high in international competition in the past few months. Puck Daddy has more on the embarrassment of relegation.
On Tuesday, Russia continued to roll as they beat Kazakhstan 4-1 as Predator Denis Grebeshkov scored a goal. The Czechs were surprised by Norway in a 3-2 loss which was the first ever win over the Czechs in their history dating back to 1937. Slovalia beat Belarus 4-2 and Sweden beat France 3-2.
Today's schedule looks like this:
Denmark - Germany 9:15am
Italy - Latvia 9:15am
Finland - USA 1:15pm
Canada - Switzerland 1:00pm
In Pred Nation...
John Glennon has a new story on Preds defenseman prospect Jon Blum and the weight he has added over the past year. He also updates on the Memorial Cup and news that Gabriel Bourque was named the MVP of the QMJHL playoffs.
Jim Diamond has the low down on the Predator's draft position being determined as a result of tonight's Pittsburg-Montreal game seven. The Preds will pick either 18th or 19th.
The playoff rankings are out from TSN and several Pred prospects fared well. Ryan Ellis was 3rd in the OHL, Gabriel Bourque was 2nd in the QMJHL, Blake Geoffrion was 19th in the NCAA, Mark Dekanich was 11th in the AHL, and finally, everyone's favorite, Alexander Radulov is rated number one in the KHL.
On the NHL level, Cody Franson was also the sixth best rookie. Patric Hornqvist was number 20 on the Wing, Shea Weber was 12 on the defense, and Pekka Rinne was ninth in goal.
We missed this story from the Preds yesterday on the players in the World Championships. I was not aware that Antti Pihlstrom was playing for Finland.
Predators.com has a new interview with Barry Trotz where Tom Callahan sat down with the coach to review the past season. The interview is similar to the post-season presser but is a worth while watch.
Admirals Short Shifts looks back at Ben Eaves' retirement.
From Cincinnati the Pred's ECHL team lives for another day. From @cycward: CYCLONES WIN!!! 6-3.. best-of-7 series is now TIED 3-3.. GAME 7 WEDNESDAY NIGHT! USBank Arena 7:30pm
Around the NHL...
With the situation in Phoenix coming to a head, the NHL is denying that they are financially involved on the Island.
The Memorial Cup starts on Friday with Ryan Ellis and the Windsor Spitfires taking on the host Brandon Wheat Kings. The finals will be on Sunday, May 23.
Freddy Charles has a new look at Ten Signs that You are becoming a Hockey Addict.
Matt Reitz has a look at tonight's game seven between the Pens and Habs. It is a classic in the making. he also has his weekly look at next month's entry draft that he is hosting in LA.
Michelle Kenneth has a list of players to watch.
It appears that he Lightning are trying to nickel and dime themselves out of paying for post-season surgery to Stephane Veilleux. After a lot of negative pub, the Bolts decided to pay for the procedure. The NHLPA grievance has been put on hold nor now.
Intent to Blow has the story of Sami Salo's brass balls that prepped him for last night's game.
Odds and Ends...
Here is a fairly amazing video with a suggestion on how to remove the oil from the gulf. Sometimes folks overlook simple solutions.
From the baseball world one of my favorites is having his jersey retired in Atlanta, From @Braves: We're retiring Tom Glavine's #47 on August 6th before the game against the @SFGiants. Should be a great ceremony!
More Later...
Buddy Oakes for PredsOnTheGlass
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