Ownership Uncertainty For Stars and Coyotes

The Pacific Division could be seeing a major shakeup in the coming seasons, but for this season, all eyes and ears will focus on which big-time guys will step up and decide to take ownership of two poorly-driven franchise: Dallas Stars and Phoenix Coyotes.

Both of these teams are pretty much situated in a desert, which is definitely not the ideal place for hockey in my mind. It kind of begs the question about why the NHL would want to place them there in the first place, but that is not my problem.

Dallas GM Joe Nieuwendyk is sure that a new owner will be in place by the time Christmas comes around. Well, okay, but first you gotta find somebody who is willing to take a once-good team with no Brad Richards anymore and turn them back into a championship-winning team and that might take a while. I realize that the Stars have won a Stanley Cup and that might've helped their chances of staying in Texas a lot longer and it did. But right now, this is somewhat of a sinking team who is trying to get the players it needs in order to make a run. Right now, what they need to do is find a way to get some good wins against proud teams and hopefully drive owners to them. With all of the improved teams this season and the Stars somehow making more of a mess then they did a year ago by getting rid of Mike Modano (who was signed to a one-day contract by the Stars), it'll make it harder for the Stars to actually compete this year. I'm sorry, but if they want to compete, they gotta have more than guys than just Jamie Benn and newest addition Michael Ryder, and they can't afford to have Brad Richards back.

Now, let's move on to the other team in the division who has been dealing with ownership issues for almost three years now: the Phoenix Coyotes. Although it is owned by the NHL now, they'll eventually have to sell it off to an owner willing to have them, even if it means moving them to a different city, like Quebec City or Thunder Bay, Ontario. Gary Bettman will not be able to hold on to the Coyotes staying in Phoenix much longer if he can't find a suitable owner willing to take a chance on a team that has somewhat underachieved in the past few seasons. Matthew Hulsizer has already backed out, and if another owner tries to come in, he could also back out of the deal as well. There is almost NOBODY who wants to take a chance on a team that has made the playoffs their past two seasons, but can't seem to get past the first round. I will say this for Coyotes fans, it'll be hard to keep seeing them in Arizona any longer. One more season could do it for them, unless they find an owner who will turn this under performing team around.

Question marks will show up in Phoenix and Dallas in the coming months of the regular season. Whether or not they stay in their respective cities is completely up-in-the-air. It could be possible they both bolt for Canada, the Northwest, or maybe even Las Vegas. I don't know what's going to happen, puckheads, but fans are biting their nails in the desert cities.