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PSE Sports and Entertainment, the company which represents Jim Balsillie's $212.5 million bid to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes and relocate the team to Hamilton, Ontario, issued a statement today regarding the NHL's position on Mr. Balsillie's ownership application.



"We do not think that Jim Balsillie's qualification to be an NHL owner is an issue in this case given his 2006 approval as an NHL owner," said PSE spokesman Bill Walker.

"We note that the bankruptcy court Judge Hon. Redfield T. Baum ruled in his June 15 decision that:

'Absent some showing by the NHL that there have been material changes in PSE's circumstances since 2006, it appears to the court that the NHL can not object or withhold its consent to PSE becoming the controlling owner of the Phoenix Coyotes.'

Walker noted that Judge Baum cited the legal precedent of Memorial Coliseum v. National Football League (known as the "Raiders" case) as showing that 'a right of approval or disapproval or a discretionary power... must be exercised within the parameters of the duty of good faith.'

"Presumably the onus will be on the NHL to demonstrate a material change in PSE's circumstances, although no such change was raised with us today," Walker said. "Beyond that we have confidence in, and respect for, Judge Baum and the legal process as this case unfolds."