Bettman Uses Winnipeg as a Pawn in His Nasty Fight With Balsillie.

You knew the word "Winnipeg" had to turn up at some point.

National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman, in his ugly court battle with RIM CEO Jim Balsillie, a wealthy entrepreneur who wants to move the Phoenix Coyotes to Hamilton, filed an affidavit with the court in Phoenix suggesting the NHL would rather have a American-based team move to Winnipeg than Southern Ontario.

The news arrived in Canada on TSN yesterday and not long after I received a telephone call from Winnipeg mayor, Sam Katz.

"What do you think of Mr. Bettman's proclamation?" the Mayor asked.

"I think it's disingenuous," I replied. "I think Bettman will use anything he can to win the war with Balsillie and make himself look good. I think he's said something to make it seem like he cares about the NHL in Canada, but he doesn't, and he's just being the same guy who lied about 'not being in control of the Coyotes' for six months when he actually was in control." 

Mayor Sam didn't seem happy.

"All this is going to do is cause more grief and unnecessary heartache," Katz said. "I think it would be great to have a team back, but we don't have anyone with deep enough pockets to buy the team and then operate it in Winnipeg. And until we find an owner, there is no sense talking about it."

The mayor, as usual, is absolutely right. We did have someone who was rich enough and smart enough to own a team, but Izzy Asper has passed on and that leaves no one.

Although some people would love to call the MTS Centre, "NHL-suitable," it's too small, the seats are too uncomfortable for the prices that would have to be charged, the press box is too small, there aren't enough suites, parking revenues are a problem and no one is sure about the value (if any) of television revenue or corporate support. The fans are there, nobody doubts that, but what price will they pay to sit in an undersized arena is anyone's guess.

An NHL team in Winnipeg would lose money, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. That's because it's very unlikely a team in Winnipeg would lose as much money as the teams are already losing in Florida, Atlanta, Tampa, Nashville, Long Island and Phoenix.

The return of the NHL to Winnipeg would be the right move by the NHL, but we all know the NHL isn't full of "right moves" (What the hell IS Versus and why is there a team in Fort Lauderdale?). 

In the meantime, it's pretty unfair to use this community as a pawn in an ongoing battle with an honest, well-meaning billionaire who wants to put a team in Hamilton.