Judge rejects Balsillie and NHL bids for Coyotes

The National Hockey League and Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie have both lost – at least for now.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Redfield T. Baum on Wednesday rejected both parties’ bids to buy the beleaguered NHL franchise, which has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since May.

“In hockey parlance, the court is passing the puck to the NHL, who can decide to take another shot at the sale net or it can pass off the puck,” Baum wrote in his 30-page ruling.

The judge shot down the bid from Balsillie outright. The co-CEO of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion wants to buy the Coyotes and move them to Hamilton, but Baum ruled that Balsillie’s bid could not be successful because it doesn’t meet the NHL’s rules about relocating a franchise.

“The court cannot find or conclude that the interests of the NHL can be adequately protected if the Coyotes are moved to Hamilton without first having a final decision regarding the claimed rights of the NHL and the claims of the debtors and (Balsillie),” Baum wrote.

Baum rejected the NHL’s bid because he said it gives the league the power to determine which creditors will be paid in full. He wrote that with a revised bid, the NHL could become the team’s owner, saying the NHL can “cure the defects in its bid if it elects to make the required amendments.”

In May, Balsillie put in a $212.5-million US offer to buy the Coyotes after current owner Jerry Moyes put the team into bankruptcy protection.

The NHL has vehemently opposed Balsillie’s bid and entered its own $140-million bid when other suitors dropped out of the bidding process.