SPORTSNET.CA

It appears that Jim Balsillie and Jerry Reinsdorf may have some company in their quest for the Phoenix Coyotes.

Canadian Daryl Jones, the man considered the quarterback of another group hoping to buy the Phoenix franchise, was scheduled to meet with NHL officials in New York on Thursday.

Jones is a 35-year old native of small town Bassano, Alberta who earned a hockey scholarship at Yale and has parlayed his degree into a successful corporate career in the U.S.

In a conversation with Sportsnet on Thursday, Jones didn't provide any details on the price-tag of the group's potential bid or the identity of the people he's working with, saying only that they are "recognizable" names from the business world. However, Jones does say the plan is to keep the team in Phoenix and that the group would be interested in retaining Wayne Gretzky as coach of the Coyotes.

Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes put the team into bankruptcy in May.

Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie has an offer on the table for US$212.5-million, but it is conditional on being able to move the team to Hamilton's Copps Coliseum.