NHL

BY WEB STAFF
sportsnet.ca

Gary Bettman will meet with representatives from Ice Edge Holdings, LLC on Monday in Chicago in yet another attempt by the group to buy the Phoenix Coyotes, sources told Sportsnet.

While Ice Edge feels a deal may be imminent, the NHL is taking a very cautious approach toward their bid. It's believed the new offer to buy the Coyotes from the league is in the range of US$130 million.

Ice Edge was one of the groups initially expected to bid in September's auction for the team, along with Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie and a separate bid from the NHL. But it pulled out a couple of days before the auction. Prior to Ice Edge withdrawing from the running for the team, it had said it would spend up to $150 million to buy the club.

The sale of the Coyotes to the NHL was eventually approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Redfield T. Baum in November. The league paid $140 million to acquire it from previous owner Jerry Moyes.

Once the NHL gained full control of the Coyotes, the plan was to flip the franchise to a new owner who intended to keep it in Glendale, Ariz. Ice Edge has said in the past it would be willing to keep the team in Arizona, provided a new lease arrangement with the city of Glendale could be worked out.