Kukla's Korner Hockey
Getting Into the NHL Club—Times Have Changed
by Alanah McGinley on 06/12/09 at 02:37 PM ET
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From David Shoalts at the Globe & Mail:
It seems admittance to the private club that is the NHL, even for qualified applicants, depends on who is knocking at the door.
While BlackBerry tycoon Jim Balsillie still has not made it past doorman Gary Bettman, despite all of his legal pounding, two other owners were ushered in quickly in 1992 when they showed up practically unannounced. And the Disney Corporation was given a hero’s welcome even though it refused to pay an indemnification fee for buying the expansion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and operating them in the same territory as the Los Angeles Kings.
NHL commissioner Bettman and the league’s governors surprised the reporters covering the annual meetings in December, 1992 when they announced the league would expand by two teams for the 1993-94 season. Aside from Disney, the other new owner was Blockbuster Video chairman H. Wayne Huizenga, who was granted the Florida Panthers.
Both new owners paid the going rate for expansion teams at the time, $50-million (all currency U.S.). However, Disney chairman Michael Eisner refused to pay for the right to play inside another team’s territory as it was defined under NHL rules.
Related: more from David Shoalts on fees posted earlier today
Filed in: NHL Teams, Anaheim Ducks, Florida Panthers | KK Hockey | Permalink
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