The Florida Panthers may abandon their efforts to take control of the Rochester Americans (N.Y.) team next season due to the AHL club’s cash flow problems.  The minor league team’s inability to make affiliation payments to the Panthers and the Buffalo Sabres, both of whom provide players to Rochester (for a fee of approximately $18,000 per player per season; about half the league average), along with other debt issues, has forced Florida to seriously consider whether continued AHL affiliation with the New York team makes fiscal sense.

As reported by George Richards in the Miami Herald, the Panthers are rumored to be in line to assume control of the Rochester franchise, from Buffalo, beginning with the 2008/09 season.  The minor league team (roughly analogous to the “Triple A” level in baseball) has been part of the Sabre family for 29 years, but Buffalo may be moving on to adopt the AHL team in Portland, Maine, instead. 

Should the Panthers pass on Rochester, it is possible that they will not place any players in the AHL next year, instead opting to put their young talent with the Florida Everblades of the ‘Double A’ East Coast Hockey League (ECHL).  The ECHL has traditionally displayed a slower, more physical style of play, but that is changing according to Panthers’ scout Jack Birch.  “There are nights where teams in the ECHL are very comparable to the AHL.  Some teams are run better than others. Our players wouldn't notice the difference with the Everblades. They run a great organization. There are some weak teams in the league, but most nights that I've been there it's pretty good. It's not a fight league anymore.''

Florida has not yet formally contacted the ECHL affiliate about the possibility of making the Everblades the prime repository for the Panther’s minor league stars, but the process should not require much time once all agree.

Bill Johnson is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network

ESPN is reporting that the NHL is seriously considering hosting an outdoor game at Yankee Stadium during the 2008/2009 hockey season.  Consistent with earlier reports that league commissioner Gary Bettman is also considering Wrigley Field for the game, the latest report corroborates the notion that, regardless of venue and location, the NHL intends to hold another outdoor game like the one on New Year’s Day 2008.

If the game is held at Wrigley Field in Chicago, the Blackhawks will be the home team, whereas if it is held at Yankee Stadium the Rangers would fill the role of host. 

 Said Bill Daly, deputy commissioner of the NHL, "It's something we've spoken both to the Yankees and to the city about, but it's not a done deal. There are still other possibilities and a lot of moving pieces."

With a new stadium looming in the future for the Yankee organization, there would be little harm in subjecting the field to the stress induced by a hockey game.  Should the baseball franchise agree, and if the Blackhawks can be mollified after the earlier reports, the Bronx could play host to a frozen holiday game next season.  The Rangers’ adversary for the game has obviously not been determined, but given Boston’s recent success in the House That Ruth Built, it probably won’t be the Bruins. Any Bruins game would most likely come next year. As reported by Newsday:

In fact, Newsday has learned, because the Red Sox have been lobbying heavily for a Bruins-Rangers game at Fenway Park, one plan on the table would be to have the Rangers and Bruins play Jan. 1 in the Bronx and then the following year in Boston. The Islanders, however, are lobbying hard that they be included in the local plans. 

Bill Johnson is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network

The commissioner was careful to not commit to conducting the game in Chicago, as cities like New York, Toronto, Montreal, Boston, and others, are also interested, but he did allow that, “As we do these games in the future, obviously, Chicago will make a lot of sense.” The NHL wants to generate as much interest in these quirky, ‘old school’ matchups as possible, while not over-exposing them and risking ambivalence among the casual fans.

Why Wrigley? The stadium was the last in Major League Baseball to play at night, but could be the first to play host to the NHL if Blackhawks team president (and former Chicago Cubs president) John McDonough has his way:

"I had strong relationships with the Cubs for 25 years. Their ownership group and their organization are aware of our interest. We'll see where it goes. If we're fortunate enough to secure the game, we'll find out."

The major ‘sentimental’ obstacle to a Wrigley hockey game could come from New York. All of the benefits of hosting an outdoor game in a baseball venue (sightlines, lack of competing use during the winter, historic tradition, etc.) could also be realized at Yankee Stadium, which is slated to be demolished and replaced with a new park. All things considered, though, it is the number 71, as in “71,217” that will drive the NHL outdoors in the future.

Bill Johnson is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network

The winding road to ownership of the Tampa Bay Lightning may have yet another traveler, as former NHL center Len Barrie is rumored to be in discussion with Oren Koules about joining the ‘OK Hockey Group’ in their bid to purchase the franchise.

Barrie - the hockey player - scored only nineteen goals in an NHL career that spanned the years1989-2001, and included stints in the WHL, the minor league AHL and IHL, and Europe.  Barrie - the land developer - may be on the verge of making a much more significant mark in the league as potential part-owner of the Tampa Bay LIGHTNING.  Brian Milner reported that Barrie met with Koules this week, although neither specifically commented about the substance of the conversation. 

Said Barrie, "My name always pops up because I said the dream some day would be to own an NHL team.  I definitely would love to look at it, but to say that I'm part of the group is premature."

Koules’ ‘OK Hockey Group’, which includes California banker Russell Belinsky among others, bid $206-million (USD) to Lightning owner William Davidson for the team, the arena, and more than five acres around the facility earlier this month.  The bid will expire after 105 days (May 29) unless all the financial wickets are cleared, but that has not been easy.  Koules, a movie producer, originally made a bid for the team in August 2007 as part of Absolute Hockey Enterprises, but that deal imploded for a variety of reasons.  Koules then established ‘OK’ and made the current offer with a new set of investment partners, but the previously assured loan agreement was scuttled when the bank, Societe Generale of France (rocked by its own internal scandal), withdrew.

Enter Barrie.  Rumored to be part of the failed ownership attempt by Absolute Hockey Enterprises, a story that he firmly denies, the former player is quite interested in the opportunity to own a team.  His business success is no accident:  After his playing days ended in 2001, Barrie organized a group of sixteen current and former NHL players in a 10-year development project of a 1300-acre golf resort in Victoria, Canada.  The financial capacity he developed has positioned him to assume as much as 47 per cent ownership of the team should the deal be completed.

While Barrie’s participation does not, by itself, guarantee the success of the bid, it is a positive step forward.  Until the global credit turmoil calms and additional bank financing is generated, the deal may remain incomplete.  But it is still alive, and that certainly beats the alternative. 

Bill Johnson is a staff member of the Business of Sports Network