It appears there may be another Canadian businessman interested in purchasing the Phoenix Coyotes.
According to the Globe and Mail, Montreal businessman Steve Stotland is leading a group of investors looking to buy the NHL franchise and keep it in Glendale, Arizona.
Stotland feels the Coyotes can be successful in Phoenix with different owners because the team "has been with an ownership group that is telling people that hockey doesn't work in the desert. Now that the bankruptcy is done and the NHL owns the team, we're going to move forward," Stotland told the Globe and Mail.
According to the report, Stotland was also involved with a group that attempted to purchase the Montreal Canadiens in 2001 and earlier this year.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly did not deny that Stotland is pursuing the Coyotes.
"I can confirm that we've had discussions and we continue to be in contact," Daly told the newspaper. "I know he's done due diligence and met with the team and that's the extent of it. He seems to be excited by the prospect of owning the team and we'll see where it goes."
Stotland is confident that if the financial arrangements that handcuffed the previous owners are softened, and the team is successful on the ice, the fans will return.
"They will put stipulations which we will have to abide by," Stotland told the Globe and Mail. "We're not in there for one year. We're committed. But the financial agreements have to be reasonable because the NHL doesn't want a local group to go through the same thing the last owner did. I want to show the NHL is viable in Glendale. [Jobing.com Arena] is one of the nicest facilities in the NHL. And if we start winning, with a local group in place, we just have to get the fans back."