Below is an excerpt from the ESPN article by Pierre LeBrun who discusses many different issues including the Balsillie “foot in the mouth” situation:
Mr. BlackBerry created a bit of a ruckus north of the border this week. French Montreal newspaper La Presse quoted Jim Balsillie this week as saying the Montreal Canadiens were for sale and photographed him holding a BlackBerry with a Habs logo on it.
The story sparked furious denials from Canadiens owner George Gillett, who said the Canadiens were not for sale. Balsillie’s lawyer, Richard Rodier, told ESPN.com the billionaire denies ever saying to the La Presse reporter that the team was for sale.
“Jim has absolutely no reason to believe the Habs, or any interest in the Habs, is for sale,” Rodier said. “Furthermore, Jim has met Mr. Gillett on more than one occasion. Not once has there been any discussion of a possible sale of the Habs now, in the future, ever; not a controlling interest or a minority interest — nothing.
“It is true that Jim is a Habs fan and has attended games at the Bell Centre, which he has enjoyed.”
The reporter stands by her story and is backed by her photographer. The statement was not, however, caught on a tape recorder.
Regardless of whether Balsillie said it or not, why the heck he posed with the Habs-splashed BlackBerry to me is beyond comprehension. I’m told Balsillie left both a voice mail for Gillett and sent him an e-mail to clear up the matter.
In the bigger picture, this is what continues to hurt Balsillie. Here’s a guy with lots of money and a passion for hockey; so, in one way, he’s the ideal candidate to bring into the NHL family. But he keeps shooting himself in the foot. Taking season-ticket deposits in Hamilton, Ontario, when he didn’t own the Predators was a major faux pas. And now comes the Habs controversy.
Gillett wasn’t amused, and he just happens to be a member of the NHL board of governors’ executive committee, which approves new owners.
I hope to see Balsillie finally get an NHL team one day. I think he’d be a great addition. Until then, he needs to lay low.
Rocket:
It’s a real shame that Pierre LeBrun has bought into the Bettman-led smear campaign against Jim Balsillie.
LeBrun is revealing just how dim he is when he writes “why the heck he posed with the Habs-splashed BlackBerry to me is beyond comprehension.”
Balsillie is a passionate fan of the Montreal Canadiens and has been since he was a boy. Like so many Canadiens fans right across the country, we display our support for OUR team in many different ways. So the CEO of RIM, a huge Habs fan, has a Canadiens logo on his Blackberry…where’s the news? Yet LeBrun is shocked and appalled. Give it a rest!
Jim Balsillie is financially solid, is Canadian, is a passionate fan and is knowledgeable about the game of hockey. Therefore, in Gary Bettman’s warped set of criteria, JB has four strikes against him.
Bettman would rather align himself with Boots Del Biaggio, suspect of a major investigation by the FBI and US grand jury.
During the Pittsburgh sale, Jim Balsillie ‘played by the rules’ and got screwed by Bettman who at the last minute added about 50 unreasonable conditions of sale.
During the Predator sale, Balsillie decided a different tactic as he knew that he wouldn’t be given a fair shot to buy the team. His offer was tens of millions above market value. Then, he organized the season ticket drive to expose Bettman’s hatred for Canada by enlisting public support.
Bettman was left with a complex scheme that completely trashed the NHL’s process of due diligence. Gary Bettman convinced the Nashville owner, Craig Leipold, to take an offer about $50 million below Balsille’s, and arranged a kickback (Minnesota Wild) for his trouble while installing a guy with a shady past as the new owner of the Predators.
So tell me, who deserves more scrutiny…Bettman or Balsillie?