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‘Mystery buyer’ for Coyotes?

Shane Doan

With time running out on the Phoenix Coyotes (where have we heard that before?), there’s apparently a “mystery buyer” prepared to make an offer for the moribund hockey team (again, where have we heard that before?).

The latest twist comes via Glendale city councilman Gary Sherwood, as reported by the Arizona Republic:

The mystery buyer told Sherwood he’d have his bid together by Friday. It sounded too good to be true.

I’ll pause while you roll your eyes.

“But that’s part of the problem,” Sherwood said. “There are other groups lurking that the NHL hasn’t brought to us. They have their one candidate. And the way I look at it is, maybe Renaissance (Sports and Entertainment) is the best for the NHL, but maybe only second- or third-best for Glendale.”

Another source said the mystery buyer is real and would bring real money to the table. Renaissance’s deal is heavy on loans, short on equity, and no person has more than a $10 million stake in the game. They want an out clause after four to five years, creating fears that they conceivably could run the team into the ground and bail.

Not surprisingly, the Globe and Mail’s David Shoalts is skeptical.

By your agent’s count, this is the 473rd mystery buyer to arrive since this sorry saga began in May, 2009 when Jerry Moyes got tired of writing $30-million (all currency U.S.) cheques every year to cover the NHL team’s losses and put it in bankruptcy court in the failed attempt to sell to BlackBerry mogul Jim Balsillie. And this one, according to multiple sources, is just like the previous ones - all hat and no cattle.

Gary Sherwood, a rookie politician who was elected to the city council of suburban Glendale in January along with three other newcomers, spoke to the Arizona Republic about this mystery buyer. Surprisingly, the fellow who got elected promising more transparency in government declined to identify the alleged rich person.

The NHL owns the Coyotes, so it can sell the team to whichever party it chooses. Just ask that Darin Pastor fellow.

Will we ever find out the identity of the mystery buyer? Stay tuned...