Anyone following the bleak financial outlook for some Pacific Division owners has learned a little about the economics of hockey lately.

We’ve also gained a small window into how the balance sheets are affecting the day-to-day operations of the Dallas Stars, Phoenix Coyotes and Anaheim Ducks.

In Dallas, the sale of the Stars has remained quietly in limbo.

AROUND THE PACIFIC

Since Tom Hicks’ group defaulted on $525 million worth of loans, a group of lenders has effectively controlled the team, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Beat writer Mike Heika explains the situation as such: “The banks pretty much set the budget for the team, and there is very little wiggle room for the Stars right now on their $45 million payroll budget. I was told if this pressed on and the Stars really wanted to start negotiating a contract extension for Brad Richards, it would probably take a meeting between people from the Stars, the lenders, Hicks Sports Group and the NHL to decide exactly what kind of offer could be made and how it might be structured.”
 

Heika goes on to write that bankruptcy is a possibility. He also identifies one possible buyer, Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi, but notes that “with fan interest at an all-time low in North Texas, prospective buyers believe that if they want to up payroll, then they will have to be prepared to fund losses for this team for possibly two or three seasons.”

Two or three seasons’ worth of losses probably sounded reasonable for Henry and Susan Samueli when they purchased the Mighty Ducks from The Walt Disney Company in 2005. Henry Samueli told the Orange County Register on Friday that he hoped to have broken even by now; instead the team is still losing an amount “in the double digits of millions.”

That doesn’t mean the situation in Anaheim is unstable. The Samuelis are avid philanthropists, and in 2007 Forbes magazine ranked Henry Samueli 195th on its list of the richest Americans. He seems willing for now to make the hockey team another of his charitable endeavors, telling the Los Angeles Times on Friday that the couple is committed to the franchise for the long term.

Samueli is less willing to push the team’s payroll past $55 million, even after a season that saw the Ducks miss the playoffs and lose their captain and star defenseman, Scott Niedermayer, to retirement.

The ownership situation in Glendale, meanwhile, is still shrouded in uncertainty. There was optimism following a recent ESPN.com report that Chicago-based financier Matthew Hulsizer was negotiating a new Jobing.com Arena lease agreement with the City of Glendale, and a statement from the City on September 17 indicated that “a qualified buyer” was moving forward with the purchase.

Yet even that wasn’t as straightforward as it seemed. The Arizona Republic reported that the City revised its statement later that day to say “a prospective buyer has deposited $25 million dollars into escrow,” as “a show of good faith” — not that an actual buyer had “funded the $25 million dollars required by the NHL last May as an insurance policy to keep the team in Glendale.”

The net effect of these reports should be seen as a positive for fans hoping the Coyotes stay put — even though the City of Glendale is going out of its way to ensure that optimism remains cautious. Only one thing is certain: Until the ink has dried on a sale, rumors of a move to Canada will persist.

The possible delivery date for Canada’s coveted Christmas present was pushed back to Dec. 31, a deadline the Ottawa Citizen reported NHL commissioner Gary Bettman had set for Glendale to find a prospective buyer before the league entertained offers from outside the area. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly softened that stance in an e-mail to the Republic, saying there are “no deadlines for anything at this point in time.”

None of this is enough to predict doom for the long-term future of NHL hockey in Dallas, Anaheim or Glendale, but it offers something to remember the next time the Coyotes, Ducks or Stars contemplate adding payroll: It’s much, much easier said than done.

The Ducks released seven-year veteran Stephane Veilleux from his pro tryout contract on Sunday and, according to TSN.ca, placed center Trevor Smith on waivers. … Prized Kings forward prospect Oscar Moller will start the season in the minors after being cut from the training camp roster Monday. The Kings also placed center Marc-Andre Cliche on waivers. ... Rich Clune, Dustin Brown, Andrei Loktionov, Kyle Clifford and Justin Williams were the Kings’ top five pre-camp physical testers. … The Sharks placed three players on waivers: Jay Leach, Sean Sullivan and T.J. Trevelyan. … San Jose defenseman Douglas Murray was among the “top 20 smartest athletes” chosen by Sporting News. ... Two defensemen, first-round pick Brandon Gormley and veteran Shane Hnidy, were sent home from Coyotes' training camp Monday. Gormley was sent back to the QMJHL's Moncton Wildcats, while Hnidy was released from his pro tryout contract.

All photos courtesy Getty Images

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