The light at the end of the Coyotes’ ownership tunnel grew Monday, when Matthew Hulsizer interviewed with the NHL Board of Governors Executive Committee. He could be on the job by January.

Matthew Hulsizer is a former hockey player and a multimillionaire. He is as optimistic as he is realistic about owning an NHL franchise.

In other words, he sounds like the perfect man to own the Phoenix Coyotes.

At least, that seemed to be the sentiment Monday after the Chicago investor met with nine members of the NHL Board of Governors Executive Committee in Palm Beach, Fla.

Both the 40-year-old Hulsizer and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly were optimistic that the transfer of ownership from the league to Hulsizer could be completed by the end of December.

Then, following years of behind-the-scenes maneuvering to stabilize the franchise, the hard work will truly begin.

The Coyotes rank last in the league in home attendance at Jobing.com Arena. According to the Glendale Star, various reports have put the team’s losses at $25 to $30 million each season since moving to Arizona from Winnipeg in 1996. Forbes recently ranked the Coyotes as the least valuable of the league’s 30 franchises.

Enter Hulsizer, a former hockey player at Division III Amherst College, from which he graduated in 1991.

“I’m a hockey fan, and a hockey coach and a hockey player and I’d love to join the club,” he told reporters.

“I think we’re going to have to earn the fans back," Hulsizer continued. "I don’t think it’s something that people are immediately going to give us credit and say, ‘oh, by the way, there’s a new owner now.’ I’d love that to be the case, but I don’t think it’s going to be the case. I think we’re going to have to earn back their faith, and we’re going to have to show that by putting out a great product.”

Hulsizer said he plans to hire a team president, and will retain general manager Don Maloney and head coach Dave Tippett, both of whom he called “terrific.”

Daryl Jones, the Chief Operating Officer of Ice Edge Holdings, told the New York Times in a text message that his group will be minority partners in the new ownership agreement.

Acknowledging what he sees as the present reality and the possible future of hockey in Glendale, Hulsizer said, “I’m not expecting to make money for quite a while.

”I tend to be a longer-term investor. As I look out 25 years, I think people will look back in 25 years and say, ‘that might have been smart.’ Right now it’s not going to look smart for a long time.”

Notes

On the ice, Phoenix is doing fine. The Coyotes have only lost twice in regulation over their past 14 games (9-2-3) dating back to Nov. 6 vs. Pittsburgh, and have outscored opponents 44-34 during this stretch. ... The Coyotes played two sets of back-to-back games last week, winning the back end of both. ... The Kings had lost seven of eight prior to back-to-back wins at home against Florida and Detroit. The latter came in overtime Saturday on the strength of an Anze Kopitar overtime goal. Kopitar scored the winning goal in both games. ... LW Alexei Ponikarovsky, out since Nov. 6 with a broken finger, returned to practice Monday. ... A trade that would have sent Boston LW Marco Sturm to Los Angeles fell through on Thursday. ... C Brayden Schenn was returned to his junior club, the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League, on Friday. Schenn split the season between the Kings and Manchester of the American Hockey League, where he had three goals and seven points in a seven-game conditioning stint before being assigned to Brandon. ... The Sharks extended their streak to eight games with one loss followed by one win with a big 5-2 win in Detroit on Monday. “We wanted to prove we could play with that team,” said Logan Couture, who posted his second two-goal game in the last week. ... D Jason Demers (wrist) and D Niclas Wallin (leg) both returned Monday after missing a combined nine games with potentially serious injuries. ... Joffrey Lupul returned to the Ducks' lineup Sunday after a 362-day layoff following complications from a blood infection. ...Dallas had its six-game winning streak snapped Monday in a shootout against the Columbus Blue Jackets. ... The Stars are the most valuable Pacific Division franchise, and the 10th-most valuable franchise in the league, in Forbes' latest rankings released Wednesday. ... The Pacific remained the NHL's most competitive division, separated by only five points from 1 through 5 at week's end.

Photos by Getty Images

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