The future of the Phoenix Coyotes entered murkier water yesterday. Arizona bankruptcy judge Redfield T. Baum ruled that the extended bidding process now scheduled for September 10th will not allow for parties interested in relocation. This ruling opens the door for Jim Balsillie again, despite the NHL Board of Governors unanimously rejecting him as an owner.

Add to that the drama surrounding Jerry Moyes. He faces contempt of court charges stemming from revealing portions of Jerry Reinsdorf’s bid that include the admission his ownership group would need $23 million from a special tax zone just to make the team operable. Further, his bid contains a clause that, if after five years the team is still losing money, the city of Glendale would have to pay Reinsdorf $15 million for each year of losses or the team could be sold and relocated without penalty.

Both of these situations seem have made Reinsdorf even more uncomfortable, and it is still possible that he’ll retract his bid. It’s more of a hassle than he probably originally thought, especially given that he was working out a sweetheart deal with Glendale. Not only would he get the team at a bargain, but the city would basically be handing him a lot of the operating costs. Which makes one wonder if the city wasn’t willing to try and work out a similar deal with Moyes before things went out of control. It’s possible none of this would have happened if they had tried to work out a better operating relationship.

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