Balsillie makes further moves to take Preds up north

Canadian newspapers report prospective new Preds owner is cutting deals and has applied for relocation

Email | Print By Ken Whitehouse

Jim Balsillie

The Canadian newspapers National Post and the Globe and Mail have posted stories in the last hour documenting moves that incoming Nashville Predators owner Jim Balsillie is making to relocate the team to Canada.

In the National Post article, Balsillie is said to have filed a formal request with the National Hockey League, along with his ownership application, to be granted permission to relocate the team. Balsillie is asking that the contentious issue be handled at the same time is ownership application is considered on June 19 and 20 by the 30-member NHL Board of Governors.

In related news, the Globe and Mail is reporting that Balsillie has reached an agreement with the city of Hamilton, Ontario that would make it the new home of the Predators in the case of relocation. This news would come as a major disappointment to the Kitchener-Waterloo area, which had been courting Balsillie.

NashvillePost.com sources close to the team say that both news items have outgoing Predators owner Craig Liepold and NHL Gary Bettman "irked" and that they are not pleased with the prospective buyer's actions.

When Balsillie recently tried to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins, he abandoned the move over a refusal of the NHL to allow him to move the team.