OTTAWA — The NHL is giving the Devils advances on some of their future income to help the team through its ownership battle, deputy commissioner Bill Daly said on the eve of today’s All-Star Game.
Daly and commissioner Gary Bettman insisted the NHL is not “subsidizing” the Devils with outright grants and loans. They did confess the league has accelerated disbursing upcoming fees such as TV revenue.
“Just league distributions. Yeah. It’s not atypical. It’s not something we haven’t done before on perhaps many occasions,” Daly said. “Obviously there’s something that has to resolve itself there on the ownership front, but I wouldn’t be concerned about the finances of the club.”
Devils co-owner Ray Chambers is trying to get out of his 47-percent stake in the team with the team facing an $80 million debt obligation that already has been extended. The debt holders could force the team into bankruptcy after this season.
Principal owner Jeff Vanderbeek wants to remain in charge of the team, and the Devils have explored avenues such as taking early payment of their local TV deal to pay off their debt.
There hardly was any allusion to the Devils’ situation during the NHL Board of Governors meeting yesterday, several attendees confirmed. Nor was there any significant discussion about the Islanders’ quest for a new arena or the lack of Garden teams on Time Warner Cable.
The NHL already is running the Coyotes while seeking a local investor. Bettman said Wendy’s owner Nelson Peltz is not on the table as a Devils savior.
“I don’t think Peltz is in it or was in it,” Bettman said. “I know Nelson very well, and as far as I know, he’s not pursuing the club.”
Vanderbeek did not attend the Board of Governors meeting. The Devils were represented by general manager Lou Lamoriello.
“Nothing different other than what has appeared in the paper,” Lamoriello said.
Bettman also referred to the Vanderbeek-Chambers rift.
“It’s no secret that the two current principal owners haven’t seen eye-to-eye for a period of time. That had some difficult consequences in terms of the operation of the club, and we’re helping to sort all of that out,” Bettman said. “I think it’s fair to say the club is stable, but ownership isn’t getting along. And I think all of you know when ownership isn’t exactly in a good place good things don’t always happen. We’re going to work our way through that. We’re going to give whatever assistance we can to help that happen.”
Chambers is said to have sought to buy himself out of the debt dilemma with a $25 million payment to end his association with the team. Such a move, because it is an ownership change, would require Board of Governors approval, which has not come. Daly said characterizing a financial agreement between Vanderbeek and Chambers as a buyout is “not accurate.”
“He’s still an owner,” Bettman said of Chambers.
Daly also said the NHL is not actively seeking an “angel” for the Devils.
“We haven’t progressed to that stage,” Daly said. “At some point we may have to. But at this point, Chambers and Jeff are each working on their own solutions and hopefully one or the other will be successful.”
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