New Jersey Devils co-owner Ray Chambers — tired of funding the money-losing and last-place squad — is selling his stake in the NHL team, leaving co-owner Jeff Vanderbeek and the club’s future on ice, The Post has learned.
Vanderbeek said yesterday afternoon he has no “desire to sell the team” but he and Chambers “have different visions for the franchise.”
Vanderbeek, a former executive at Lehman Brothers, said he anticipates “maintaining a controlling interest” in the three-time Stanley Cup champs.
That may not be too easy.
Chambers owns half the team, the source said, and if someone buys his stake they may not want to share controlling interest, the source said.
There also are at least eight NHL teams, including the Dallas Stars and Los Angeles Kings, in the process of being sold, giving suitors a wide choice.
The Devils, despite being in the metro area, are not the most desirable, sports business professionals said.
“The problem is core hockey fans in north Bergen County are not coming to games,” a prospective buyer said.
The Devils are 27th out of the 30 NHL teams in attendance, after being 20th when they had a winning team last season.
Also, if a new owner wanted to move the team out of Newark’s Prudential Center it would have to go to an arbiter to determine damages.
“I think the Devils are going to be in trouble,” the prospective buyer said.
In 2010, Forbes reported the Devils earned $7 million when not factoring in the interest on $250 million in debt. Assuming 5 percent interest on the Devils’ notes, the annual debt payments total roughly $12.5 million.