News

It's the kind of headline that causes NHL owners to sit bolt upright, and it sent tech billionaire Jim Balsillie, who craves to join their number, into damage-control mode.

"Canadiens for sale or not?" Montreal's La Presse cried in its morning editions.

The newspaper quoted Balsillie, speaking about the Montreal Canadiens at the end of an interview about his main corporate interest, Research In Motion Ltd., as saying "the team is for sale."

After stout and exhaustive denials from Canadiens owner George Gillett, Balsillie sent an e-mail message to Gillett to apologize for sparking the controversy, which he followed up with a contrite voice-mail message yesterday.

If Balsillie was at pains to defuse the uproar over his comments — which were accompanied by a photo of him brandishing the Habs logo on his Blackberry — it's because his ability to fulfill his long-held ambition of owning an NHL team hinges at least in part on winning the acceptance of other owners.

The wealthy co-founder of RIM previously tried to purchase controlling interests in both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators and both times was rebuffed by the clique of NHL owners.

Balsillie still hasn't given up on acquiring the troubled Nashville franchise — a bankruptcy trustee is trying to sell the 27-per-cent share owned by disgraced minority owner and alleged fraudster William (Boots) Del Biaggio, negotiations Balsillie is monitoring closely.

Richard Rodier, a Toronto-based lawyer who represents Balsillie on hockey matters, took to the airwaves and gave a series of interviews to play down the furor over the Canadiens and soothe livid Gillett, a man Balsillie views with "tremendous respect".

Rodier said there have never been any discussions between the two men — who have met on many occasions, including at Balsillie's headquarters in Waterloo, Ont. — about the Canadiens.

"Jim has absolutely no reason to believe the Habs, or any interest in the Habs, is for sale," Rodier said. "Furthermore, Jim has met Mr. Gillett on more than one occasion. Not once has there been any discussion of a possible sale of the Habs now, in the future, ever … not a controlling interest or a minority interest — nothing."

Balsillie, who grew up in Peterborough, Ont., has been a Canadiens fan since childhood — his idol was Hall of Fame winger Guy Lafleur — and Rodier said, "It is true that Jim is a Habs fan and has attended games at the Bell Centre, which he has enjoyed."

Some in the league's upper crust were reportedly put off by Balsillie's hard-driving initial approach for the Predators and his decision to sell seat licences in Hamilton, where he proposed to move the team.

But as storm clouds have gathered over the league's economic picture, several league governors have latterly warmed to Balsillie, a deep-pocketed hockey fanatic whose personal financial resources (estimated earlier this year at $3.4-billion U.S.) dwarf those of most NHL owners.

The former chairman of the NHL board of governors, Calgary Flames majority owner Harley Hotchkiss, told The Globe and Mail last month that Balsillie could curry favour by "demonstrating he would be a strong partner and work with the other owners."

Openly speculating about the ownership of the Canadiens is presumably not what was meant.

And, ominously for Balsillie, La Presse received an unsolicited call from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to emphasize "[the Canadiens] franchise is absolutely not for sale."

On Thursday, Bettman told a French-language all-sport radio station that "I have nothing against [Balsillie]" but added that "he had two chances to buy a franchise, but walked away from the table before closing the deal."

Gillett denied his team is for sale, telling La Presse, "I don't know why someone would want to invent such a story."

Canadiens vice-president Donald Beauchamp echoed that sentiment in an interview, saying "the Montreal Canadiens hockey club is not for sale. Period."

While that is undoubtedly true, Gillett's track record suggests that if he were to receive a big-money offer, he would likely consider it.

Gillett's other sporting properties include a NASCAR team and the English Premier League soccer club Liverpool, which he co-owns with Dallas Stars owner Tom Hicks.

Rumours have been swirling that Hicks and Gillett are looking to sell highly leveraged Liverpool — they must renegotiate roughly $800-million (U.S.) in financing in January.

Gillett bought a controlling interest in the Canadiens and the Bell Centre in 2001 for roughly $175-million (U.S.), a shrewd investment, as it turns out.

According to Forbes magazine, the Canadiens are the third most valuable team in the NHL and worth an estimated $334-million (U.S.). In early fall, there was speculation in circles frequented by sports investors and deal makers that up to 20 per cent of the Habs was available, although that may have been a reference to the 19.9-per-cent stake still held by Molson Coors, the brewing giant.

And it's not as if investors would be put off by the fact the team isn't on the market.

As Gillett allowed in the La Presse interview, "Over the years, we've been contacted several times by people interested in buying the Montreal Canadiens."

With reports from David Shoalts