Sunday morning rumors
  • Dan Bickley of the Arizona Republic: Matt Hulsizer put $25 million in escrow on Friday to show that he has the capital to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes. There is plenty of negotiations that have to take place with the NHL and the city. A Canadian media outlet said the team as only sold 4,000 season tickets. Gary Bettman had this to say when he was in Ottawa announcing they’ll get the 2012 All-Star game (before Hulsizer put the money in escrow),

    “We’ve been at this now for a year and a half.”

    “At some point, it may be in Phoenix that we won’t be successful . . . ”

    “We hope it should get done (in Phoenix). I believe Phoenix can support an NHL team, but there are a lot of moving pieces we’re dealing with.”

  • Burce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: It took only 15 in to the 2nd session on day 1 for the Senators to potentially have their fir
  • st injury of the season. Filip Kuba hit a rut in the ice, and suffered an injury. He went for x-rays yesterdays, and if it’s broken, he could be out 6-8 weeks.
  • Eric Stephens via twitter: Bobby Ryan will be at center until he fails according to Randy Carlyle, “We think it’s a position that suits him and makes him more effective.”
  • Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch: Only once have the Columbus Blue Jackets drawn less than 10,000 for a game, but that number is going to increase a lot this year. The team has only sold 7,700 season tickets for this season. “Worried is not the right word,” Priest said. “I know what kind of crowds we are going to see early in the season. … We will have some weekday crowds of 8,500, potentially.” Ken Hitchcock will be a special adviser for the team.
  • Joe Haggerty of CSNNE: Timing of Marc Savard’s injury news is ‘peculiar’, but it might open the door for some younger players.