Patience is dwindling when it comes to the follies in Phoenix

“At some point, just like if you think back to Quebec and Winnipeg (relocating to Denver and Phoenix, respectively), you run out of options and you don’t have a choice. We fight as hard as we can to avoid being in that situation, but at some point, you deal with the realities.”-- Commissioner Gary Bettman responding to the ongoing thread of commentary on the current status of the Phoenix Coyotes.


He isn't exactly telling Winnipeg residents to start picking out seats, but Gary Bettman certainly seems to be growing weary of the never ending storyline of the Phoenix Coyotes.

In Ottawa to announce that the Canadian capital will be host of the 2012 All Star game, the Commissioner addressed the ever required update on the status of the Coyotes and their financial follies. An ongoing soap opera that now is threatening to run into its second year. For those looking for a speed read on that never ending story, Ken Warren offered up the Reader's Digest version of events on September 9.

The league much we imagine to their chagrin, still is owner/operator of the desert dogs, and while the Ice Edge group continues to suggest that they will somehow be a player when it comes to putting a team on the ice in Phoenix, the longer this saga drags on the less likely it seems that they will no have no further involvement than watching the occasional game on TV.

For the Commissioner however it seems that hope springs eternal that somehow the fate of the Coyotes will still involve Arizona, his comments in Ottawa, as reported by Ken Warren in the National Post outline how he is still hopeful that at the end of the day there will be no relocation required.

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

While the Commissioner is saying all the right things to back up his never ending quest for success in the desert, for those fans in Winnipeg and others that are anxious to see more Canadian cities back in the club, not to mention one or two or three NHL owners still paying out the cost of the Phoenix adventure, there is but one question.

How many times must these coyotes have things go wrong, before the futility of the quest is realized.