It looks like the Phoenix Coyotes will be staying in Glendale, Arizona for the foreseeable future. That bodes well for the NHL, who not only suffered an embarrassing victory against multi-millionaire Jim Ballsillie this past summer over team ownership, but they also have a multi-decade deal in place for the Coyotes’ home, Jobing.com Arena. The league has reportedly reached an agreement with former bid-mates Ice Edge Holdings that will see Ice Edge take ownership of the team.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly has said that he’s confident that the city of Glendale and the Ice Edge group will work closely together to come up with a win-win situation for the franchise that has suffered eight-figure revenue losses for the last few seasons. The questions to be asked is when was the last time that “Coyotes” and even one “win” were in the same sentence? Phoenix, with all of their local sports franchises, is not exactly known as a hockey town.

Ice Edge has suggested that holding some “home “games (no more than five) away from Jobing.com Arena could produce some extra dollars. This could take the team as far as Saskatchewan, Canada. The claim is that this is not the first step towards moving the team permanently, but instead is a way to generate some short-term revenue for the failing franchise. However, once the team finds some financial stability, they will return to the original contract with the arena owners and keep the team at home for all 41 regular season games.

Who are they trying to fool? The NHL has made a number of questionable decisions in 2009, and if they think anybody is going to believe that the NHL still thinks that the Phoenix Coyotes are a viable source of income, then they’ve not done their homework. The amazing part is that they’ve actually found people who are willing to buy the franchise. Face it. Hockey is leaving Arizona, and when it does, it’s not like anybody will notice.