NHL calls Balsillie ‘untrustworthy;’ asks judge to toss bid to buy Phoenix Coyotes

NHL asks court to toss out Balsillie’s Coyotes bid

PHOENIX —The NHL has asked a bankruptcy judge to throw out Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie’s bid to buy the Phoenix Coyotes based on the league’s overwhelming rejection of him as a potential owner.

The motion, accompanied by declarations from Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs and Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold, says the owners have concluded that Balsillie would be untrustworthy and that the court has no right to overturn their July 29 vote.

The owners say their opinion is based on Balsillie’s behavior in earlier attempts to purchase the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators.