After an amazing day of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the headlines are now dominated with the news that, according to Scott Burnside of ESPN, Chicago Bulls/Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf has pulled his deal to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes based on lease negotiations with the City of Glendale and that the City of Glendale has contacted the Ice Edge Holdings group to continue negotiations to keep the team in Phoenix.

However, we are finding that this isn’t exactly the whole story. Brham Resnik of Channel 12 News (who has been following the Coyotes ownership saga since the beginning) said earlier this evening that Reinsdorf’s representative wouldn’t confirm or deny that Reinsdorf’s bid to purchase the Coyotes has been pulled. We probably won’t get word either way until at least later today.

So how did things go south with the Reinsdorf’s deal?

Based on what’s publicly available, the sticking point is more than likely Reinsdorf’s proposals for the City of Glendale created Community Facilities District (CFD). One of the sticking points may be that Reinsdorf wants the City of Glendale to pay back $65 million of the $140 million he’s going to pay for the Phoenix Coyotes with money raised from the CFD and from bonds from the City of Glendale.

The other sticking point, according to ESPN.com, is that the City of Glendale must “guarantee a number of conditions with the NHL, including covering operating losses incurred next season, before the league will consider agreeing to sell the team to Ice Edge. ”

If the deal doesn’t get done by the end of the 2009-2010 season, which is officially when the Stanley Cup is awarded, there is a great chance that the Coyotes will move to a new home outside of Arizona. The good thing is that things have not gotten to that point yet.

Moving forward, here’s what’s probably what we’re going to see next:

1) A statement from Reinsdorf letting people know if he’s still in or out of the running to purchase the Coyotes. My guess is that he’s out especially if he’s not willing to front more money for the purchase of the Coyotes.
2) If the following ESPN report is true, the City of Glendale is going to be working with Ice Edge Holdings exclusively moving forward.
3) Possibly a statement from the NHL in the coming days regarding the deal.
4) A new Method of Understanding (MOU) with the City of Glendale and the Ice Edge Holdings group outlining how this deal will move forward. Once that’s submitted the NHL is going to approve or reject the deal.
5) What the NHL’s conditions for the City of Glendale and the Ice Edge Holdings to get a deal done actually are.

Finally, the most important thing right now that is getting lost in this news cycle are the Coyotes fans. They have endured so much turmoil over the past year that they are indeed frustrated by Thursday’s news. Right now, all Coyotes fans want is to hear that the Coyotes are here to stay in Arizona and for many years to come. The first party to say that and back it up will have the undying allegiance from Coyote Nation. That I guarantee.

::Update:: Friday May 7th – 6:15 AM Arizona Time

Last night I had requested a comment from the NHL regarding the latest developments in this situation. They e-mailed me back this morning with the following comment:

“As a general rule, the NHL does not comment on the specifics of franchise transactions while they are ongoing”