Coyotes, NHL remain hopeful that this giant ownership mess will all work out

After the deadline with the City of Glendale passed on Thursday night, we heard optimistic words from Greg Jamison about still securing the future of the Phoenix Coyotes through his ownership bid. Even if others see this as a lost cause at this point.

Today, more defiant words from both the Coyotes and the National Hockey League. Coyotes COO Mike Neely said in an interview on the team’s website that “we plan to be here for the long haul. We’ve got some work to do. We’re not giving up.”

In a statement, Neely reiterated:

“Today, we were informed by the National Hockey League that Mr. Jamison was unable to close on his purchase of the Coyotes. Mr. Jamison will continue to work with the NHL and the City of Glendale to close a deal that will keep the Coyotes in the Valley. Although there is no set timetable, hopefully it will be soon. The Coyotes will continue to be owned by the NHL and nothing changes for our organization. We will work hard on and off the ice to provide our fans with a winning team that they can be proud of. We would like to thank all of our great fans and corporate partners for their incredible patience and loyalty throughout this process. We know it's been difficult and we appreciate their support.”

The NHL also put out a statement via deputy commissioner Bill Daly that read:

"The NHL thanks Coyotes fans for their continued support of the franchise and hopes that today's developments will provide fans further reason to embrace the Coyotes in order to ensure the team's long-term future in Arizona."

Wait, sorry, that was a Bill Daly statement from Nov. 2, 2009. Here’s today’s

“We remain hopeful the Coyotes sale process will be resolved successfully and we will continue to work with the City of Glendale to move the process forward.”

The Glendale City Council remains committed to keeping the Coyotes to fill the Jobing.com Arena, according to the city’s new mayor.