from David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail,

It’s been quite a couple of weeks for Gary Bettman: He finally got the Phoenix Coyotes sold and, on Thursday, managed to accomplish the same for the NHL’s other big financial headache, the New Jersey Devils.

However, since the NHL commissioner is always economical with the details of these transactions (and it is always made clear to new owners to follow suit), it is hard to tell if the fix is as deep and effective as all concerned like to make out at the happy news conference announcing the sale.

“There’s been a lot of speculation and most of it has been wrong,” was all Bettman said Thursday about the sale price of the Devils.

A day earlier, though, someone well-versed in the proceedings was telling reporters in New Jersey that soon-to-be-former owner Jeff Vanderbeek would get “more than $320-million” for the Devils and the operating rights to the Prudential Center from Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who head a group that also owns the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA.

However, no one in NHL or investment-banking circles your agent spoke to believed that whopper.

Bettman and the new owners turned aside several requests for clarification on the financial details of the sale during Thursday’s news conference.

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