from David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail,

Back in November, a few paragraphs of an Associated Press wire story out of Erie, Pa., made their way into Canadian newspapers and websites. The item noted that Sherry Bassin, owner and general manager of the major-junior Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League, lost a $4.6-million (U.S.) judgment to Daryl Katz, owner of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers.

On the face of it, is seemed just another business-deal-gone-bad – the settlement amount was for a loan Katz advanced to Bassin, plus interest, nearly three years earlier. It was before the Otters had drafted the bankable teen phenom Connor McDavid, and Bassin needed the money to prop up the financially struggling franchise. Then, for reasons that weren’t made clear in the wire story, Katz called the loan. Bassin couldn’t pay, so off to court they went.

But a closer look at the dispute and what led to it reveals the indecorous underside of sports franchise ownership, not to mention the fickle relationships between teams and their communities, and the fragile “partnerships” between owners in various leagues. So much for the honour in pro sports.

The details will follow, but in short, Katz made the deal with Bassin not because he was interested in the welfare of fans in Erie. Instead, if he could quietly buy the Otters, he could move them to Hamilton and take control of his ultimate prize – the hockey lease at Copps Coliseum – even though a fellow NHL owner, Michael Andlauer, was the existing leaseholder at the Hamilton arena.

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