Ice Edge back in running for Coyotes: report

Ice Edge Holdings appears to be back in the mix of the Phoenix Coyotes ownership saga, but Jerry Reinsdorf's bid to buy the Arizona NHL team might not be dead yet.

The suburban City of Glendale has apparently reopened negotiations with Ice Edge, a group of Canadian and American investors wanting to buy the Coyotes, according to a published report in the Arizona Republic.

Glendale holds the arena lease for the team, which is currently owned by the NHL. The league bought the Coyotes out of bankruptcy after former owner Jerry Moyes claimed he lost hundreds of millions on the team.

Any new deal between Glendale and Ice Edge would have to be brought before city council. The next meeting is set for Tuesday. The deadline for adding to the agenda is 3 p.m. local time on Friday, a Glendale spokesperson told CBC Sports.

The reported negotiations come less than a month after the city rejected the group's offer in favour of a bid from Chicago sports mogul Reinsdorf.

A source close to Ice Edge told the Republic the group was approached by Glendale in the past week or so but has not reached any agreement.

Meanwhile, other sources close to the deal told the newspaper that online and media reports that Reinsdorf's bid was close to collapse were untrue.

The city is expected to negotiate with both bidders.

On April 14, Glendale unanimously accepted Reinsdorf's bid with a 6-0 vote, while voting 5-1 against Ice Edge.

At the time, Vice-Mayor Manny Martinez questioned whether Ice Edge actually has the capital available to purchase the team.

The Winnipeg Jets moved to Arizona and became the Phoenix Coyotes in 1996 and the team has never turned a profit in the desert.

If an owner can't be found to keep the team in Arizona, it is possible the NHL will instead move quickly to finalize a purchase agreement with Canadian billionaire David Thomson and move the team back to Manitoba's capital.