Despite two failed attempts at purchasing an NHL franchise, Jim Balsillie is still in the game in his quest to bring another team to Canada. (CP Images)
Maybe, instead of schmoozing in Detroit or wherever else he found himself Thursday night, Gary Bettman should have flown into Toronto to hear Jim Balsillie speak at the Canadian Press Annual Dinner.
Chances are he may have left with a clue.
Then again, who the hell am I kidding?
Balsillie took to the podium before a packed house, where he discussed the digital age of media and, as could be expected in Canada, his spitting-into-the-wind quest of trying to acquire an NHL franchise and become part of the current Old Boys Club that is NHL ownership.
And after hearing him speak, I am further convinced Jim Balsillie, who has two failed attempts to purchase a team — three, if you believe the Buffalo Sabres rumors reached any sort of negotiation phase — is exactly what the NHL needs in an owner.
"Do I believe that there's a greater opportunity for a shift in the nature of this thing and another Canadian team? Yes," said Balsillie.
"Does everybody agree with me in the league offices? Possibly not. Have I met a Canadian who doesn't agree with me? Not yet," he added, drawing a roar of laughter.
But this isn't about another team in Canada at all. Never has been. It's about doing the right thing, for once, for the long-term prosperity of this league.
And if NHL owners had any idea what was good for them, they would tell Bettman to toss his agenda, not to mention his backroom deals, to the curb and let the man talk.
d Yeah, a multi-billionaire who is a technological mogul, savvy businessman, die-hard hockey fan who happens to play the game and, get this, just wants to buy a hockey team. Yep, exactly the type of problem child the NHL fat cats don't want to be rubbing shoulders with, huh?
Balsillie may have ruffled a few feathers in the NHL nest with his buy-the-Predators-and-move-them-to-Hamilton zeal, but the man would like to buy a hockey team and put it where he wants. Nothing more. Anyone questioning the potential success of his franchise doesn't know an awful lot about Jim Balsillie.
Listening to him Thursday, you realize he is simply a fan of the game, like you, me, anyone else. The difference is he has some deep pockets to do something about it.
"Sometimes I wonder am I just like a dog who's on the front porch barking at buses that drive by, and runs down and proudly saunters back to the porch and smiles. And one of these days I'm going to catch a freakin' bus."
More laughter.
Like it or not, Jim Balsillie usually gets what he wants. Right now, he wants a hockey team.
And he's not going away anytime soon.