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The National Hockey League will support any bidder that wants to keep the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes hockey team in Arizona, and it is up to the court to decide which offer is best, the deputy commissioner for the North American sports league said on Monday.

Deputy Commissioner William Daly told Reuters Television the NHL thinks the Phoenix market can support an NHL franchise.

The NHL has resisted efforts by Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes to sell the team to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie, the co-chief executive of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd, who has offered $212.5 million for the team and wants to move it to southern Ontario.

NHL officials have said the bankruptcy filing was made to avoid requirements for league approval on any franchise relocation.

The Coyotes, which filed for bankruptcy in May, have drawn an offer of up to $148 million from Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Chicago White Sox baseball and Chicago Bulls basketball teams. An auction is scheduled to be held on August 5 for those like Reinsdorf who want to keep the team in Arizona.

A nonbinding letter of intent for up to $150 million also has been filed by a group, Ice Edge Holdings, that includes a current Coyotes minority owner and a former RIM executive. They want to keep the team in Arizona.

If the bankruptcy court deems offers for next week's auction inadequate, a second auction open to Balsillie, or anyone else who wants to move the team, would be held on September 10.

"We're hopeful that we don't get to the second auction in September," Daly said. "It's been our goal to give this team an opportunity to be successful in Phoenix."

"Now, I think it's a sorting out process where the court takes the process from here," he added.

Daly said the judge has been flexible in the past and it will be interesting how he handles Ice Edge missing a June 24 deadline for a formal offer.

Ice Edge includes John Breslow, a minority owner of the Coyotes, and Anthony LeBlanc, a former executive with RIM, as well as executives from Connecticut research firm Research Edge, Research Edge managing director Daryl Jones said. The group also is negotiating to add Wayne Gretzky, hockey's all-time leading scorer and the Coyotes' coach and part owner.

Jones said his group was hopeful it could finalize its offer before the auction next week or seek an extension from the bankruptcy court.

The case is in Re: Dewey Ranch Hockey LLC, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Arizona, No. 09-09488.

(Source: Reuters)