Since Matthew Hulsizer’s out on the “hey, I want to buy the Blues/whatever hockey team’s available†front, the Blues’ minority owner Tom Stillman now has an exclusive crack at buying the team. Per the St. Louis Business Journal, that negotiating period has begun, and Stillman has gathered a fairly good group of investors around him to make it happen.
The Journal’s article focuses on local sports medicine guru Dr. Richard Lehman. Lehman is a member of the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, and is also part owner of the St. Louis Aces tennis team and the Florida Panthers. That last part’s important on two levels. One: Lehman actually has a decent relationship with the league (read: hasn’t done anything to lead them on/anger them) and two: you can’t be a part owner of two teams at once.
Lehman’d have to sell his stake in the Panthers to get his stake in the Blues, which is a decision that’d make sense from a location standpoint as well as consistency in team success â€" in theory. The Panthers and Blues are both on playoff runs right now, but the stability for the future as far as the team’s on-ice winning could be a concern. Home grown talent vs. a team cobbled together of free agents (well-cobbled, mind you) could be a draw for the good doctor.
Lehman could not comment to the Business Journal regarding the process, though he did offer this up:
Factor in one Brett Hull, and you have a dream team of guys waiting to purchase the team, at least to the fan base.“We’ve been asked by the league to not say anything to the media regarding the specifics, but I can confirm that I’m part of this amazing group of local investors and that we look forward to getting a deal done.â€
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