There is sure to be one major hockey topic that will make headlines over the next two months, and it has nothing to do with what is happening on the ice: If the Phoenix Coyotes and the NHL do not find a new owner before December 31, 2010, the NHL will then be permitted to move the franchise to wherever it wants. Of course, the franchise?s struggles are not a surprise to anyone; they have been well documented over the last 18 months or so.. Since the team?s arrival from Winnipeg in 1996, they have lost money every single season. With that, it?s hard to believe that they have lasted this long in the desert. But they only lasted as long as they have because of the very man who stubbornly brought them to Arizona in the first place: Gary Bettman. Commissioner Bettman, VP Bill Daly and the rest of the head office staff managed to keep things out of the media for a long time, but at the end of 2008/start of 2009 it was found that the NHL was actually funding the Coyotes? operations. All of this came to the forefront when then-owner Jerry Moyes placed the team into bankruptcy, and subsequently attempted to sell the franchise to Research In Motion billionaire Jim Balsille. Balsille has long been after an NHL franchise, hoping to relocate a struggling American franchise to Southern Ontario, more specially to Hamilton. Phoenix was his third such attempt after Pittsburgh and Nashville, and it was through these negotiations that he found an enemy in Bettman, who steadfastly refuses to admit he was wrong in trying to market the NHL to Corporate America, where franchises like Columbus, Tampa Bay, Atlanta and Phoenix have struggled financially since their respective inceptions. Balsille?s bid fell short, as the NHL (and reportedly the Toronto Maple Leafs) didn?t want a second franchise in the hockey hotbed of Southern Ontario. As a result the Coyotes remained under ownership of the NHL for the entire 2009-10 season and, despite a couple of public bidders over the past year, remain as such today. Whether it?s the incredibly warm weather or the reportedly terrible location of the area, the City of Glendale, and its residents have simply not supported the team enough to justify its? existence. Despite setting a franchise record last year with 107 ? third highest in the Western Conference ? attendance is still an issue. ESPN reported that Phoenix only sold 4,000 season ticket packages, half of where they should/need to be. The same article also points out that they only had five regular season sellouts, and all four in the playoffs; but opening night was the only night where tickets were not ?heavily discounted.? And Bettman?s appeal to corporate America certainly isn?t working here either, as approximately three-quarters of the 87 suites were not sold for the upcoming season. But of course local businesses and fans (and there are fans, contrary to what you may see) are having a hard time buying into the franchise because even the city itself isn?t buying in. Perhaps the biggest reason that money is going down the toilet is the city?s refusal to work out a new lease on Jobing.com Arena. The ridiculous lease doesn?t match the expected revenues generated from the home games, and thus makes it impossible for any new owner to make a profit from owning the Coyotes. So the names that gained heavy ink as prospective buyers over the summer ? White Sox and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf and a group called Ice Edge Holdings ? were not locals. Both deals fell apart well into negotiations, and perhaps it had something to do with the City of Glendale demanding a guarantee that the team won?t be moved. But two months ago a new name emerged, and one that allegedly gives the team a solid chance at staying in Phoenix/Glendale: a Chicago-based trader named Matt Hulsizer, CEO of PEAK6 Investments. ESPN then reported two weeks later that he put down a ?good faith payment? of $25M, a very solid sign that a deal might have been reached shortly. After a quiet month, Hulsizer himself told ESPN on October 17 that he had reached an agreement in principle to purchase the Coyotes and on a new lease for the building. NHL VP Daly added that they ?have reason to believe, that we may be moving toward a good resolution of the Coyotes' ownership situation.? But despite things appearing to be close to completion ? as was reported with previous prospective buyers ? nothing has been reported on the subject for almost three weeks. You have to wonder how serious Hulsizer really was about purchasing the team. Maybe this was blown into something bigger than it really was so that the NHL could give the appearance that they fought until the bitter end to keep the team in Phoenix. Or maybe it was the City of Glendale that pulled the wool over the NHL?s eyes to make it seem like they fought until the end to keep the franchise in Arizona. But the month is now November, and in less than two months the clock will run out on the Phoenix Coyotes. When that clock sounds, they will either be fully entrenched in the City of Glendale for the foreseeable future, or they will be planning to relocate (likely back to where they came from, in Winnipeg; the NHL has held seven preseason games there since taking the team to Arizona). A new owner, whoever and wherever they may reside, will finally allow the Coyotes to spend some money on players. Last offseason, GM Don Maloney watched his top defenseman (Zbynek Michalek) and top centerman (Matthew Lombardi) leave in free agency, and he wasn?t even allowed to think about making an offer. Instead, he sat on his hands and waited for guys like Eric Belanger to fall in his lap for under $1M. A new owner would at least allow him to think about keeping star goalie Ilya Bryzgalov past this season, which he wouldn?t be able to do under the current organizational format. A new owner would mean nothing but good things for the organization. And whether they end up staying in Phoenix, or moving back to Winnipeg (which is the likeliest destination), it will give closure to this ongoing black cloud that hangs over the team, and allow everyone to focus solely about what is on the ice: some good hockey. Nick is RealGM?s NHL Feature Writer. You can reach him by email nick.obergan@realgm.com or on twitter @NickObergan