Gary Bettman makes confusing statement on the Coyotes unpaid bills controversy

On Wednesday, many were discussing the Arizona Coyotes as a report came out that they may soon be locked out of the Gila River Arena due to unpaid bills.

Many on behalf of the Coyotes have since come out and said that the unpaid bills were a result of 'human error', but some aren't buying it and are suggesting it instead has to do with the amount of money the team has lost in recent years. It is no secret that the Coyotes are a struggling NHL franchise, as they haven't done a lot of winning anytime recently and with that have had a hard time attracting fans. In fact, in a list posted by Forbes.com on Wednesday, they ranked dead last in terms of value amongst all 32 teams at $400 million. The top team was the New York Rangers who are valued at $2 billion.

Despite all the negative press regarding the franchise right now, league commissioner Gary Bettman doesn't appear to be very worried. Just one day after the news broke, he was asked his thoughts on the entire scenario at the. NHL's Board of Governors meeting. He didn't give much of a reaction, and what he did say is confusing.

«There's no problem, but we'll deal with that tomorrow.»

It appears both Bettman and the Coyotes organization may be hiding something, as Mike Stephens of the Hockey News is reporting that Glendale City Manager Kevin Phelps has told him the team has paid for game day expenses but have not paid rent for Gila River Arena. There is a lot to unravel here, but we should expect the situation to get more clear in the coming days.

Bettman's statement is an extremely interesting one given that if there truly were no problem, there shouldn't be anything that needs to be dealt with tomorrow. Nonetheless, Bettman seems confident the issue will get resolved. He has been one of very few believers that the NHL can be successful in Arizona, and has pushed hard to keep the team there over the years despite the lack of fans.

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