Dallas Stars Daily Links: NHL Guaranteeing Stars Creditors A 15 Percent Return?

Soon the regular season will be upon us, and then hopefully we can stop talking about the slow-as-molasses sales process that has been plaguing your Dallas Stars.

But Forbes had this really interesting little nugget come out late Tuesday that I thought deserved some attention. According to staff writer Mike Ozanian:

In reality, the NHL is guaranteeing creditors a 15% rate of return on money they are pumping into the Stars until the team is sold. As of now, including the 15% return, the sum is $52 million. But the figure could go significantly higher as the team is expected to lose money this season.

Now, he's got one of the court documents linked at the bottom, but I've looked through these documents, at least to some degree, and haven't seen figures to support this. And Forbes, which is one of the premier business journalism sites in the nation, is sometimes well off the mark when it comes to professional sports. But in fairness to the author, he is much, much more familiar with digging through legalese than I am. My eyes glazed over at about page 75 of the 295-page sale document.

Whatever the case, this would be a very interesting development if it were true, and as Ozanian said, nearly unprecedented to my knowledge.

As for the actual sale, we're still in the waiting period where other potential bidders, such as Doug Miller and Chuck Greenberg, can examine Tom Gaglardi's stalking horse bid. They will have to submit a potential bid by the end of the month to take part in an auction.

After the jump Steve Ott chimes in with his feelings on the Shanahammer, a nice profile of new addition Vernon Fiddler and a thought-provoking look at headshots from Ken Dryden.

• Oh do I wish I wasn't broke and could just go buy a subscription to the DMN to read articles like this, mostly because I really do want to see what Steve Ott's take is on the new rules and Brendan Shanahan's iron fist of justice. [DallasNews.com]
  
• Some encouraging updates from the world of Dallas Stars prospects, including notes about Jack Campbell, Matej Stransky and Alex Guptill. [ESPN Dallas]
• Obviously, none of the former Stars players who were involved in the recent alumni game are going to predict doom and gloom for this season's roster. But I think it's interesting to hear their thoughts on the new coaching staff and players. And heck, who doesn't want to see the rare Jere Lehtinen quote? [Fox Sports Southwest]
• More of the "tough to play against" mantra, this time in a profile about new defensive specialist Vernon Fiddler. [DallasStars.com]
• I promise there is one Stars player on this list of the Top 50 players in the NHL. See how long it takes you to find him. [TSN]
• Scouting the enemy: The Chicago Blackhawks might be at near full strength for Friday's season opener as Patrick Sharp has officially been cleared and Ben Smith and Dave Bolland might also play. [CSN Chicago]
• As Brandon pointed out earlier today, Sean Avery is still the stuff of nightmares of the Stars at this point, but there is some sort of karmic pleasure at seeing the New York Rangers coach basically call him an AHL-level player. [New York Daily News]
• I keep meaning to link this wonderfully thoughtful piece by former Montreal Canadiens goalie Ken Dryden, a much smarter man than I, where he ponders the place head shots and head injuries have in the NHL. Give it a read - you'll come out of it feeling more informed. [Grantland.com]
• And finally, a companion piece to yesterday's comedy, the Western Conference preview. [Down Goes Brown]