PHOENIX -- Phoenix Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes has agreed to sell the bankrupt franchise to the NHL.
The agreement still must be approved by Judge Redfield T. Baum. It was announced in U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Monday after attorneys met for more than an hour during a recess in a status hearing on the case.
Former coach Wayne Gretzky has not agreed to the deal. He has a $22.5 million claim in the case.
Moyes' attorney says the decision to make a deal came largely because the costs of running the team in bankruptcy were coming out of the league's $140-million offer.
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly says that once the deal closes, the league will immediately look to sell the team, preferably to an owner who will keep the club in Arizona.
