Andrew Barroway out as Coyotes majority owner: Report

Is Andrew Barroway out as majority owner of the Arizona Coyotes? According to a report in Fox Sports Arizona, it sure appears that way.

The crux of the report according to Craig Morgan:

A philosophical difference in the financial direction of the team has led IceArizona to buy back some of Barroway's shares. The process has been in the works since the end of last season and should be completed soon, perhaps as soon as this week. Barroway is expected to own more shares than any other member and retain his title as governor, but he will not have controlling interest.

Sources said the decision was a mutual compromise. Barroway will not be leaving IceArizona, as some media outlets have speculated. He will still have a role, he will still be a part of board meetings, and he will still have input.

So what does this mean exactly for team operations? The story says it won’t do much for the budget as the group approaches free agency.

And this was also quoted by team CEO Anthony LeBlanc to a story in the Arizona Republic:

"That is not an excuse," President, CEO and co-owner Anthony LeBlanc said. "We are not changing our hockey budget. We are committed to our hockey budget. We all got into this for one reason. We all want to win a Stanley Cup."

Barroway originally bought a 51 percent stake in the Coyotes on Dec. 31, 2014. The deal was based on a $305 million equity valuation of the team.

Recently LeBlanc said he had no expectation Barroway would walk away from the deal:

"Andy put tens and tens of millions of dollars into the team, as well as taking on his share of the obligation for the outstanding debt," he said.

"I guess the way you could look at it is, well, he has outstanding debt. But Andy, he made a sizable investment that was real cash. I have no expectation that he would walk away, nor would any of our partners."

Barroway took some heat for not being present at the City of Glendale’s meeting to void the Coyotes lease last week. He was on a pre-planned vacation and had been in the Phoenix area earlier in the week and had left before the meeting was announced.

Now, he no longer has to feel forced to be the face of the team … which is probably good for the Coyotes as they you know, sue the City of Glendale for $200 million and try to basically stay alive as an organization in the Phoenix metropolex.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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