Per a report from the Globe & Mail this evening, Tom Gagliardi has agreed to terms to purchase the Dallas Stars and could soon enter an exclusive negotiating window to officially purchase the team. Just like in Mike Heika's report last week, there is a good chance the sale would need to enter bankruptcy court prior to the sale being made final.

From the report:Tom Gaglardi has agreed to a price and most of the terms for buying the Dallas Stars - and if he can steer it through bankruptcy court with the bankers in charge of the sale, the Vancouver businessman will be the NHL team's new owner. It is expected Gaglardi, 43, will soon enter an exclusive negotiating period of roughly 30 days to complete the purchase of the NHL team and a 50-per-cent share of American Airlines Center. The last hurdle, according to a source familiar with the sale who requested anonymity because the deal is not official, is taking the Stars through bankruptcy court so Gaglardi will not be hampered by any debts left by current owner Tom Hicks.

Also as part of the report, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly stated in response that the information from the source is "partially true and partially inaccurate." Of course, he could not specify which is which.

This report backs up what Mike Heika reported last week, and it's going to be interesting to determine just which part of this report is "inaccurate." There is really no real new information in the G&M report, other than stating that Tom Gagliardi has actually agreed to terms to purchase the team -- something that was hinted at last week when he was the "leading bidder".

Two very important facts to take note of from this report, if true: This is the closest we've been to the sale actually going through since the team was put on the market well over a year ago, and just because Gagliardi has agreed to terms doesn't mean that the sale is anywhere near final. He still has, apparently, a 30 day window of exclusive negotiating to narrow down the price and terms of the sale and there's also the very real chance this thing has to go to bankruptcy court first.

While not exactly a certainty, it appears that the sale getting done prior to the unofficial "deadline" of July 1st is getting closer to becoming a very real possibility.

We'll have more on this report first thing in the morning.