From despair to hope, the mood among parties knee deep in the ongoing Phoenix Coyotes negotiations has shifted.

Just two weeks ago, Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs responded with little joy to residents' questions about the Coyotes during a community meeting.

"I don't know how it's going to end. I have no earthly idea," she said. "Glendale has done everything we can to negotiate with the latest buyer. . . . It is truly out of our hands right now."

Then, just as the team was heading into its first home game of the regular season, the National Hockey League and Glendale issued statements about progress on the deal.

On Saturday, Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer, who began talks for the team in late summer, flew in for the game, a sign that talks were going well.

Speaking for the first time publicly to The Republic from a private suite at the game, Hulsizer explained why he had agreed to the NHL's purchase price, expected to be $165 million or more, including team losses from last season.

"Buying a hockey team is like buying a piece of art," he said. "You don't do it to make a lot of money. You do it because you love it."

Hulsizer declined to publicly discuss the deal further.

Anthony LeBlanc, whose Ice Edge Holdings group of partners could become a minority owner, chimed in Monday.

There "appears to be real light at the end of the tunnel," he said.

Still watchers of the team saga know that hopes have been dashed before.

The NHL and Glendale say their preliminary agreements with Hulsizer are oral. Setting words to paper could present more challenges.

"We do not yet have a written agreement with Mr. Hulsizer and obviously we will need one to move this process forward," NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Monday. "We will also have to go through our due diligence and ownership approval process," including an in-person interview of Hulsizer by the executive committee of the board of governors, the 29 other league owners, and a boardwide vote to approve Hulsizer as an owner.

Daly said the quickest the deal could happen is about six weeks, or early to mid-December.

The next regularly scheduled governors meeting is Dec. 6-7 in Florida, although the board is able to vote remotely by fax or phone at any time.

The Glendale City Council, if it follows past convention, will need to approve a preliminary written lease agreement with Hulsizer, known as a memorandum of understanding, followed by a final lease agreement.

The agreements spell out how much the Coyotes will pay Glendale to play at the city-owned Jobing.com Arena and how the city will help Hulsizer raise money for the team.

The key point of negotiation has been the $25 million that Glendale promised to the NHL in May to pay for team losses this season. The city took the money out of an account dedicated to future water and sewer improvements to buy extra time to negotiate through Dec. 31.

Glendale has said it would require a buyer to reimburse the money.

That requirement was seen by some as a stumbling block to the sale.

Glendale officials have been silent about how the $25 million factors into the city's oral agreement with Hulsizer.

Hulsizer's deal is expected to be similar to one previously struck with Jerry Reinsdorf's group, which included charging for parking for the first time and creating a taxing zone near the arena.

The council discussed the Coyotes behind closed doors Tuesday, after this story's deadline.

Glendale could call a special meeting with 24 hours' notice to vote on a lease, but the council is more likely to make a decision at a regularly scheduled public meeting. The next one is Oct. 26.