Situation with Glendale not affecting Coyotes' budget for offseason spending

The Coyotes could be on the brink of a legal battle after the City of Glendale decided Wednesday to end its 15-year, $225 million arena management agreement with the team, but the cost of this potential fight won't affect Arizona's offseason spending.

"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."

Parameters have been outlined for General Manager Don Maloney to revamp the roster this summer, but how much he'll be able to flex that money remains to be seen since the problem with Glendale no doubt hurts the Coyotes' sales pitch to free agents.

Already, the team has had to nix plans to submit a bid to host the 2018 World Junior Championship in light of this latest drama.

"The uncertainty of where the team is going to play, that always throws up a little bit more of a challenge really just to get people to commit to us," said Maloney, who was busy on the phone Thursday answering questions about the team's status.

Even so, the Coyotes continue to reiterate their commitment to keeping the Coyotes in Arizona and have yet to gauge other options. When reached via e-mail, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly confirmed the NHL schedule will be released on time later this month and no contingencies have been made.

BICKLEY: Latest skirmish with Glendale could be best thing for Coyotes

"We just have to keep doing our job," Maloney said. "But certainly this was not expected to say the least."

The NHL issued the following statement regarding the impending legal battle with Glendale:

"The National Hockey League stands by, and will fully support, the Arizona Coyotes in their efforts to vindicate their contractual rights in response to last night's outrageous and irresponsible action by the City of Glendale. We continue to proceed on the basis that the Coyotes will remain in Glendale and will be playing their home games at Gila River Arena."