Winnipeg may just finish what Hamilton started.

The weird world of the Phoenix Coyotes got a little stranger the past few days when a deal with would-be owner Jerry Reinsdorf collapsed amid reports the league is ready to move the team to back to Winnipeg, where they were once known as the Jets.

“Do I believe the opportunity is there? Yes,” Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz said. “Do I want to see Winnipeggers get excited and then feel disappointed? No.”

Hamiltonians know what Katz is talking about. The team almost came to Hamilton last summer when Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie offered to buy it in bankruptcy court, a deal ultimately rejected by the court when the league refused to approve Balsillie as an owner.

The immediate future of the Coyotes could be determined as early as Tuesday when Glendale City Council — which has already rejected Ice Edge Holdings once — reconvenes and reconsiders the proposal by the hockey-loving investors who would have the Coyotes stay put.

With emotions and the stakes very high, none of the principals — including Daryl Jones of Ice Edge and NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly — were returning calls Friday.

It’s believed the NHL wants the city to help Ice Edge cover losses next season. That might be politically untenable for the city. A month ago, Glendale’s politicians backed Reinsdorf’s controversial last-minute bid, but there was a backlash. Business owners and political groups were unhappy with the idea that tax dollars should help Reinsdorf pay the NHL part of the $165 million the league wants for the team.

The bankruptcy left the team in the NHL’s control and gives it the power to move it after June 30.

Glendale council is in a tough spot, having built the $180 million Jobing.com Arena specifically for the Coyotes.

If Glendale can’t work out a deal with Ice Edge and the NHL, the league is expected to move quickly on a long-rumoured deal with Toronto-based billionaire David Thomson and Mark Chipman, chairman of Winnipeg-based True North Sports and Entertainment Ltd.

The Phoenix Business Journal said the NHL had an agreement in principle with Thomson and Chipman as a backup plan that could see the Coyotes move back to Manitoba’s capital.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said March 30, in response to that story, that the league’s focus remains on keeping the team in Glendale and there was no agreement in place with Thomson and Chipman.

Thomson and Chipman are partners in True North, which owns the 15,000-seat MTS Centre and the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League.

True North issued a statement Friday that said in part, “We will continue to respect the efforts of all parties involved to maintain the Coyotes in Arizona, including those of the National Hockey League.

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“As we have stated many times in the past, if that situation changes, we are certainly open to reviewing the opportunity with the NHL.”

With files from Star wire services

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