Mike Heika Predicts 'Significant News' In Dallas Stars Sale Process

Jun 01 6:56a by Brett Perryman

The good news for the Dallas Stars’ hope of an imminent sale, as Defending Big D’s Brad Gardner notes, is that all parties are now speaking in terms of weeks. The bad news is that the process is certain to require more than four weeks, moving the timetable past the start of free agency.

This means that Brad Richards is almost certain to become a free agent, and though Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk will be able to keep a dialog open, he won’t be able to make concrete offers until some point in July at the earliest. In other words, Richards will probably not be a Star in 2012.

Mike Heika does say that progress is being made and that “significant news,” aka a concrete bid, could come by the end of this week. Even with that news, Heika cautions that the process won’t end until later this summer.

[Tom] Gaglardi is negotiating with a group of lenders who began paying the bills when Hicks Sports Group defaulted on more than $500 million in loans in March 2009.

While a signed purchase agreement would be a huge step, complications and court proceedings could mean the sale is not official until July or August.

Heika also notes that Gaglardi most likely won’t be alone in pursuing the team through the sale and bankruptcy process.

According to the two sources, Dallas businessmen Doug Miller and Billy Quinn would still be interested in possibly trying to better Gaglardi’s offer.

At least one other interested party, Detroit businessman Christopher T. Charlton, has had his lawyers looking at the Stars finances and could be open to making a bid, one source confirmed.