The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Former Estevan Bruins president Bill Dutton has chipped in to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes. The Vancouver Islander made a dream come true as he was one of 10 buyers of the Coyotes, Dutton told the Victoria Times Colonist. Though no financial figures were released as part of the sale, Dutton was quoted as saying that 'all 10 of us are in about equally.' 'The last known price for the (Coyotes) was the cut-rate $140 million the NHL paid for it in 2009 as a last-ditch effort to keep alive its version of major league hockey in the desert,' read the Times Colonist article. Dutton, who is now 80, says co-owning an NHL team was 'kind of a bucket list thing.' Dutton made money in Prairie oil before moving to the Island in 1995 to buy the Pheasant Glen Golf Resort in Qualicum Beach. Dutton said a lot of work went into the resort and it was recently turned into a championship course that hosted the Canadian mid-amateur and world long-drive championships. Being one of 10 buyers with the Coyotes was an easy choice for Dutton, who has hockey running through his veins. 'And there is nothing better than watching hockey one night and going golfing the next morning,' he told the Times Colonist. Before becoming president of the Estevan Bruins, Dutton was a manager, scout, bus driver and skate sharpener. 'You pitched in and did what needed to be done,' he was quoted as saying, noting that the organization was on 'a minimal budget.' As for the Coyotes deal, it still needs approval from the NHL, but that is ' not seen as a hurdle,' the Times Colonist reported.
