You'll probably see more on this in the daily links tomorrow, but Gary Bettman let it slip today that there is a third group now looking into purchasing the Coyotes. More on this after the jump...

As much as I dislike reporting more speculation about the Coyotes future, I came across this on the Washington Post and couldn't ignore it. In response to what must be the fifteenth billion question Gary Bettman has had to field about this franchise, the Commish said,

"There are probably three different groups that are taking a serious look at buying the Coyotes to keep them where they’re located,"

First of all, what does "probably" even mean? I don't particularly care for that little piece of ambiguity among an already ambiguous statement. Regardless, the NHL is continuing to keep discussions close to the belt. The other part of this that I thought was particularly intriguing was the reference to the City of Glendale. Going into further detail he said,

"The City of Glendale is also very much a part of the equation".

This doesn't bode well in my opinion. I don't think there's much of a need to reference the CoG unless what's going to come out of the negotiations is going to be difficult to swallow. It does however vindicate Mayor Elaine Scruggs, who has been asserting for the better part of 2-3 months that the NHL is the one who has to make the next move. Sorry to get your hopes up for very few details, but the Board of Governors is meeting this Saturday in Ottawa, with a press conference to be held with the Commissioner afterwards. How much he divulges remains to be seen, but we may finally be moving into the endgame for the ownership saga that has plagued this team for over 3 years.