The only blogpost ever about these two teams to never mention Connor McDavid (the title doesn't count)

The Erie Otters are going under.

Okay, no they aren't. Let's try that again.

The Erie Otters are trying to jew the Edmonton Oilers out of some money.

The Oilers, under their shell company "Ontario Major Junior Hockey Corp" [how do you know Daryl Katz has become a Vancouverite? He isn't using a numbered company like every other Alberta scammer. -ed] loaned the Otters $4.6M in an agreement that would allow the team to buy and if necessary move the team if the Otters defaulted. The Otters had indeed defaulted, but last December a Pennyslvania judge ruled that the Oilers couldn't force the team to be sold in order to pay the debt back, apparently striking down a clause in the deal that violated a securities act or something. An earlier ruling had been in the Oilers' favour.

There has been some talk, none of which I've been able to track down on Google, which claimed the deal was strategically created to make it impossible for the Otters to pay back without selling the team.

As a result of the December verdict, the Otters didn't have to sell the team in order to raise the $4.6M. So instead, they could just raise the money some other way. But no matter which way you look at it, the Oilers deserved their motherfucking paycheque. The Otters, which have been financially struggling for years, were in need of a saviour that wasn't coming.

So, they file for bankruptcy.

It's not immediately clear what this will accomplish. As a consequence of the bankruptcy protection, the company will be still forced to pay its debts meaning that the Oilers are going to get their money one way or another -- especially if the debt is secured (and if not, somebody in Katz Group is gonna get fired). The Oilers probably aren't even as interested in owning the team anymore, the plan was to move to Hamilton which doesn't look likely now that the Belleville Bulls are moving there instead. With both the AHL Bulldogs and the OHL Bulls in Hamilton it's not likely the city has room to support another team, espeecially with nearby cities like Mississauga and Guelph still having teams of their own. It's clear that the Otters ownership wants the team to remain in Erie, but it's not clear how turning assets over to a trustee will improve that situation. Especially with the Oilers chomping at the bit.

On the bright side, I hear there's room for a team in Belleville, so long as somebody can privately finance a new arena. Daryl Katz can totally do that, can't he?