A senior executive with the Lehman Brothers investment firm said he is in the process of becoming the principal owner of the Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils.
Jeffrey Vanderbeek, who works in the global investment company's office of the chairman and is a member of its executive committee, released a statement Tuesday announcing he was stepping down to become the principal owner and chairman of the Devils.
PHOTO: AFP
While the sale is expected to happen, a source close to the team said Vanderbeek's offer is being reviewed by lawyers for the current owners.
The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the transaction was expected to be approved by the team's owners in the near future.
It was not immediately known how much Vanderbeek offered or what percentage of the team he would own.
A Lehman spokeswoman said Vanderbeek was not available for comment at 2200 GMT Tuesday.
Vanderbeek has been a minority owner of the Devils since 2000. On Monday, he announced his resignation from Lehman, effective June 15.
"Jeff is a quality individual who has a passion for the game of hockey," Devils president and chief executive Lou Lamoriello said. "I am excited about the opportunity of working with him. He loves the game."
Vanderbeek, 46, has been active in youth and junior hockey, Lamoriello said.
The Devils are jointly owned by YankeeNets and a group called Puck Holdings.
The breakup of YankeeNets, a sports conglomerate that owned the Yankees, Nets and Devils, has led the way to the recent sale of the Nets to Brooklyn, New York, developer Bruce Ratner and the purchase offer that could give Vanderbeek control of the Devils.
"The teams will be totally separate again," Lamoriello said. "It will be like when John McMullen owned the team."
McMullen sold the Devils to Puck Holdings, a group that included Ray Chambers, for US$175 million in 2000.
Buying the team does not come without risk.
The current labor agreement between NHL owners and players expires before next season. The league wants some form of salary cap, which the players' union opposes.
If there is no agreement, there could be no season.
The owners of the Devils recently agreed to relocate the team to a new arena in Newark that is slated for completion before the start of the 2007 season.
The Devils currently play at the Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands Sports Complex.
The team and the City of Newark hope to have the 18,000-seat arena open by July 1, 2007. The arena would be part of a complex that would include an office building, a parking garage for 1,340 vehicles and a 300-room hotel.
Panthers 1, Capitals
Roberto Luongo stopped 29 saves for his fourth shutout in seven games and Olli Jokinen scored the only goal in the Florida Panthers' 1-0 victory over the Washington Capitals.
"Every game is important, but our last two against those guys we gave up a lead," said Luongo, who eclipsed the franchise record of six shutouts he set last season. "We talked about it in the second period and we played solid in the third."
Jokinen scored a power-play goal with 3:13 left in the first period with a one-timed shot over the left shoulder of Capitals goalie Olaf Kolzig, who made 28 saves Tuesday.
"It wasn't pretty, but we got the point," Jokinen said. "It's always nice to score."
Andreas Lilja and Valeri Bure assisted on the 19th goal of the season for Jokinen, who has 12 points in 13 games.
Sergei Gonchar, the NHL's top-scoring defenseman and Capitals' leading scorer, missed his third consecutive game -- this time as a healthy scratch after missing two games with the flu.
Blue Jackets 3, Hurricanes 0
In Raleigh, North Carolina, Rick Nash scored just over a minute in and Marc Denis earned his fourth shutout of the season to lead Columbus over Carolina.
It was only the second time in team history that Columbus has beaten Carolina. The first was a 3-1 victory in the first meeting between the clubs on Dec. 29, 2000; the Hurricanes won four subsequent games.
Nash's unassisted goal in first period put him in first place in the NHL for power-play goals with 16 and tied the Blue Jackets' single-season record of 34 goals, set last season by Geoff Sanderson.
Trevor Letowski tipped in Jaroslav Spacek's pass from the corner with a minute and a half left in the period and Manny Malhotra added the third goal in the second period.
Thrashers 4, Rangers 3
In New York, Patrik Stefan had three assists to lead Atlanta over the New York Rangers that completed a home-and-home sweep.
Pasi Nurminen made 26 saves to improve to 5-1-0 in his last six starts against New York. The Thrashers are unbeaten in eight games against the Rangers, including a 3-2 win on Sunday.
Dany Heatley, Ilya Kovalchuk, Daniel Tjarnqvist and Randy Robitaille scored for Atlanta while Mark Messier, Chris Simon and Dan LaCouture scored for New York.
Islanders 3, Penguins 3, OT
In Pittsburgh, Marc Bergevin ended a 101-game streak without a goal as Pittsburgh rallied from two goals down to tie the New York Islanders and halt a NHL record 14-game home losing streak.
Bergevin hadn't scored since Nov. 23, 2002, when the puck deflected to him in the high slot and he beat goalie Garth Snow to the glove side less than two minutes into the third period. Pittsburgh's Tom Kostopoulos had scored short-handed late in the second period to make it 3-2.
Rico Fata also scored for the Penguins, while Jason Blake, Cliff Ronning and Mark Parrish scored for the Islanders.
Maple Leafs 3, Bruins 2
In Toronto, Mats Sundin scored twice to help Toronto beat Boston and move ahead of the Bruins atop the Northeast Division.
Sundin's second goal gave Toronto a 3-2 lead with 6:44 left.
Alexei Ponikarovsky also scored for the Maple Leafs, who are tied with division foe Ottawa and Philadelphia for first overall in the Eastern Conference with 84 points. Boston has 82.
Toronto's Ed Belfour appeared headed for his second straight shutout after missing 11 of 12 games, but Martin Lapointe and Joe Thornton scored for Boston.
Flames 4, Blues 2
In St. Louis, Jarome Iginla had two goals and an assist, and scored the game-winner with 3:30 remaining in Calgary's victory over St. Louis that spoiled the home debut of new Blues coach Mike Kitchen.
Iginla and Steven Reinprecht scored in a span of 51 seconds early in the third period to put the Flames ahead 2-1.
The Blues tied it at 2 on a power-play goal by Pavol Demitra with 5:10 left. Reinprecht added an empty-net goal.
St. Louis scored for the first time in three games, ending a drought of 148 minutes, 22 seconds on Scott Mellanby's first-period goal. The Blues have totaled seven goals in six games, going 0-5-1. They are 0-3-1 since Kitchen replaced fired coach Joel Quenneville.
Oilers 5, Coyotes 4
In Edmonton, Alberta, Ryan Smyth had three points, including a goal 2:26 into overtime, as Edmonton spoiled Mike Comrie's return home with a win over Phoenix.
Steve Staios, Georges Laraque and Jason Smith also scored for the Oilers, unbeaten in six home games and at .500 for the first time since November.
Mike Sillinger, Tyson Nash, Chris Gratton and Daymond Langkow replied for Phoenix.
The game was Comrie's first in Edmonton since the Oilers' six-game playoff loss to Dallas last spring.
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