The Carolina Hurricanes owner is prepared to make a deal for his hockey team, but there is just one problem: he doubts interested buyer Chuck Greenberg has the wherewithal to complete the sale.
The asking price is believed to be in the neighborhood of $500 million, and recent negotiations between the two sides appear to have hit a snag.
"The sale of the team is just sitting there, waiting for Chuck to say, 'Geez, I can't raise the money,'" Karmanos told Chip Alexander of The News & Observer. "We have a commitment to Chuck, and we're going to see it through.
"And quite frankly I wish he would pick up the phone and say, 'Geez, you know what, I can't get it done.' Because it looks like he can't get it done. ... I'm telling you, he can't raise the money."
Karmanos left open the possibility of selling the franchise to another buyer if Greenberg can't close the deal.
"I have umpteen million people who have figured out Raleigh is a pretty good area, and it's a pretty good team and pretty good market," Karmanos said. "So if Chuck can't deliver and I still want to sell the team, the price keeps going up."
Karmanos bought the franchise in 1994 - then known as the Hartford Whalers - before relocating it to Raleigh three years later. He witnessed the Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup in 2006.
This season, Carolina has put together a 4-4-1 record, but only one win has come on home ice. In four games at PNC Arena, the Hurricanes have averaged just 11,784 in attendance - dead last in the NHL, according to ESPN.
LAS VEGAS (AP) Oscar Dansk got his third win in his third career game, and the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Colorado Avalanche 7-0 Friday night to extend the best start ever by an NHL expansion team.
The Golden Knights improved to 8-1-0. They've won five straight, matching the longest winning streak ever by a team in its inaugural season, joining the New York Rangers (1926-27) and Edmonton Oilers (1979-80), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Dansk stopped 32 shots in his second career start. The 23-year-old has been thrust into action after injuries to starter Marc-Andre Fleury and backup Malcolm Subban and has allowed three goals on 74 shots - a .960 save percentage.
James Neal got his seventh goal, and David Perron, Oscar Lindberg, Cody Eakin, Jonathan Marchessault, Erik Haula and William carrier also scored. Nate Schmidt had two assists.
Semyon Varlamov allowed all seven goals on 21 shots.
After a scoreless first period, Colorado outshot Vegas 10-1 during the first eight minutes of the second. The Golden Knights then scored four goals over the final 11:10 of the period.
Perron began the barrage after intercepting Nail Yakupov's pass and using a nifty deke to backhand the puck over Varlamov's stick.
Three minutes later, Lindberg made it 2-0 when he stole the puck in the neutral zone, beat three Avalanche defenders and then bested Varlamov.
Eakin notched his first goal of the season after Neal drilled a pass off the end boards. Neal later tipped in Collin Miller's wrist shot from the right point, extending Vegas' lead to 4-0.
In just his second game off the injured reserve list, Marchessault poked home a loose puck five minutes into the third to make it 5-0. In his first game off IR, Haula smacked a one-timer from Marchessault for a power-play goal to make it 6-0.
Carrier took a pass from Brad Hunt and went stick side past Varlamov to finish the scoring.
NOTES: The Golden Knights will play eight of their next nine games - and 14 of their next 20 - on the road. ... After a 4-1-0 start, the Avalanche are in a 1-4-0 skid. ... Colorado played 11 back-to-back games last year, finishing 4-7 on the back end. It is now 0-2-0 in the second game of the first two of the 11 it will play this season. ... Colorado defenseman Tyson Barrie had a six-game point streak snapped.
UP NEXT
Colorado: Hosts the Blackhawks on Saturday night.
Vegas: Plays the Islanders in Brooklyn on Monday night.
This is not the sort of record-setting season Arizona Coyotes fans had hoped for.
After yet another defeat Thursday to the New York Rangers, Arizona's record dropped to 0-9-1 on the season, a 10-game winless stretch which has seen the team drop eight straight in regulation, with its lone point coming in an overtime loss to the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.
Here's how Arizona's historically bad start to the season compares to the all-time flag bearers of futility.
2005-06 Pittsburgh Penguins
It's easy to forget that Sidney Crosby's first season in the NHL didn't start off on a high note.
After lottery luck granted the Penguins the right to select Crosby with the top pick in the 2005 draft, the team appeared to be on the ascendancy after years of losing. That hope intensified as a handful of big-name free agents flocked to Pittsburgh to play alongside the budding superstar.
However, the Penguins' first win in the Crosby era didn't come until their 10th game into the 2005-06 season. Carrying an 0-4-5 record into that contest, the Penguins finally found the win column as they took down the Atlanta Thrashers in a 7-5 win. The Penguins finished the season in second-last league-wide with 58 points.
2002-03 Atlanta Thrashers
It's never good when you're compared to the Thrashers. The since-relocated team, which uprooted for Winnipeg in 2011, joined the NHL in 1999, and amassed a putrid 39 points in its inaugural season.
Another ugly mark came three years later, when Atlanta failed to find a win through its first 10 games, as it struggled to an 0-8-2 showing. The Thrashers' first victory that season came in their 11th game, as they defeated the Florida Panthers by a 3-1 score. Atlanta finished the year with 74 points.
1943-44 New York Rangers
During the 1943-44 season, it took 12 games before the Broadway Blueshirts could finally avoid a loss - a tie against the Montreal Canadiens.
The Rangers then followed up that performance with three more losses, before their first victory finally came in game No. 16, a 6-4 win over the Boston Bruins that improved New York's record to 1-14-1. The Rangers would then win three of their next four, but the luck didn't last, as New York concluded the 50-game season with just six wins.
The Vegas Golden Knights will have to continue trekking on without their No. 1 goalie for at least the near future.
The Golden Knights embark on a six-game road trip following their duel against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury - who remains sidelined with a concussion - will not be accompanying the club, head coach Gerard Gallant announced.
With backup Malcolm Subban also out with a lower-body injury, the majority of the work load should fall to No. 3, Oscar Dansk. Luckily, the 23-year-old has been steady in relief, going 2-0-0 while posting a 2.43 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
The road trip will keep Vegas away from the T-Mobile Arena until Nov. 10 when they take on the Winnipeg Jets.
The early portion of the season can offer some ridiculous stats and trends, as each team sees its numbers reach incredible highs or lows due to a small sample size.
Since we're nearly a month into this season's schedule, let's take a look at some of the worst stats to come about so far.
Islanders' power play
Head coach Doug Weight might want to consider his options next time his club gets a man advantage, as the Islanders appear better suited to playing at even strength.
In 33 power-play opportunities, the Isles have converted only twice for a success rate of six percent (!). That stat is even more damning considering they've already allowed five shorthanded goals.
With a No. 1 unit that features John Tavares, Jordan Eberle, and Anders Lee, a negative goal differential on the power play is simply dumbfounding.
Sabres' blue line
(Photo Courtesy: Action Images)
So, how about that new and improved Sabres defensive corps?
Buffalo's No. 1 priority in the offseason was to upgrade its woeful blue line, and so far, the multiple additions they made, along with the pre-existing core, haven't produced a single goal from the back end.
The Sabres generally have trouble scoring, but for an entire defensive unit to be blanked through 11 games doesn't make a lick of sense. Add in the fact that Hall of Fame defenseman Phil Housley - who scored 338 goals himself - was brought in as head coach, and Buffalo's production issues become even more difficult to comprehend.
Coyotes' save percentage
It's difficult to find a place to start when dissecting the beleaguered 0-9-1 Coyotes' stats page, but perhaps the most heinous numbers come from between the pipes.
Through 10 games, Arizona goaltenders have combined for a save percentage of .863 in all situations, according to Corsica, which is easily the worst mark in the league.
It certainly doesn't help that starter Antti Raanta hit the shelf, but replacements Louis Domingue and Adin Hill have only mustered save percentages of .858 and .880, respectively, in his absence. Woof.
The Anaheim Ducks will have to make do without Cam Fowler for a few more weeks, at the minimum.
Fowler's timeline is four to eight weeks from Oct. 20, Ducks general manager Bob Murray revealed to reporters Friday, according to Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register.
The defenseman injured his knee in Anaheim's win over the Montreal Canadiens last Friday when he fell awkwardly into the boards and needed to be helped off the ice.
He's missed the two games since then.
The Ducks are also playing without blue-liner Kevin Bieksa, who is out indefinitely with a hand injury. The club says Bieksa will be re-examined Monday, after which a timetable for his return will be determined.
Fowler leads Anaheim in average ice time at 22:43.
The direction of the Vancouver Canucks has been nothing but a spinning compass ever since Jim Benning took over as general manager in 2014. Until now, that is.
In the first few years of Benning's tenure, the Canucks were a team that desperately needed to start a full-on rebuild, but refused to do so. He signed miscast veterans like Ryan Miller and Loui Eriksson in an effort to win now, instead of letting young talent play a more prominent role.
But that's all changed, as the Canucks - led by younger players who represent the future of the club - are off to a surprising 6-3-1 start this season. Here's why things are looking up:
The future is now
It is still awfully early, but Brock Boeser has come as advertised. After tearing up the NCAA over the past two years at the University of North Dakota, the 20-year-old has made a seamless transition to the NHL, leading the Canucks with nine points despite playing in only eight of the team's 10 games.
Both Sven Baertschi, 25, and Bo Horvat, 22, have also been key contributors offensively. The latter leads all Canucks forwards in ice time.
But perhaps the most telling sign that the future is now in Vancouver is that Henrik and Daniel Sedin rank eighth and ninth, respectively, among Canucks forwards in time on the ice.
Stacked prospect pipeline
For the first time in a long time, the Canucks have a loaded farm system.
In the crease, Thatcher Demko might be the NHL's best goaltending prospect. After a great career at Boston College, he struggled to begin his first AHL season, but sported a .913 save percentage across his last 26 appearances. This year, Demko has taken his game to a whole new level with a .960 save percentage and 1.26 goals-against average, albeit in just four games.
On the back end, Olli Juolevi, Vancouver's fifth overall pick in 2015, is coming off a somewhat disappointing season with the OHL's London Knights, but he's back home playing in Finland's top professional league, and is off to a strong start with four points in six games.
And Vancouver's most intriguing prospect might be its most recent first-round pick, Elias Pettersson. Also taken fifth overall by the Canucks, the 19-year-old currently sits fifth in SHL (Sweden's top professional league) scoring with five goals and 14 points in 12 games.
Cap flexibility on the way
The Canucks are tight against the cap right now, but that's about to change when the Sedins come off the books this offseason. Each brother carries a cap hit of $7 million, so Benning will have $14 million in additional flexibility to play with.
That opens up a whole host of options. Will the Canucks be in on the John Tavares sweepstakes? Will they make a push for Vancouver native Evander Kane? Will they look to add a much-needed top defenseman in the form of John Carlson? Or, will they simply save the money to lock up their young core when the time comes?
Benning has made his fair share of questionable decisions, but with emerging young talent, plenty of cap room, and what seems like a nice coaching hire in Travis Green, he has a great chance to right the ship.
Another jam-packed Saturday is in store, too, with 12 games on the schedule, and then three more contests are set for Sunday night.
Here are three other games you don't want to miss this weekend:
Nashville Predators @ Chicago Blackhawks
It's always compelling when these Central Division foes clash, and Friday night's affair should be no different.
They met for the first time this season a couple of weeks ago, as Brandon Saad scored the overtime winner to give the Blackhawks a (small) measure of (regular-season) revenge after the Predators swept them out of the first round of the playoffs last spring.
Saad has been great so far in his return to the Windy City, leading the Blackhawks with six goals in 10 games, while Filip Forsberg scored Nashville's lone goal in the first meeting and has been on an absolute tear, piling up seven goals and 12 points in nine contests.
Columbus Blue Jackets @ St. Louis Blues
The Blues have quietly been one of the NHL's best teams so far this fall, and they've been fun to watch.
Some were skeptical about the Blue Jackets' chances of duplicating their superb 2016-17 regular season, but they've looked solid early on as well.
The Blues (7-2-1) and Blue Jackets (6-3-0) meet Saturday night in what should be an entertaining clash featuring electric talent, including Vladimir Tarasenko and Artemi Panarin.
Panarin's been making plays early in his Blue Jackets tenure, with nine assists in his first nine games, but he's been held to only one goal. Busting out against a solid Blues defensive corps is going to be tough, but it should be an entertaining tilt regardless.
Alex Ovechkin has a talented supporting cast in Washington, but the Capitals are 4-5-1 through 10 games.
Both dynamic forwards will be looking to make a statement and continue shouldering the load for their respective squads in Saturday's nightcap, and that should make it worth staying up for.
Over the course of the 2017-18 season, theScore will run a series of interviews with former players in which they recall some of the greatest moments of their career. This edition focuses on Adam Graves, who scored 329 goals and won a pair of Stanley Cup titles in 16 seasons with four NHL teams.
On what he remembers from his first NHL game:
My first game was with Detroit, and Jacques Demers was the coach. I remember playing on a line with Brent Ashton and Shawn Burr. I don't think I played many shifts, but when I did get out there, I was playing against Wayne Gretzky's line. I'll never forget it; I didn't go over center.
This was back in the day, when you would put your stick out and try to hook a little bit into Jari Kurri and follow him around a little bit. You talk about being nervous - that was about as humbling a start as you can get in hockey. I think we won that game 4-1, but I didn't play a very big role. I do remember how nervous I was, and how fortunate I felt to be on the ice that night.
On his first career goal:
It was in Toronto, and it was against Allan Bester. I always kid because I wasn't a player that anyone would remember any of my goals, because they were never fancy. But this particular goal happened to be a play-of-the-year contender - and it had nothing to do with what I did on the ice.
Steve Yzerman had the puck, did a spin-o-rama I believe around Brad Marsh, and deked out two or three guys. I happened to be standing beside the net at the old Maple Leaf Gardens, and he banked it off my stick and into the net.
When I say, "Yeah, my first goal was up for goal of the year," people are like, "Get out of here." And then they see the goal and they go, "Oh, I get it. Stevie Y." (laughs). It's a fond memory. To do it in Toronto, and to have my family there, made it special.
On who hit him the hardest in his career:
I would say the strongest guy I ever had to play against was Ken Daneyko. He's a guy I have always respected, and I knew I was in for a long, tiring night whenever I faced him.
He might have been the strongest as far as battling for pucks and battling for position on the ice. He was like a bull. He was always difficult to play against. And because I was in New York for so long and he was in Jersey, we spent many a night battling for position. But I always had so much respect for him.
On some of the best talkers he encountered on the ice:
Glenn Healy was a guy who was really funny; I've known him since my late teens. Between the rivalry with the Islanders and being lucky enough to play with him and win a Stanley Cup with the Rangers, he was always a quick-witted, really sharp, intelligent man.
You get Nick Kypreos and Glenn Healy in a dressing room ... there was many a day when I couldn't wait to get to the room because I knew I'd be laughing so hard, there would be tears going down my cheek. A lot of it had to do with how quick-witted and how much fun those guys were.
I could tell you some stories, but those are best kept in the dressing room because that's the privilege of being in the room. But as I'm saying that, I'm smiling right now, thinking of that journey. Having teammates like that and being able to laugh and enjoy the game you love with guys like that made it that much more fun.
On the player he considers most underrated from his playing days:
I think one of the guys who was recognized as one of the great players of all time, but a guy I thought was so outstanding was Mats Sundin.
It seemed like whenever Toronto needed a big goal, he was there to score it. I know he was a celebrated Leaf, one of the all-time greats, but playing against him, he was such a big guy. He could play at both ends of the rink. He could beat you taking it to the net, he could beat you with his smarts, making a play, killing penalties, power play ... he was such a difficult guy to play against.
I always had a lot of respect for Mats and the way he approached the game, and his work ethic, and everything else.
On the greatest game he ever played:
You're asking the wrong guy (laughs). I honestly don't give it much thought; I don't know if I had a greatest game. Because I was aggressive, as many things that went well in a game, things could easily have gone the other way because of being out of position, or taking a penalty, or missing a hit.
People will come up to me and say, "I loved the way you played!" And I say, "Well, you must have only seen half my games. The other half, I wasn't very good." I can't say there was ever a game that stood out. I was more of a mucker, a grinder, a product of my environment.
On his last NHL game:
I can't even tell you who we played. I was in San Jose, and I guess I should remember that. When I look back, I just think about how lucky I was to play as long as I did, and to play with the people I did. Even to this day, when I get a chance to get out on the ice, I just think about how fortunate I was to play. It isn't something I look back on sadly. When I was done, I was done.
On when he realized he was done:
I think you know your body. And for me, I wasn't a guy who could change his game to a more skilled, cerebral game. I had to play physical. And by the end, after playing close to 1,200 games, my body was basically telling me I was done. I had had back surgery, shoulders, knees, hands, you name it.
For me, it was the recovery. You think you can play your old-style game, but instead of being ready to go the next day, it would take you two or three days to recover - and unfortunately, you had games in between. I quickly realized that I wasn't able to do what I could do in my early 20s - that physical game and that pounding in front of the net and in the corners.
At the end of the year, I found that I was more mentally tired than physically tired, just because of expectations you put on yourself. As you get older, and you're not able to do the things you'd like to do, you quickly understand (it's time). I was completely thrilled to have the opportunity I had. No regrets.
On his favorite story from the Oilers' 1990 Stanley Cup run:
Both Cup teams I played on were so much about family. Not just the family within the locker room, but your extended families: The moms, the dads, the wifes, the fiancees. You shared those moments with those people.
My mom and dad drove down the day of Game 5 (in Boston). I can remember being with (defenseman) Randy Gregg going into the arena and I saw my mom and dad quickly for about five, 10 minutes.
And as we were about to win, with about 10 seconds left in the game, I remember standing on the bench - actually on the bench - looking up into the stands trying to find my mom and dad. I couldn't find them very easily because they were behind one of those yellow posts at the Boston Garden.
After we had won, coming into the dressing room and having my mom and dad in the room, and my dad drinking out of the Cup, and then us going out for a team meal at a restaurant ... and the place was closed down. It was just family - your hockey family and your actual family. It was just terrific. I'll never forget my dad in the kitchen with an apron on, cooking up lobsters and celebrating the Stanley Cup. Those are memories that I love.
On what made Mark Messier one of hockey's greatest leaders:
For me, it's simple: He could lead any way you wanted him to. He would do it because he cared with his heart. He could do it physically. He could stand up and speak in front of the team. He would do it with humility; he wouldn't ask anyone to do something he wasn't willing to do himself.
On top of that, he had such a complete game. He had the ability to beat you with speed, with passing, with shooting, with physicality - even on-the-edge physicality. He was the complete package. And he brought that at the most opportune times. When the chips were down and you needed a big faceoff, a big hit, a big goal, a momentum-changer ... it was always No. 11.
He cared so much. I don't know if I ever played with someone who respected the game and loved the game more than Mark.
Rapid Fire
The best player he ever played with: Let's put it this way: I was spoiled.
The best player he ever played against: Mario Lemieux
