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Blues' Transfer Rejected
A request to transfer the St. Louis Blues to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, was defeated, 15-3, by the National Hockey League Board of Governors yesterday.
A group headed by Bill Hunter, a co-founder of the World Hockey Association in 1972 and a former owner of the Edmonton Oilers, had reached an agreement in principle to purchase the team from Ralston-Purina, reportedly for $11 million.
But the Saskatoon group needed three-quarters approval of the board to buy the team and unanimous consent to move it.
''The basic contract someone gets when they receive a franchise states they will not transfer it,'' John Ziegler, the league president, said.
''It's an absolute prohibition, but that provision of the constitution can be amended by a unanimous vote. In those incidents where we've transferred franchises, we've amended the constitution for that request only.''
As far as the league is concerned, he said, there is still an N.H.L. franchise in St. Louis, owned and operated by Ralston-Purina. But all front-office employees of the Blues have been laid off.
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