Big Canadian companies join effort to draw Coyotes northward

Canadian pressure to get the Phoenix Coyotes to move to Ontario continued Friday as potential buyer Jim Basillie announced that Labatt Breweries and Home Hardware have joined the effort to attract the team.

Through Basillie???s ???Make It Seven??? Web site, aimed at bringing a seventh professional hockey team to Canada, Basillie sent an e-mail to his registered fans and called the two companies ???iconic Canadian brands.???

???I am more optimistic than ever that we are one step closer to bringing another NHL team to Southern Ontario and to Canada,??? Basillie said in his e-mail.

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Basillie is the founder of Research in Motion, the maker of the BlackBerry device.

Labbatt, owned by InBev SA, makes a variety of beers, including Labatt???s. Home Hardware is a long-standing purveyor of home improvement goods.

Meanwhile, efforts to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix also continue with a ???Save the Coyotes??? Web site. In addition, NHL leaders said keeping the team in the Valley is a priority.

The team???s future is uncertain, as another hearing in the team???s bankruptcy case is scheduled later for later this month. Current team owner Jerry Moyes and NHL leadership are at odds over who actually has control of the Coyotes. The NHL also is contesting Basillie???s attempt to buy the team from Moyes for $212.5 million.

For more:www.makeitseven.caandwww.savethecoyotes.com.