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Andrew Barroway Sues Charles Wang over Scuttled New York Islanders Sale

Because of course it gets weirder. It always does.

Off to see the Clippers?
Off to see the Clippers?
Bruce Bennett

If you thought the New York Islanders sale news was over for now, then you must be a new fan at your first rodeo. The saga between bidder Andrew Barroway and current owner Charles Wang gets stranger. Lots stranger.

Like "somehow the L.A. Clippers are involved" stranger.

Per the Daily News, quoting a court filing [emphasis mine, for added wrinkle]:

However, Wang "without notice, abruptly refused to proceed to close the transaction and honor the terms of their 70-page purchase agreement but instead "improperly sought to renegotiate the already agreed upon price" in March.

In midsummer, according to court papers, Wang demanded $548 million for the team. When Barroway refused, Wang notified him on Aug. 1 that he had sold* the team to other bidders.

*The Daily News has since edited the story, changing "sold" to "decided to sell" to other bidders. So, calm there.

The Daily News goes on to explain that Barroway claims he had a "handshake" deal in March with the "unscrupulous and greedy" Wang -- eventually coming up with $100 million in cash and an agreement to take on a $125 million loan debt Wang held -- but in June Wang allegedly pulled out after demanding the higher price, having seen Steve Ballmer agree to purchase the NBA Clippers for $2 billion.

Barroway's camp wants a $10 million breakup fee they say was in the deal, which has never been publicly confirmed by the club itself.

Islanders fans want peace.

Somehow this is all feels so familiar.

UPDATE: Check some screen grabs of the lawsuit via @thereluctantk on Twitter, for example...multiple handshakes!:

UPDATE THE SECOND: Okay, now you can peruse the full files to your heart's content here.