Falcone Flies High? Report says Wild owner is looking to buy into Islanders

Y'know. For a classless, embarrassing team with a defense that, "looks like it was assembled by way of an expansion draft, populated mostly by reclamation projects," there sure are a lot of people interested in buying the New York Islanders.

The latest to join the ever-expanding list of suitors is Phil Falcone, who is a current part-owner of the Minnesota Wild and is, according to a report in this morning's New York Post, looking for a stake in the Islanders alongside incoming buyers Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin.

From The Post:

The beleaguered hedge fund mogul and former Harvard hockey player has been mulling selling his minority ownership in the Wild with the goal of becoming an eventual owner of the Islanders, sources said.

If that happens, Falcone would invest in the Islanders alongside friend and fellow Harvard alum Jon Ledecky, who last month led an investor group that purchased a "substantial" minority stake in the NHL franchise, sources said.

"[Falcone] is thinking about it," said a source familiar with the situation.

Sounds legit. I mean, the anonymous source is "familiar with the situation." What could go wrong? Longtime Islanders fans hate that question.

The report goes on in some detail about Falcone's troubles in his other businesses, including a bankrupt wireless company and some sanctions by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Sources also said that Falcone, who owns 45% of the Wild, is on the outs with his partner Craig Leipold and as stepped away from the team in the last year or so while they haggle over the team's financial losses.

Falcone, like Ledecky and Malkin - who agreed last month to purchase the team from Charles Wang and transition to majority ownership in two years - is a Harvard alumnus and a hockey fan. Originally from Minnesota, he played center for the Crimson back in the early 80's. His Harbinger Capital Partners hedge fund has earned him a net worth of $697 million, according to his Forbes dossier.

New blood or hot air? Could be a little of both. Either way, here's hoping he's much easier to deal with than any other Falcones I know of.