Another Canadian has reportedly entered the picture in the purchase of the Phoenix Coyotes.

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Robert Lang #20 of the Phoenix Coyotes and teammates on the bench celebrate a goal against the Dallas Stars on November 14, 2009 at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Photograph by : Getty Images

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According to a report by the Globe and Mail, Montreal businessman Steve Stotland is spearheading an Arizona group of investors that is interested in buying the team from the National Hockey League, with the intentions of keeping the franchise in Glendale, Ariz.

Stotland told the newspaper that the team "has been with an ownership group that is telling people that hockey doesn't work in the desert. Now that the bankruptcy is done and the NHL owns the team, we're going to move forward."

The story goes on to say that Stotland was involved in a group of investors interesting in purchasing the Montreal Canadiens in 2000 as well as earlier this year.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed to the Globe that they have been in contact with Stotland.

"I can confirm that we've had discussions and we continue to be in contact," Daly told the paper. "I know he's done due diligence and met with the team and that's the extent of it. He seems to be excited by the prospect of owning the team and we'll see where it goes."

The NHL took control of the Coyotes earlier this month, when Arizona bankruptcy Judge Redfield T. Baum approved the league's offer of $140 million US for the bankrupt franchise.

After the approval was announced, the league quickly said it would be looking to flip the team to an owner or ownership group wanting to keep the franchise in Arizona.

"We're not in there for one year. We're committed," Stotland told the Globe. "But the financial agreements have to be reasonable because the NHL doesn't want a local group to go through the same thing the last owner did. I want to show the NHL is viable in Glendale."