The Toronto Globe & Mail, reporting on the Devils' nightmare season, says owner Jeff Vanderbeek offered to sell the team to Mikhail Prokhorov last summer, but the Russian billionaire turned him down.  A spokesperson for Prokhorov says he "currently has no plans to purchase any other sports teams."

Quoting two NHL sources, David Shoalts of the Globe & Mail writes Vanderbeek made a "strong pitch" last summer to Prokhorov. Re-signing Russian wing Ilya Kovalchuk to a $100 million contract was "core to the pitch", Shoalts adds. 

"You never know," Vanderbeek told the Globe and Mail. "[Prokhorov] does like the building. We have a very good relationship. I talk to him about a lot of things."

• Devils down on their luck - David Shoalts - Toronto Globe & Mail