Brad Treliving wouldn’t confirm it. Nor would he deny it.

When asked Sunday if the Phoenix Coyotes would become the Portland Pirates’ new parent club today, the Coyotes’ assistant general manager instead left some room for speculation in regards to recent reports connecting Phoenix and Portland.

“There’s been a lot of reports and we’re excited that we’ll have a real good announcement (today),” Treliving said.

“It’s trending that way but I’m not going to put the cart before the horse. We’re extremely excited about the prospects.”

The Coyotes are expected to name the Portland Pirates their new American Hockey League affiliate today. Pirates CEO Brian Petrovek will hold a 1 p.m. news conference at the Cumberland County Civic Center to announce the new partnership.

The Buffalo Sabres, Portland’s parent team for the last three seasons, said Friday that they had purchased the Rochester Americans and that the Americans will become the Sabres’ AHL farm team.

When questioned Friday in Portland, Petrovek would not confirm or deny reports of a connection between Phoenix and Portland.

“Until it comes out of my mouth, there’s no truth to any rumor or any speculation as to who our new partner is,” Petrovek told the media assembled in the Pirates’ locker room at the Civic Center.

Petrovek also said he would not discuss details regarding the selection of a new parent team, but he would talk more today about “how this whole process came down to one team.

“What were the factors,” Petrovek said. “What was the ebb and flow. What were the criteria. What was tangible and intangible, qualitative and quantitative, and how does one ultimately realize that, yeah, this is just right.”

The San Antonio Rampage have been Phoenix’s AHL affiliate for the past six seasons, but the Coyotes’ contract with the Rampage expired after the 2010-11 season. It’s expected that the Rampage will become the Florida Panthers’ AHL affiliate.

Treliving, who also was San Antonio’s GM, did not say how long it took the Coyotes to line up its next AHL farm team, but said, “this one really seemed like a long time.

“And there’s timing involved. Our situation here, you want to have respect for the organization we partnered with (San Antonio). The length of the process, it can take months to years.”

Treliving did not share specifics regarding Phoenix’s affiliation plans, but he said the Coyotes targeted the AHL’s Eastern Conference with an eye on geography.

Treliving said Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney’s familiarity with the region — he was with the New York Rangers’ front office from 1996-2007 — and the proximity of the Pirates to many other Eastern Conference teams would benefit the Coyotes.

“(Maloney) was familiar with the close proximity of the teams in the East and they’re all a couple hours away from each other,” Treliving said. “They’re on the bus, the players play the games and then they go home, and there’s less wear and tear.

“We felt that whole way the structure was set up geographically, it lends itself to better development.

“Is there a distance between the NHL and the AHL (affiliate), potentially? Hypothetically? Yes. But weighing the factors of one player being sent up or called down, if we are in Portland, he’ll be traveling a couple hours on a plane longer than if he was in San Antonio. The travel and the wear and tear, it’s a factor, and you look at all these things.

“But the key point for us is being in the best possible environment for developing.”

Staff Writer Rachel Lenzi can be contacted at 791-6415 or at:

rlenzi@pressherald.com

Twitter: rlenzi

 

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