Ryan Smith hospitality

[hbk]

Precisely. I am sure Mike Ribeiro liked the night life.

if the night life went up his nose.

 

[Grimes]

Precisely. I am sure Mike Ribeiro liked the night life.

Speaking of. A+ answer

 

[tuxonpups]

I suspect Utah will now be getting the scheduling benefit of the recovery day after Vegas game match-ups.

Having Bjugstad out there as an ambassador to other vets considering a UFA deal could go a long way, he's flourished under Tourigny and credited the coaching staff a lot when talking to UFAs last summer.

Not sure I'll be going out to get the new parent club's swag, unless they have the balls to name it the Utah Phoenix, rising from the ashes, that would be legend.

 

[chrapril]

I suspect Utah will now be getting the scheduling benefit of the recovery day after Vegas game match-ups.

Having Bjugstad out there as an ambassador to other vets considering a UFA deal could go a long way, he's flourished under Tourigny and credited the coaching staff a lot when talking to UFAs last summer.

Not sure I'll be going out to get the new parent club's swag, unless they have the balls to name it the Utah Phoenix, rising from the ashes, that would be legend.

Utah Phonenix is the best name I've heard so far. That would be legendary.

If anyone subscribes to The Athletic there was a good article on Smith's desire to bring a team to SLC.

It was titled "Why Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith is hellbent on bringing an NHL team to Salt Lake City"

They cover how he got into hockey.

 

[Heldig]

Speaking of. A+ answer
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What magazine is that?

 

[Daximus]

I wore my LA jersey doing some errands today, just wanted to see if anybody would ask me about hockey.

I was asked several times if I was excited about the team coming. There is a lot of excitement here and I keep telling everyone we are so lucky to be getting AZ.

Tons of young talent and an owner that cares, all the cap space you need, and draft capital for days.

It really is honestly in a better spot for the future than an actual expansion level team would have been. Especially after teams have learned how to navigate them better post Vegas/Seattle.

You aren't going to get guys like Keller, Cooley, Hayton, Guenther, Maccelli, Geekie, Lamoureux, But, Lutz. etc. Out of an expansion draft. You'd be looking at an older team that may win a bit more in the short term and maybe hope to parlay some picks out of teams looking to protect some players but you'll also likely be close to the cap.

This team has a good young roster, some decent prospects in the cupboard and plenty of picks with lots of cap room and an owner that might want to make a splash or two in free agency this offseason. Plus a lottery ball this year which could end up being a top 3 pick depending on how things go.

 

[Daximus]

Utah Phonenix is the best name I've heard so far. That would be legendary.

If anyone subscribes to The Athletic there was a good article on Smith's desire to bring a team to SLC.

It was titled "Why Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith is hellbent on bringing an NHL team to Salt Lake City"

They cover how he got into hockey.

That is actually fire and works so well with the Jazz alt colors.

 

[Grimes]

What magazine is that?

Was in the 2023-2024 Coyotes Yearbook that was at each seat in the last game.

 

[rt]

That is actually fire and works so well with the Jazz alt colors.

I would love this so much. Never happen. But would be amazing.

 

[AintLifeGrand]

Yeah they'll have plenty of cap to work with to get it done. I've never been to SLC so I can't say what the attractiveness of the market will be like with the players. But just looking at pictures it looks like a beautiful city and there seems to be a good mix of outdoor activities and entertainment. Obviously not a party city but I've found you usually don't want those types of players that care more about partying than playing anyways.

beautiful landscape;SLC as a city from a design and architectural perspective isn't great.

If it wasn't for the mountains IMO SLC proper would be one of the ugliest cities in the country.

There are some scenic suburbs , but that is due to terrain and topography and not architecture.

Park City is an exception to this.

Will be curious to see if players live in Park City or Draper/Cottonwood Heights/Holladay area on Eastern Bench

 

[Llewzaher]

20K season tickets exceed stadium capacity. Some must be partial season plans. Still, that's awesome.

It’s only $100 deposit.. if they all turn out to be season tickets.. that’s incredible..

 

[rt]

beautiful landscape;SLC as a city from a design and architectural perspective isn't great.

If it wasn't for the mountains IMO SLC proper would be one of the ugliest cities in the country.

There are some scenic suburbs , but that is due to terrain and topography and not architecture.

Park City is an exception to this.

Will be curious to see if players live in Park City or Draper/Cottonwood Heights/Holladay area on Eastern Bench

Smith was talking a lot about a whole downtown revitalization. Really changing the look and feel in the area around the arena and making the experience start well before arriving at the actual arena. He seems to age a vision for improvinmg this somewhat.

 

[TheGreenTBer]

extremely

Ryan Smith started Qualtrics which was a CRM SAAS product that he sold to SAP for several billion dollars.

I have several friends who worked/work there and they were all well paid and couldnt say enough good things about the company.

Ryan is like the Mark Cuban of Utah and I would ventute to say he is going to be the best owner in the league.

Everything he does turns to gold

Literally the exact opposite of Meruelo then

 

[hbk]

Smith was talking a lot about a whole downtown revitalization. Really changing the look and feel in the area around the arena and making the experience start well before arriving at the actual arena. He seems to age a vision for improvinmg this somewhat.

The LA Live experience

 

[AintLifeGrand]

Smith was talking a lot about a whole downtown revitalization. Really changing the look and feel in the area around the arena and making the experience start well before arriving at the actual arena. He seems to age a vision for improvinmg this somewhat.

I lived Downtown for a year; and while its in a state of rapid gentrification, there is still a big homeless underbelly that is pervasive throughout downtown that the police, city and state govt have not been able to resolve , despite numerous operations to re-locate them to other states and areas within the state.

Crime is also surprisingly high in the area as well.

A colleague who lived in a neighborhong building (luxury apt) had a homicide occur on his floor . Additionally you see public heroin and fentanyl use blatantly in public in most parts of downtown- Ive seen a woman shoot up in front of the Mormon Temple on LDS property.

Hopefully SLC takes care of this shit sooner rather than later

 

[Mangosteen]

I lived Downtown for a year; and while its in a state of rapid gentrification, there is still a big homeless underbelly that is pervasive throughout downtown that the police, city and state govt have not been able to resolve , despite numerous operations to re-locate them to other states and areas within the state.

Crime is also surprisingly high in the area as well.

A colleague who lived in a neighborhong building (luxury apt) had a homicide occur on his floor . Additionally you see public heroin and fentanyl use blatantly in public in most parts of downtown- Ive seen a woman shoot up in front of the Mormon Temple on LDS property.

Hopefully SLC takes care of this shit sooner rather than later

Sadly this is a global problem now. Hopefully a solution will be found.

 

[Daximus]

I lived Downtown for a year; and while its in a state of rapid gentrification, there is still a big homeless underbelly that is pervasive throughout downtown that the police, city and state govt have not been able to resolve , despite numerous operations to re-locate them to other states and areas within the state.

Crime is also surprisingly high in the area as well.

A colleague who lived in a neighborhong building (luxury apt) had a homicide occur on his floor . Additionally you see public heroin and fentanyl use blatantly in public in most parts of downtown- Ive seen a woman shoot up in front of the Mormon Temple on LDS property.

Hopefully SLC takes care of this shit sooner rather than later

This is kind of how it is in every major and minor city in North America. I don't think it's isolated to one place or another.

 

[Grimes]

beautiful landscape;SLC as a city from a design and architectural perspective isn't great.

If it wasn't for the mountains IMO SLC proper would be one of the ugliest cities in the country.

There are some scenic suburbs , but that is due to terrain and topography and not architecture.

Park City is an exception to this.

Will be curious to see if players live in Park City or Draper/Cottonwood Heights/Holladay area on Eastern Bench

I actually really think some areas of downtown are superb. The avenues is gorgeous too! (Or is it the alphabet area?) It has kind of a mini-Detroit vibe to me. I think Denver is much worse as far as an architectural stand point where everything looks like it's from the 80's and has a lifeless corporate feel

Edit: Cheers To You may be the 2nd best dive bar in the West outside of Casey Moores

 

[Llewzaher]

Supposedly he took about 20 players golfing after meeting them the other day

 

[5 Minute Major]

Sounds like the makings of a good owner. It will be fun to see how that translates on the ice with a team that has potential.

 

[AZviaNJ]

Blown away by the Utah intro press conference. Now understand why Uncle Gary wants Ryan Smith as an NHL owner.

Things are off to a very good start in Utah.

 

[cslebn]

It’s only $100 deposit.. if they all turn out to be season tickets.. that’s incredible..

It's been reported they won't let it, which bums me out because I was trying to get a whole season and was pretty early on clicking in.

I've heard it's all going to be partial season packages.

Edit related comments

From skepticism to celebration: How Utah got its NHL team

Ryan Smith didn't know how high the number had climbed.

www.ksl.com

But what about the high-ticket demand?

"We might offer partial season packages and some of that, but that's exciting," Smith said. "I told the players, 'We'll get everyone there on the first year, and it's your job to keep them there.'"

 

[Llewzaher]

Utah Event with the players

 

[cslebn]

Utah Event with the players

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Must find a way to escape work and go

 

[Puckrobber]

Utah Event with the players

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I hate the fact that I had to move from Arizona to Oklahoma last year. I miss all the good stuff.