OT: Around Hockey and the NHL

[These Are The Days]

Prospective Utah NHL owner.


I feel like the internet favorites are the Yeti and Swarm. I'd be fine with either.

Raptors and Cutthroats are probably both out. Utah Bighorns is too memeable. The Utah Blizzard gets into avalanche territory, and can run into an unfortunate Twitter trend. (#UtahBlizzard delays rescue attempts, at least 3 missing.)

The proximity to Denver is a question. It's not particularly close. It's a 500 mile, 8-hour drive, but if you call yourself the Utah Broncos, or the Utah Pioneers, it sounds like the Denver Broncos or Denver Pioneers.

No one calls themselves the Scorpions. The mascot may be too tough to figure out. Outlaws? Pronghorns?


This is what's tricky about everybody expanding. Many of the obvious, classic type names are already taken. Then you deal with other team mascots, and search engine optimization.

Would a Houston NHL team go with a space theme when both the Houston Astros and Dallas Stars already have fuzzy green alien mascots?


What about something living in the Great Salt Lake? Funny thing, multi-celled organisms don't do so well there. They did find a nematode recently.

There's also a legend about some guy moving two whales into the lake, but that's such a deep cut reference, I don't think you can do much with that. Maybe a mascot if they go with a name that doesn't lend itself to anything obvious. Something mysterious in the water is also Kraken territory.

Utah Raptors would just be too leet for the world to handle. It was easily one of the most bad ass dinosaurs to ever live. I dig it

Grizzlies works but there aren't grizzly bears there

 

[Felonious Python]

Utah Raptors would just be too leet for the world to handle. It was easily one of the most bad ass dinosaurs to ever live. I dig it

Grizzlies works but there aren't grizzly bears there

Utahraptors are a real thing, but there's an independent minor league baseball team in Ogden that's gone by the Ogden Raptors for about 30 years, and I figure that using any NBA team name is probably out. Fans buy tickets to boo the Toronto Raptors, but come back the next day to cheer the Utah Raptors.

The Utah Grizzlies have been the SLC hockey team since they moved from Denver in 1995. I figure they'll be moved back up to the AHL again.

I low-key worry about the Pioneers name not being very exciting, or the future Twitter fits about how it glorifies colonization.


Utah is the beehive state, so going with the Swarm or the Stingers works. I do wonder if NHL Cincinnati is actually in the cards, as their WHA team was called the Cincinnati Stingers.

Utah still has a much easier time with a name than a place like Houston, where there's already been so many teams in and around the area.


edit: I just remembered the Bluejackets have a mascot named Stinger. That'd complicate a revival of the Cincinnati Stingers, or a Salt Lake Stingers team.

 

[These Are The Days]

Utahraptors are a real thing, but there's an independent minor league baseball team in Ogden that's gone by the Ogden Raptors for about 30 years, and I figure that using any NBA team name is probably out. Fans buy tickets to boo the Toronto Raptors, but come back the next day to cheer the Utah Raptors.

The Utah Grizzlies have been the SLC hockey team since they moved from Denver in 1995. I figure they'll be moved back up to the AHL again.

I low-key worry about the Pioneers name not being very exciting, or the future Twitter fits about how it glorifies colonization.


Utah still has a much easier time with a name than a place like Houston, where there's already been so many teams in and around the area.

Houston has the same problem as DC in my opinion. It has such an intimate history with aeronautics and space travel that you're hard pressed to think of anything else. With DC it's like "Let's think about the government!!!" Ask me to guess and it'll be Houston Aeros. That alone makes Utah way easier. Agreed on Pioneers. It's hokey sounding anyway. It doesn't inspire emotion one way or another than "lelz they have no history and they couldn't think of anything else / because of that they went with history"

If Grizzlies is off the table, maaayybee Kodiaks? No one is keeping track of where these animals live anyway. If you can take the old Alaska Aces logo with it that would be bad ass. One of the best logos/brands I have ever seen

 

[Felonious Python]

Houston has the same problem as DC in my opinion. It has such an intimate history with aeronautics and space travel that you're hard pressed to think of anything else. With DC it's like "Let's think about the government!!!" Ask me to guess and it'll be Houston Aeros. That alone makes Utah way easier. Agreed on Pioneers. It's hokey sounding anyway. It doesn't inspire emotion one way or another than "lelz they have no history and they couldn't think of anything else / because of that they went with history"

If Grizzlies is off the table, maaayybee Kodiaks? No one is keeping track of where these animals live anyway. If you can take the old Alaska Aces logo with it that would be bad ass. One of the best logos/brands I have ever seen

If it were up to me, everyone would be sticking with their IHL/traditional team names.

I think online, the most popular Houston names, in order, are the Aeros and Apollos. I do think there could be an angle with Houston being the energy capital of the US, but that's a different discussion.

Houston is also very limited by all the team names in Dallas, San Antonio, and soon enough, Austin.


Teams can be creative with where animals are located. Between major league, minor pro, amateur, and school teams, any aggressive or marketable local animal is probably going to already be used at some point, but when I hear 'Kodiak' I primarily think of Alaska.

I like the name San Diego Seawolves, but you don't find Sea Wolves in Southern California. They're associated with the Vancouver area, but Seawolves are also a type of nuclear submarine they didn't make many of, and San Diego is a navy town.


Utah has Arches National Park. Would they become the Utah Archers while there's still a call for the Houston Aeros?

 

[Felonious Python]

I had heard that Fertitta wasn't interested in being the main guy for Houston.

 

[Sky04]

JT Miller - 100 point scorer

 

[LightningStrikes]

JT Miller - 100 point scorer

He had 99 a season ago, cool that he has cracked the 100 now!

 

[Stammertime91]

Marchessault 41g 26a 67p
Miller 35g 65a 100p
Gourde 8g 20a 28p
Verhaeghe 33g 38a 71p
Coleman 29g 23a 52p
Goodrow 4g 8a 12p
Joseph 11g 24a 35p
Johnson 16g 13a 29p
Perry 11g 8a 19p
McDonagh 3g 26a 29p +18 21min ATOI 
Palat 11g 20a 31p
Killorn 17g 18a 35p
Maroon 4g 12a 16p

A look at our boys around the league. Really amazing to think about how we had the majority of these guys all at the same time. Even as depth pieces, like several of them were, they're very good. Gourde having a down year sucks to see. Goodrow is overpaid but that was known when he signed there. Killorn doing his thing and Coleman is having a career year. Missing a few guys, but here's most of them. McDonagh is still a top 4 defenseman, even two years after he "got old and started declining" according to some.

 

[Felonious Python]

Utah is a bit of a punchline, so they could lean away from the implied lameness. A little more rock n' roll than a little bit country.

Utah Rush. Utah Rapids. Utah Bayou Bandits (sorry, New Orleans got in there again) Salt Lake Stampede. Salt Lake Sidewinders. Utah Whiptails. Utah Rocky Mountain Extreme.


A name like the Bandits or Outlaws would go against Utah's very square image, though.

But what about instead of the Pioneers, the Utah Navigators? I guess the mascot could be a gator (which they don't have). The Portland Navigators sound pretty good, too, although they have the NBA Trailblazers, which is pretty much the same thing.

edit: Utah Wranglers. Salt Lake Sandstorm. Salt Lake Skibidi.

 

[Felonious Python]

Frank Seravalli has caught some criticism over perceived editorializing of the Coyotes' arena situation.

He's saying that he's just reporting what he's hearing, and he believes that there's a good chance the Coyotes move, and Phoenix gets an expansion team.



It's certainly possible, but it seems like Atlanta coming in for 2027-28 is a distinct possibility, and everyone knew Mullet Arena would be a multi-year stay.

The Ryan Smith tweet could very well be for a team next year, but picking a good name can take some time. Vegas wanted to be the Knights, but the London Knights got in the way, etc.


If Ryan Smith is ready to spend, he could buy the Coyotes, pay the relocation fee, and Arizona could use the money paid to them on a future expansion fee, but I don't see why the current Coyotes owners would want to do that if they're also serious about having a team. They get probably an okay expansion draft, but all the assets they already have are gone. Fans will never entirely forgive Mereullo for selling the team like that when the league has done everything it can to keep the team in Arizona.

 

[Bartleby]

Looks like McDavid out for a game or two. Maybe down to just Kuch and MacKinnon for the Ross.

 

[Felonious Python]

Kevin Weekes went on the Bob McCown podcast to talk about things like expansion. He mentions interest from San Diego and Portland, the latter of which hasn't been in the conversation much lately.

 

[FinnLightning26]

The Flyers really are bottling it in a spectacular fashion. You could argue they shouldn't even be in this position to begin with but still.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

The Flyers really are bottling it in a spectacular fashion. You could argue they shouldn't even be in this position to begin with but still.

Their goaltending has been brutal lately, plus some of the timely goal scoring they had earlier in the year from Farabee and Konecny specifically has dried up completely at the worst time.

 

[RussianGuyovich]

the flyers started marc staal ITYOOL 2024, you cannot tell me they don't know what theyre doing

 

[Felonious Python]

Ryan Smith name-drops Coop again.


I think I've mentioned this before, but Smith being Cooper-brained would probably increase the odds of Mathieu Darche becoming Utah GM.

Both Vegas and Seattle hired GMs with more extensive experience, however. We'll have to see who is available when Utah hires for that.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Ryan Smith name-drops Coop again.


I think I've mentioned this before, but Smith being Cooper-brained would probably increase the odds of Mathieu Darche becoming Utah GM.

Both Vegas and Seattle hired GMs with more extensive experience, however. We'll have to see who is available when Utah hires for that.

Keep the Coyotes in Arizona, get the arena confirmed and built

 

[JoVel]

Who wants to laugh at the Flyers with me

 

[Felonious Python]

But there is a real possibility that the Coyotes franchise is not based in Arizona come June 27.

The second path involves Meruelo selling control of the franchise in a multi-layered process that would include Smith Entertainment Group paying north of $1.2 billion, part of which is a relocation fee that would be distributed to league owners. Smith owns the NBA’s Utah Jazz and the yet-to-be renamed NHL team would temporarily play in the basketball-oriented Delta Center until a multipurpose arena could be built to adequately house both teams.

“We are interested. We are ready, and we’re a partner,” Smith told The Athletic this week. “The arena is done. We think we have a solution. And that’s my message to the NHL.”

An announcement on a sale and relocation could come as soon as April 18, the day after the Coyotes’ final regular season home game at the 4,600-seat Mullett Arena on the campus of Arizona State University.

I dunno. I just dunno.

If he's saying that a deal is maybe almost done, then he must be hearing things, right? He's President of the PHWA. He's not a grifter.

Seravalli said it's a 'non-zero chance' of happening, but what does that mean? Is it 1%? Is it 40%?

I can't see how Meruelo ever recovers with the Coyotes fanbase if he sells the team. They know the potential he'd give to Utah. They will never let him hear the end of it.

Seravalli is making an argument that it's tough to go from 3,500 STHs to 13k. So it's easier to go from 3.5k to 0 for a few years, and then back up to 13k? Why get invested when the owner already betrayed them?

When Portland or San Diego heats up in expansion talk, they'll mockingly ask if he's going to sell to them too.

 

[Felonious Python]

 

[Felonious Python]

Unless there's somehow another bidder on the Arizona land (Fuddruckers?), any skepticism about the auction itself would be about how much money Meruelo has.

Whether they think he can get the project going on schedule is another matter.



The last I had heard (in the past few days) was that Meruelo still hadn't ever addressed the staff or players.



What is happening?
'Do it the hard way' is an excellent tagline for the Yotes.

If Meruelo sells, he's cooked with a capital 'F'. He's out. That's not how you do this.

 

[Felonious Python]

Multiple sources indicate a real scenario is Meruelo being paid $1 billion for the team, and Smith paying $1.2 billion to purchase. But the real key is what the NHL will promise Meruelo to avoid this ending up in court.

Those same sources indicate he could be offered a five-year exclusive window to “bring back” the Coyotes as an expansion franchise — although there would be certain language stating what would need to be accomplished for him to return. (The league definitely desires a return to the market if it leaves.)

This sounds more like a stealth league takeover. Meruelo gets all the blame, too. I don't see how the most diehard, knowledgeable Coyotes fans would ever trust Meruelo again. The Coyotes stuck around when they left Glendale and the pandemic hit, but as soon as the owner got an offer he liked...

This would also indicate that the moved team would not be called the Utah Coyotes.

 

[DaBolts]

Utah would be a stronger base of support. Sorry Arizona, you tried and so did Atlanta. Some places are just natural hockey towns.

Like Tampa.

 

[Felonious Python]

Utah would be a stronger base of support. Sorry Arizona, you tried and so did Atlanta. Some places are just natural hockey towns.

Like Tampa.

MLB took three tries in Washington, DC, and the NBA took three tries in Chicago before the teams stuck.

I think the secret for Arizona would be to just do their third attempt.

 

[Felonious Python]

Seravalli talking to PHNX, who had been on different sides of the reporting.

Seravalli gives a 90-95% chance the Coyotes move.
edit: Elliotte Friedman seems to pretty much agree with that number, 90-95%.

The mayor of Scottsdale doubting the team would move tho...