Around the League - 2023/24

[Ceremony]

Again, I have to ask - what's happening with Dale Hawerchuk's banner?

 

[Bender]

Never thought I'd say this but I feel bad for them

I don't and will never feel sorry for them. People tend to forget ALL of the lowlights of the coyotes in Arizona in the midst of very, very FEW highlights.

- The constant 'we are planning on moving the coyotes to a different area so maybe THEN it will be better' that went on for freakin' YEARS with all these new ideas being rejected by the state/municipalities/decision makers, etc.

- The fact that they were owned by the league for a bunch of years until they found the right 'owner'...yeah, no conflict of interest there. If I'm not mistaken, it was probably their most successful years in az. (Probably a huge coincidence )

- I will NEVER forget shane doan's PUNCH-IN goal in overtime over the Avs with Gretzky as coach getting his guys off the bench like a thief in the night and this being allowed to stand, no questions asked.

- The fact that they have been a garbage dump for contracts for what seems like the last 15 years is a prime example that shows that it's a good thing that they are moving.

The only thing that makes me feel bad is that it took this long.

 

[EdAVSfan]

The NHL needs to find its “NBA TNT crew” .
Knowledge, chemistry and comedy.

The NHL allows bare knuckle fighting but has golf-like media crews. Makes no sense

 

[The Abusement Park]

Just feels tacky that they handed Shane Doan his retired number banner. But…I suppose what the F else you gonna do with it.

Fitting that Alex Meruelo isn’t at Mullett tonight. No way in hell does the league actually want him to win that auction. They want to be done with that guy.

Doesn’t he have to give back the billion he gets from Smith if he brings the Coyotes back? If that’s the case 0 chance he’s gonna win that auction.

 

[Grackle Party]

The NHL needs to find its “NBA TNT crew” .
Knowledge, chemistry and comedy.

The NHL allows bare knuckle fighting but has golf-like media crews. Makes no sense

I think the TNT crew for hockey is pretty great

 

[Chiarelli]

Getting over COVID, then back into the swing of gym, kayaking, socializing again mate.

Also, bold prediction : Georgiev for player of playoffs

Dream bigger.

Time Magazine's Person of the Year.

 

[Muffin]

Never thought I'd say this but I feel bad for them

I don't understand why anyone would feel bad for them? If they ACTUALLY supported the team and went to the games they wouldn't be moving in the first place.

It's like you neglect a child then say how much you love them when they get taken away by child protective services.

 

[Chiarelli]

I don't understand why anyone would feel bad for them? If they ACTUALLY supported the team and went to the games they wouldn't be moving in the first place.

It's like you neglect a child then say how much you love them when they get taken away by child protective services.

normally I would have agreed but the human side of this really hit me last night. People lost jobs. They do have fans even if it isn't that many. I really feel that the ownership and upper management are the incompetent ones throughout this story now. If they hadn't fumbled this team for years maybe they could have attracted a better base and built something good.

 

[henchman21]

There are diehards of every team... and any movement of franchises honestly sucks for them. I feel for those people. I feel for the hockey organizations around Arizona that rely on the Coyotes' support. The local people who are employed by the org who won't be moving. The coverage teams. etc.

Where I don't feel bad is that the economic reality of the situation has to change. A small arena is a fun novelty, but not sustainable long-term. Even if they were making money finally, it wasn't much and wasn't enough to really have a long-term plan. The fact that they simply couldn't get any building funded and working. The best hope here is something in ~27 or 28 and even then there was backlash already brewing to make it a fight. Hockey will be back in Arizona. There is about zero chance the NHL ignores that market. It needs to come with better ownership and a realistic arena that can give the organization a fighting chance. Meruelo honestly shouldn't be the guy. The NHL should wait him out and wait for a legitimate owner who can run things properly and in more of a Foley manner.

The NHL as a whole will be stronger after this, and they still have two other markets where they can expand to for big money. By the end of the decade, I'd bet plans for 36 teams are cemented with Arizona, Houston, and Atlanta all being a part of that.

 

[UnkleKraker]

There are diehards of every team... and any movement of franchises honestly sucks for them. I feel for those people. I feel for the hockey organizations around Arizona that rely on the Coyotes' support. The local people who are employed by the org who won't be moving. The coverage teams. etc.

Where I don't feel bad is that the economic reality of the situation has to change. A small arena is a fun novelty, but not sustainable long-term. Even if they were making money finally, it wasn't much and wasn't enough to really have a long-term plan. The fact that they simply couldn't get any building funded and working. The best hope here is something in ~27 or 28 and even then there was backlash already brewing to make it a fight. Hockey will be back in Arizona. There is about zero chance the NHL ignores that market. It needs to come with better ownership and a realistic arena that can give the organization a fighting chance. Meruelo honestly shouldn't be the guy. The NHL should wait him out and wait for a legitimate owner who can run things properly and in more of a Foley manner.

The NHL as a whole will be stronger after this, and they still have two other markets where they can expand to for big money. By the end of the decade, I'd bet plans for 36 teams are cemented with Arizona, Houston, and Atlanta all being a part of that.

Atlanta again? How many times do you go back to that well? Having been there a few times it is a fine city but not a hockey city IMO.

 

[henchman21]

Atlanta again? How many times do you go back to that well? Having been there a few times it is a fine city but not a hockey city IMO.

Three times is the answer.

Big market, lots of corporations, growing… and probably most importantly, a local govt willing to help fund an arena with an ownership group in place. I know it drives people nuts, but it is the reality of it. 34 is pretty imminent (as in announced within 2-3 years) and Atlanta will be one of them.

 

[Chiarelli]

everytime Atlanta gets a team they migrate North to Canada a few years later. For that reason I'm in.

 

[UnkleKraker]

everytime Atlanta gets a team they migrate North to Canada a few years later. For that reason I'm in.

So Winterpeg 2.0's replacement down the road?

 

[Balthazar]

Meruelo honestly shouldn't be the guy. The NHL should wait him out and wait for a legitimate owner who can run things properly and in more of a Foley manner.

And how do they do that? Wait until he spends his money on something else so he doesn't have the money anymore?

 

[henchman21]

And how do they do that? Wait until he spends his money on something else so he doesn't have the money anymore?

We will know after the vote today what the terms are... if the 5 year window is true. Then you simply wait until 2029.

 

[Balthazar]

We will know after the vote today what the terms are... if the 5 year window is true. Then you simply wait until 2029.

From my understanding the NHL is contractually obligated to give him a team if he meets the conditions in that window.

 

[Balthazar]

 

[henchman21]

From my understanding the NHL is contractually obligated to give him a team if he meets the conditions in that window.

There are probably fine details in there... but given how this has already gone, do you really think it is realistic that he can get an arena built after just losing a team?

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

 

[Balthazar]

There are probably fine details in there... but given how this has already gone, do you really think it is realistic that he can get an arena built after just losing a team?

Well I'm sure that everyone is hoping that he doesn't meet those conditions. That's a gamble that the NHL was willing to take in order to move the team as smoothly as possible.

Still, there's a decent chance that he gets another team depending on how motivated he is and the league won't be able to block him.

 

[Chiarelli]

working in industrial construction buddy would need to be sending out proposals and cutting PO's today to have a building in 5 years.

 

[henchman21]

Well I'm sure that everyone is hoping that he doesn't meet those conditions. That's a gamble that the NHL was willing to take in order to move the team as smoothly as possible.

Still, there's a decent chance that he gets another team depending on how motivated he is and the league won't be able to block him.

The gamble the NHL is taking isn't that huge of a gamble IMO. If he proves that he can't make it work, which is the more likely situation, in 2029 they can announce their 35th and 36th teams with Arizona being one... with good ownership. If by some miracle he makes it work, Arizona will have their first owned and viable arena in the history of their time there and Meruelo will have proven that he can actually make this level of development work. Which takes a lot of money and actually paying bills. That would be a few notches above where he is today in proving himself.

To me it is most likely situation is in the middle. Meruelo fails at getting the arena together. Maybe he gets the land this summer, but public pressure is too high and he just can't get the arena done. Sometime in 2026/2027 Meruelo and the NHL come together to realize he can't get it done and the exclusive rights are relinquished for an unannounced sum of money. Bettman then finds a willing partner sometime in 2027 the expansion is announced with the Coyotes' history coming along.

The devil will be in the details of the agreement. I'm sure there are a lot of standards that Meruelo will have to meet with the arena to complete the deal. I don't expect they will be easy to meet either.

 

[henchman21]

working in industrial construction buddy would need to be sending out proposals and cutting PO's today to have a building in 5 years.

Vegas took a little over 3 years from formal announcement to opening (Jan 2013 to April 2016). Climate Pledge was a bit different because they had to keep certain parts of the structure (likely hurt the timeline). That formally started in Dec 17 and opened Oct 21. IMO that puts the realistic arena timeline at just under 4 years. 3 is a stretch, 5 is plenty of time. If a plan isn't ready by next summer though, he'll be against the wall. Which is why I think late 2026 this will come to a point where Meruelo relinquishes rights.

 

[Chiarelli]

Vegas took a little over 3 years from formal announcement to opening (Jan 2013 to April 2016). Climate Pledge was a bit different because they had to keep certain parts of the structure (likely hurt the timeline). That formally started in Dec 17 and opened Oct 21. IMO that puts the realistic arena timeline at just under 4 years. 3 is a stretch, 5 is plenty of time. If a plan isn't ready by next summer though, he'll be against the wall. Which is why I think late 2026 this will come to a point where Meruelo relinquishes rights.

we aren't in 2017 anymore tho. Material procurement has really changed imo. Maybe not as bad in the states but things are a mess up here

 

[NOTENOUGHRYJOTHINGS]

working in industrial construction buddy would need to be sending out proposals and cutting PO's today to have a building in 5 years.

They'll just play in a temporary location while the real one gets built at some undetermined time in the future.

It'll totally work out fine this time. Unlike all the other times.