If Phoenix gets expansion. Is Murelo the owner?

[hockeyboy1923]

I think you can be fairly confident that the Players were never fine with it, they just tolerated it to get to a better place. And you say one year yet just last year it was Tempe getting done and now 12 months later there really isn't any concrete plan??

Edit: remember Jakey as some of us starting hearing the PA get a little more vocal and Mureulo giving them no updates folks like yourself wanted Mureulo to tell them to pound sand as it's none of their business. That's not looking like such a smart business decision now is it.

It really depends on the players. I am sure most of them with families have no desire to uproot and move to SLC because Scottsdale is a nice place to live. I also doubt the young players are excited about a city with no nightlife. Then you also wonder how players that went up through the Coyotes system feel about everyone trashing the city of Phoenix as a failed hockey experiment. Some players may be upset about the arena situation enough that they like the move, but I think this was mostly driven by Bettman and the other NHL owners.

Phoenix is a market the NHL needs to be in due to growth, size and demographics in the city. What the NHL needed to do was flex muscle to get a good ownership group in place - force AM to sell the team publically. Maybe the team would have moved to somewhere else like Houston but at least that would have made more sense for hockey than SLC. A secret, rushed sale to the commissioner's buddy, moving the team to a tier 2 city may be good or ok for the NHL in the short term but is definitely bad for hockey the sport in the long-term. The NHL is already doing a poor job of promoting the sport and making it more popular.

 

[Jamieh]

It really depends on the players. I am sure most of them with families have no desire to uproot and move to SLC because Scottsdale is a nice place to live. I also doubt the young players are excited about a city with no nightlife. Then you also wonder how players that went up through the Coyotes system feel about everyone trashing the city of Phoenix as a failed hockey experiment. Some players may be upset about the arena situation enough that they like the move, but I think this was mostly driven by Bettman and the other NHL owners.

Phoenix is a market the NHL needs to be in due to growth, size and demographics in the city. What the NHL needed to do was flex muscle to get a good ownership group in place - force AM to sell the team publically. Maybe the team would have moved to somewhere else like Houston but at least that would have made more sense for hockey than SLC. A secret, rushed sale to the commissioner's buddy, moving the team to a tier 2 city may be good or ok for the NHL in the short term but is definitely bad for hockey the sport in the long-term. The NHL is already doing a poor job of promoting the sport and making it more popular.

It was about Mullett, not Phoenix or the fanbase

Note to all: Jamieh's reference to Coyote's players, or even a single Coyote player is completely and entirely speculative on his part.

As I wrote, I doubt Friedmab writes it if he wasn't told it. But you do you

I agree, but he has to think like a businessman not a fan to get this done. AM has to temper his arrogance and have a spokesman other than the not very likeable XG. Also, they have to make sure Shane Doan is given part ownership, CEO and spokesman of the team. Not saying that has to happen tomorrow, but before the arena opens. Doan will have time to hon his skills for the next four years. I believe Shane Doan has to be part of this somehow. The ownership and the COP have to know what a treasure they have in Shane Doan. Shane Doan gave his life and soul to this team, city and state.


I still stand by that. Walsh is going to be a big problem for the NHL.

Walsh will be no issue where there isn't an issue. Apparently you learn nothing from history???

 

[JasonDemersWasOkay]

Given what we’ve been hearing, it sounds like it’s meruelo or we don’t get a team back. More than anything I just want a team back but needless to say, he’s got a lot of f***ing work to do

 

[Coyotedroppings]

As I wrote, I doubt Friedmab writes it if he wasn't told it. But you do you

I put more trust in Friedman than any of them, but I think there would have been more "smoke" (even locally), if it had validity.

 

[Dirty Old Man]

Phoenix is a market the NHL needs to be in due to growth, size and demographics in the city.

I said similar over in the BoH until I was blue in the face, but having come from central Florida, if the NHL can work in Tampa - and it clearly does, in a good situation - it can work in Phoenix.

 

[hockeyboy1923]

It was about Mullett, not Phoenix or the fanbase


As I wrote, I doubt Friedmab writes it if he wasn't told it. But you do you


Walsh will be no issue where there isn't an issue. Apparently you learn nothing from history???

The arena was an issue for the NHL and the other owners because it constrained the money that the team could pull in and it also didn't reflect well on the sport. While I am sure the players and staff did not like playing in Mullett, I have a hard time believing many of the Phoenix players would prefer to uproot their families and move to SLC rather than wait 3 more years for an arena. Do you honestly believe if polled the majority of the players would choose to move there? I joked about moving to SLC one time and my wife joked about leaving me.

I can understand the NHL wanting to part with AM because he has been a terrible owner, but they should have forced him out and launched a transparent sale process to see where everything shaked out, rather than sell it to the Chairman's buddy in a rushed backoffice deal. The team very well could have ended up in another market, but at least Phoenix would have had a chance to keep the team, and the team would have gone to the most worthy market for the team, which is good for hockey. I only recently moved to AZ so never jumped on the Coyotes bandwagon, but I am upset that the NHL is giving up on the market and making a decision that is bad for the sport.

 

[Dead Coyote]

The quote below is from Friedman and I'm guessing played a major role in this move. Most people were OK with Mullett short term and we got very few loud complaints and almost none from Coyote's Players. But you could sense that the noise was increasing and while Mullett was great for a game or two the voices were getting louder. I highly doubt Friedman writes that last sentence if Coyote's Players didn't tell him their OTR real feelings on Mullett.

"The NHL got queasier as it became clear the auction would be scheduled for late June. There were too many variables. What if Meruelo lost? Even if he won, the earliest the new arena would be ready was fall 2027. Three more years in Mullett Arena appealed to no one — especially the Coyotes players."

Which is just bullshit because Tempe had the exact same timeline.

 

[hockeyboy1923]

Which is just bullshit because Tempe had the exact same timeline.

I think the important nuance here is between not wanting to play in Mullett vs. hating the arena so badly they want to leave AZ. Those are two VERY different statements. I am sure most of them did not want to play in Mullet and some probably complained about it, BUT, that does not mean they wanted to move to SLC. It speaks volumes how quiet the players have been about the change, in most instances players speak positively about moves because they have a new employer.

I can understand frustration by the NHL that timelines kept getting pushed back, and with the owner AM, but it is frustrating how they rushed through a backroom deal when real progress was being made on the arena situation. The NHL acting like the option is a huge concession to keep hockey in the state is a joke. AM is actively financing a massive development right now and this clown show will make his job significantly more difficult. The NHL probably offered AM the option as a carrot to get him to play along with the deal (and cover them legally for forcing him to accept deal), when they know in reality they are potentially torpedoing the development. My guess is the NHL hates AM and hopes he fails.

 

[PainForShane]

Which is just bullshit because Tempe had the exact same timeline.

Even if it were true it'd be irrelevant, I think we all know that the players' opinions of Mullett had nothing to do with the sale of the team. It was likely more of a "ok AM even if you win the Desert Ridge auction can you actually get this entertainment district built in a reasonable time" and after AM f***ed up the Tempe vote (and hasn't even met with the mayor of Phoenix yet), Bettman is right to be skeptical. And you can't stay in a college arena indefinitely.

Anyway this is just our resident Leafs troll trying to troll one last time before F40 goes inactive. More power to him I guess

 

[DustyDangler]

AM is so cringe in this press conference. He is right to stay away from the media.

 

[Edenjung]

AM is so cringe in this press conference. He is right to stay away from the media.

I just wanted to ask about that presser.
And was almost speculating that they cancled it because of a mob or something that would like to have a word with AM in private.
But Arizonians are decent people *sigh*.

 

[PainForShane]

AM is so cringe in this press conference. He is right to stay away from the media.

First sentence, 100%. He makes Gary Bettman look like Oprah. As an owner of a major sports team though I feel like you kind of have to talk to the media sometimes. Idk.

Link:

 

[The Feckless Puck]

AM is so cringe in this press conference. He is right to stay away from the media.

Did you see when he started losing his temper? Man... that guy...

 

[rt]

I did not want to agree with everything Bettman said. But I agreed with pretty much everything Bettman said.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

Good news for F40 fans following the team to Utah - Scripps' streaming service will continue to broadcast the games from SLC, and likely so will Arizona61.

 

[DustyDangler]

I did not want to agree with everything Bettman said. But I agreed with pretty much everything Bettman said.

Everybody loves booing him and sure I would too cuz it's fun but...dude is good at his job and has been great for the NHL.

 

[More Cooley]

Love Gary. I even call my dog Gary.

And Alex, its time to go to work

 

[DustyDangler]

The premise that Alex and Alex Jr were involved in hand picking players is absurd.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

The premise that Alex and Alex Jr were involved in hand picking players is absurd.

Alex Jr. only knows the players because he had to have their names sewn into his terrible knockoff couture.

 

[DustyDangler]

Gary to Alex: "Why are you so *^%#*&$ awkward, bud?"

 

[Edenjung]

Gary to Alex: "Why are you so *^%#*&$ awkward, bud?"

Can you imagine this guy doing a buisness deal?
Like that?

Instead of talking he could have just nodded and smiled.
Or get a stiff one before this presser.

 

[DustyDangler]

Can you imagine this guy doing a buisness deal?
Like that?

Instead of talking he could have just nodded and smiled.
Or get a stiff one before this presser.

My confidence level in his abilities was low and now it is less.

 

[Edenjung]

My confidence level in his abilities was low and now it is less.

There is little this man can do to make me dispise him any more.
And i dont trust that man with pouring piss into a boot even if the instructions are on the heel.

 

[Ciao]

The players thing is window dressing, not saying players or PA weren't happy, thats not why he sold the team. AM cut a great exit sale price deal. AM has a history of buying low, renovating, then turning it into a cash flowing asset. In this case, it was never a cash flow play, it was a scarce asset he purchased at a low price that increased in value.

Yeah, I have a hunch that one billion smackaroonis had a lot more to do with this sale than the players' tender sensibilities.

The suggestion that Muruelo, the Coyotes, the NHL or Bettman give a rat's ass about the players is a crock of shit.

 

[Naych_PHX]

I will never blame Gary for our situation or losing our team, like some of our Canadian friends like to do for their situation and the rest of the league fanbase. He went out on a limb for my team. Did more than I would ever expect from a commish.