NHL Board of Governors approves sale of Coyotes and relocation to Salt Lake City (Mod warning post #157)

[Mortimer Snerd]

Someone has probably already posted this but .........

This looks better for 'Yotes fans than it might seem at first glance. Yes, their player assets, etc are going to SLC just when they are on the cusp of getting good, but OTOH, Meruelo gets a cool $1billion to finance his arena project. He gets an expansion team if he can be ready within 5 years, which is quite doable assuming he wins the land auction.

Ari fans will be able to see for themselves when that auction takes place. If he wins it you can assume his grand scheme is going ahead. 3-4-5 years from now you will have your team back. If he again fails to get a building site, it is probably over.

 

[rojac]

So a Cleveland Browns-type deal it is, then. That said, I do kind of think the NHL should take this opportunity to retcon a few franchise histories:

Arizona: Expansion 1996, Active 1996-2024, Dormant 2024-present
Atlanta: Expansion 1999, Active 1999-2011, Dormant 2011-present
Utah: Expansion 2024, Active 2024-present
Winnipeg: WHA 1972-1979, Expansion 1979, Active 1979-1996, Dormant 1996-2011, Active 2011-present

To be honest, I'd prefer to see teams' record books closed when they fold or move, so I'd retcon it to:

Winnipeg Jets 1.0: 1979-96 (no need to include any WHA silliness)
Arizona Coyotes: 1996-2014
Utah: 2024-present
Arizona Coyotes 2.0? : ?-?
Atlanta Thrashers: 1999-2011
Winnipeg Jets 2.0: 2011-present

and

Atlanta Flames: 1972-1980
Calgary Flames: 1980-present

As well as similar moves for all other moved franchises.

 

[SirKillalot]

Youngest state, mountains,weapon country and wilderness.
Gotta be Utah Young Guns.

 

[Spargon]

Happy to see folks in Utah rightfully excited, but always somber to see a fanbase lose their team, even if allegedly only maybe temporarily.

Condolences to Yotes fans, and hope you've got a team back sooner rather than later. Preferably without a snake oil salesman like Meruelo in charge.

They had several owners including the NHL itself running them and they were a shit show pretty much the entire time. Let's not act like the current guy was the only inept one. Arizona needs a competent owner and a city who actually wants them there before they ever go back.

 

[SlimCharles]

My old Jr. B rivals coming to the NHL?!!?

 

[DFAC]

Since Utah has a pretty long history with bees, I'd actually go with the Salt Lake Swarm.

And their home arena could be referred to as "The Hive"

 

[Zirakzigil]

My old Jr. B rivals coming to the NHL?!!?

Wouldnt shock me to see them buy the rights to the name and loga. Its a pretty solid option.

 

[SlimCharles]

Wouldnt shock me to see them buy the rights to the name and loga. Its a pretty solid option.

Yeah, always thought they looked cool.

 

[DudeWhereIsMakar]

I'm not quite sad for some reason. This should've happened as early as 2009. As late as 2015. But for some reason it never happened until 2024.

 

[red devil]

Since Utah has a pretty long history with bees, I'd actually go with the Salt Lake Swarm.

And their home arena could be referred to as "The Hive"

Smith has confirmed the team will be Utah not Salt Lake

 

[BKarchitect]

Bummed for the Arizona fans. Hope you get your franchise back at some point - with a better ownership group.

Am excited to see this pretty awesome core develop in Utah with fresh ownership. There's a ton to love about the organizational make-up.

Utah could be a really good team next year. I expect them to be.

 

[red devil]

 

[AlainVigneaultsGum]

Through all of this crap the last how ever many years, I was always rooting for the coyotes to come out staying in AZ. The team really got the shaft

Ye, same. Have always had a soft spot for them and wanted to see them to have a Florida/Tampaesque rise. Sucks that it didn't work out.

 

[Summer Rose]

This is great. As sad as I am that my hometown is losing its team, I can't help but have a part of me feel happy for the Utah market. They really seem ready to go. Of course, as an out of towner now, it makes it easier for me to follow the team through relocation still, which I've decided to do.

 

[benjiv1]

Should be the Utah Raptors.

Utahraptor - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Dinosaur Fossil hot bed. Built in logo, mascot, etc!

 

[ItWasJustified]

Since Utah has a pretty long history with bees, I'd actually go with the Salt Lake Swarm.

And their home arena could be referred to as "The Hive"

No more singular team names, please.

 

[GarlicbreadTB]

 

[MMC]

 

[Gil Gunderson]

Great ECHL/CHL team name ideas.

 

[Zirakzigil]

Thats impressive.

 

[HajdukSplit]

Out of those terrible options the best is Venom

Blizzard would be too much like the Avs if they look at that stuff lol

 

[sxvnert]

Surprised theres no anger directed towards the vote no campaign in tempe.

 

[Seedtype]

I feel bad for the Arizona fans, but at the same time I feel relief that the problems with this franchise are over. Problems happen of course, but man with the Coyotes it seemed endless.
Hopefully in five years they can rise again with the right foundation behind it!

Greetings to the new fans of Utah Hockey Team. Welcome to the NHL!

May I suggest the Utah Roar as a name? Unless Toronto would be okay with letting them have the Raptor name?(I like the sound of Utah Raptors too)

 

[DFAC]

Great ECHL/CHL team name ideas.

To be fair, you could probably say the same for a lot of current NHL names

 

[JS19]

I'm not quite sad for some reason. This should've happened as early as 2009. As late as 2015. But for some reason it never happened until 2024.

I do hope the league learns a lesson about vetting ownership. It can't be a coincidence that Arizona has had a history of dogshit owners, from breaking the terms of agreement (such as attempted sale to Balsillie behind the NHL's back), to not paying their bills on time.

It strikes off as NHL playing the desperation game whenever Arizona needed new ownership.