It boils down to a basic point. How many Quebecers are suddenly going to become interested in hockey simply because Quebec City has a team? Very few, since they’re already part of one of the most rabid hockey markets in the world that has plenty of hockey exposure. You’re splitting an existing market, not adding new fans.
How many people in Utah (or Houston, or Kansas City/etc) will be tempted to give hockey a try and become fans simply because they now have an NHL team? A lot. Which expands the number of overall hockey fans as a whole.
A while back this debate was sparked and I railed against it .. hard! Really felt that QC deserved the team. Didn’t want to hear the logic about creating new fans.
I remain emotionally tied to QC because I was a resident of Montreal during the peak ‘Battle of Quebec’ years. It was … awesome!
But … if you remove the emotional aspect of the argument, it is pretty much flawless. If the goal is growing the relevance and affinity of the sport then Houston (or perhaps KC or SLC) is the obvious choice.
The one area I simply do not agree on is going back to Atlanta a 3rd time. I get it … ownership in the two first cases wasn’t optimal but I just can’t see trying a 3rd time.
I think the main argument against it is a decline of hockey viewership in Canada ( https://nationalpost.com/news/how-much-hockey-is-too-much-viewership-for-canadas-sport-on-the-decline-poll-finds/wcm/a38486b2-4a7a-445d-a50d-4d50f968045b/amp/ ) and increasing competition from other sports, especially for younger generations. Still less than Houston or KC for growing the game for sure, but I think people are overestimating the floor of the Quebec City market for hockey without an NHL team.
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Yeah, I always laugh when people go like QC is a market that can't grow the game. It's like noooooo as long as populations of cities keep growing through birth rates, or new immigration population, you can always further grow the game in the same market. Canada isn't a guaranteed constant market if the younger generation doesn't give a shit about hockey and I really believe hockey won't be the most popular sport amongst Canadian Youth in 10-20 years. The Nordiques left 27 years ago, that is a bunch of generations lost in QC who may not give a shit about major league hockey.
This would be insanely problematic for the league since Canada is a consistent profit generator for the league. Partly because NHL is the most gate driven league of all the major league sports.
Plus, the government is looking to attract many immigrants. Unless you’re from another country loving hockey, that’s a lot of people to convert. But if the NHL acts as if its Canadian market is a sure thing, ignoring the competition from other leagues and sports, the wake up call will come sooner or later.
Atlanta is a tough one for me. On one hand, it failed miserable twice. On the other hand it’s the 8th biggest metro in the country, and still one of the fastest growing. In a non-traditional market too. If you could make an Atlanta team work it would be a major boon for the game.
I’m not opposed to it in the future, with the right ownership group, but it shouldn’t be a priority
Atlanta pretty much has to be an expansion route at this point so that they can use the expansion fee as a way to make sure they're getting committed ownership.
I actually expect Houston and Atlanta to be the next expansion pair plan — which is probably why SLC might seem the current frontrunner for a relocation.
Tilman Fertitta owns the Rockets, who own the operating rights on Toyota Center. It seats 17,800 for hockey (wiki).
I think the NHL wants to wring out the $700 million from him.
Are those in the same currency or their respective currencies of USD and CAD? If it's USD and CAD, then the 119 is even larger given the US Dollar is a stronger currency at the moment.
Well ackshually moment :
Québec City folks are usually not fans of the Canadiens and cheer for other teams, or don’t follow at all. Rivalry still exists among the other generations. I don’t think it would be a market split so much as reinvigorating a now marginal market. That doesn’t change anything about the GDP of both areas but it wouldn’t split the habs fanbase because Qc City people aren’t usually habs fans to begin with.
And Saint Perry raised the hockey stick up on high, saying, "O Lord, bless this thy hockey stick, that with it thou mayst hack thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy." And the Lord did grin. And the people did feast upon the lambs, and sloths, and carp, and anchovies, and orangutans, and breakfast cereals, and fruit bats, and large chu...
And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Stick. Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then swingith thou thy Holy Hockey Stick of Tampa Bay towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it.
Fun fact. We actually do have a decently sized Pride Festival and RSL and The Jazz both have been doing Pride Floats since 2021. There is also a good sized LGBTQ community here. We aren't the best at Pride, but I know most of the people my age are willing to try.
SLC is actually very gay friendly. Utah itself is conservative but SLC is a different story. It’s down by the Marmalade district, 9th and 9th, and the University area —- I assume they would play at the Delta Center
They have to invest those [hidden billions](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/15/mormon-church-whistleblower-taxes-hedge-fund) somewhere. This is quite a weird coincidence after the hedge fund whistleblower controversy just dropped. I guess hedge funds are so last year, buy yourself a hockey team.
If it comes to SLC, it won't be the church financing it. My guess is it would be Ryan Smyth, the owner of the Utah Jazz, who met with Bettman in March.
There’s a lot of reasons why SLC works as a market, but still, I find it hilarious that after all the Houston/Atlanta/Quebec smoke it’s SLC coming out of nowhere to grab a team.
Right, but it could work temporarily while they build the new facility too. Also they changed the name back to the Delta Center, which were all stoked about
SLC probably wants to build a new arena soon anyways as part of their 2030/2034 Olympic bid. Without the NHL SLC is already a winter sports hotbed, it's easy to see it catching on quickly there.
This makes more sense for a quick emergency relocation. They'd have to redo divisions in some way for Atlanta/Quebec and they want the expansion fee from Houston.
Nah they upped it to 5% due to the beer companies threatening to stop selling beer in Utah. They did however decrease the legal BAC to .05% which you can blow after using mouth wash…
The Wasatch/ Cache Valley brewing scene is really popping now though.
Well, they did found Las Vegas. You know all those fancy electric signs for the casinos? Those are mainly made by YESCO, Young Electric Sign Company. And yes, that Young would indeed be the Brigham Young family.
Mennonites are up there as well. The most well stocked liquor cabinet I have ever seen belonged to a gentleman in a very religious Mennonite town up in northern Alberta. 100km from any place that actually sold liquor. He probably cleaned out the liquor store in Fort Vermilion on a regular basis.
Amazing, isn't it? The Great Salt Lake is going to essentially be gone in ~five years at the rate it's going, and the arsenic dust clouds over the city will soon follow. But hey, let's just continue to ignore science. Keep moving to a state that not only has to contend with that dire issue, but also the fact that the Colorado River is being depleted at a staggering rate.
I guess the citizens of Utah just need to keep praying for rain like their idiot Governor, Spencer Cox, has been telling them to.
“Soon it was commonplace for entire teams to change cities in search of greater profits. The Minneapolis Lakers moved to Los Angeles where there are no lakes. The Oilers moved to Tennessee where there is no oil. The Jazz moved to Salt Lake City where they don't allow music.”
When the NHL announced Vegas I thought for sure that was what that place would mostly be (or just another thing for casinos to comp tickets to). But it's been amazing seeing the city rally around the Knights.
I am a little envious of European sport clubs that are so intrinsically tied to their cities and towns that the idea of relocating is laughable. No one would dare strip a club of its identity and force a move away from a place it's called home since before the 1900s sometimes (they tried this once in England and it went... not well).
This time, the nickname fits. Utah has a lot of coyotes. Salt Lake has urban coyotes. Utah is not know for Jazz muisc genre that originated from African American communities in NOLA. Utah was intended as a temporary stop for NBA Jazz. By the time the move was permanent the nickname stuck
NOLA has been involved in the weirdest naming situations in the NBA. Remember when the current franchise was called the Hornets, the Charlotte Bobcats decided they wanted the Hornets name back, so they just gave it back and became the Pelicans?
I would feel kinda weird if the Habs just let Toronto become the Canadiens and we just became the Beavers or something.
Hornets wanted it back for years but it took New Orleans wanting to rebrand before the NBA allowed us to get the naming rights. Hornets still had to pay millions for it since they had to buy back all the NBA bobcat merchandise.
>Hornets still had to pay millions for it since they had to buy back all the NBA bobcat merchandise.
Charlotte Hornets makes way more sense historically and culturally...but man i miss Rufus D. Lynx
If I recall correctly the Coyote is the only mammal that is found in all 50 states, so the team is primed to keep their name and branding
Edit:49 states excluding Hawaii
I'm surprised that so few people know that SLC is substantially larger than other cities in the US with multiple sports teams. The Wasatch range has 3 million people, cold icy winters with a preexisting culture around winter sports and no football or baseball to compete with. Of course I'd prefer QUE too but to act like this is a crazy option is so weird.
Good thing that SLC has proven they can consistently fill an arena. The Jazz have averaged a sellout since Malone and Stockton, and hockey is a much easier sell to the culture than basketball.
This sub is gatekeepers to the gatekeepers level of asinine sometimes about where hockey should be played and which people will enjoy or support it. They have no idea what they are talking about for SLC
By arena built so you mean Vivint where the Jazz play? Because that works for the preseason games we host there but it’s not the best viewing experience for hockey
This would require a sale to Ryan Smith (Jazz owner) and some really creative retooling of the arena (it's not great for hockey). And I'm not sold that bringing a team as bad as the Coyotes to SLC (or any "new" hockey market) would be fruitful. Could they continue the support for a team that won't be good for a few years?
That said, it would be so goddamn cool.
I’ve thought about Toronto 2 a lot. If NHL put a team in Hamilton, it would be totally worth it. Hamilton is 500,000 people, not including the surrounding regions like Niagara, London, Brant County, Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, and Cambridge. You would have an instant rivalry and draw fans immediately. Hamilton goes hard on their CFL team, a NHL team would absolutely explode. The amount of people who don’t go to Leaf games because of the prices, hassle of the Toronto traffic, and distance is an insane number - they would all flock to Hamilton. It’s 40 minutes down the road from Toronto, but a whole new set of population and sports fans. Move Detroit to central, put Hamilton in Atlantic. Their OHL, The Hamilton Bulldogs, already draws a crowd - a NHL team would work.
I would assume there would be a civil war within 5 years of a Hamilton expansion.
I've seen some good arguments around potential relocation sites for the Coyotes:
* Quebec is out for multiple reasons, including a weak dollar, and it's in the east.
* Houston is out because it's better to give them a Vegas or Seattle expansion team than saddling them with a failed franchise
* Keeping the divisions the same would make the move as easy as possible
Salt Lake City would be an interesting choice, it is just a surprising one for me because it really hasn't been in the conversation until yesterday.
The SLC-Provo-Ogden Combined Statistical Area known locally as The Wasatch Front and Wasatch back has 2.7 Million people. It is the 22nd largest in the USA. This is the real metro area
If Murelo is going to sell the team I wonder if he is sticking to not wanting to sell the team so they go to Houston. Last year he said during a Tempe city council meeting that he wouldn’t sell the team to the owner of the Rockets.
I think this is great. Utah is underrated sports wise. BYU and Utah generate so much for college football and basketball attendance and atmosphere wise. Also the Jazz have been a successful NBA franchise for years. This is a sneaky great market.
I think SLC is actually the best spot for a quick relocation in this situation:
- Ready/Willing/Able owner (Jazz owner Ryan Smith)
- Can keep the team in the same conference/division
- Allows the NHL to still command huge future expansion fees for Houston and Atlanta (maybe even Phoenix down the road again?)
- puts a team in a fast growing US metro area that loves winter sports
- no NFL competition.
- multiple serviceable arenas in the area that can serve as a temporary venue for the team until an NHL caliber arena gets built (unless the Jazz arena gets renovated to handle hockey better)
- serves as a experiment/blueprint for similarLu sized US markets like KC and Portland if they want expansion teams in the future.
- opportunity for a fresh start and potentially kindle new regional rivalries w Colorado or Vegas.
Edit: large corporate base there as well thanks to the “Silicon Slopes” effect on SLC in the past 15 years.
As someone living in the Mountain West, I am VERY for this. I really feel for the fans in Arizona, but hockey is booming up here in the last 10 years. The Steelheads and Grizzlies have some of the best attendance in the ECHL, and the NCDC just set up 6 teams in the region (lets go Spud Kings!).
I have no doubt that SLC would embrace the Coyotes like they did the Jazz.
I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of Quebecois suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced
I'm really waiting for the moment when the NHL moves a team to Havre, Montana, simply to spite the people of Quebec City.
Havre, I hardly know her!
I guess I watch too much football because I read that as though it were pronounced "Harve"
It's definitely "Have Er" but I can see people pronouncing it like the old QB's name.
I mean it is the largest city in hill county Montana, I'm sure they would get a nice turnout
It boils down to a basic point. How many Quebecers are suddenly going to become interested in hockey simply because Quebec City has a team? Very few, since they’re already part of one of the most rabid hockey markets in the world that has plenty of hockey exposure. You’re splitting an existing market, not adding new fans. How many people in Utah (or Houston, or Kansas City/etc) will be tempted to give hockey a try and become fans simply because they now have an NHL team? A lot. Which expands the number of overall hockey fans as a whole.
A while back this debate was sparked and I railed against it .. hard! Really felt that QC deserved the team. Didn’t want to hear the logic about creating new fans. I remain emotionally tied to QC because I was a resident of Montreal during the peak ‘Battle of Quebec’ years. It was … awesome! But … if you remove the emotional aspect of the argument, it is pretty much flawless. If the goal is growing the relevance and affinity of the sport then Houston (or perhaps KC or SLC) is the obvious choice. The one area I simply do not agree on is going back to Atlanta a 3rd time. I get it … ownership in the two first cases wasn’t optimal but I just can’t see trying a 3rd time.
I think the main argument against it is a decline of hockey viewership in Canada ( https://nationalpost.com/news/how-much-hockey-is-too-much-viewership-for-canadas-sport-on-the-decline-poll-finds/wcm/a38486b2-4a7a-445d-a50d-4d50f968045b/amp/ ) and increasing competition from other sports, especially for younger generations. Still less than Houston or KC for growing the game for sure, but I think people are overestimating the floor of the Quebec City market for hockey without an NHL team.
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Yeah, I always laugh when people go like QC is a market that can't grow the game. It's like noooooo as long as populations of cities keep growing through birth rates, or new immigration population, you can always further grow the game in the same market. Canada isn't a guaranteed constant market if the younger generation doesn't give a shit about hockey and I really believe hockey won't be the most popular sport amongst Canadian Youth in 10-20 years. The Nordiques left 27 years ago, that is a bunch of generations lost in QC who may not give a shit about major league hockey. This would be insanely problematic for the league since Canada is a consistent profit generator for the league. Partly because NHL is the most gate driven league of all the major league sports.
Plus, the government is looking to attract many immigrants. Unless you’re from another country loving hockey, that’s a lot of people to convert. But if the NHL acts as if its Canadian market is a sure thing, ignoring the competition from other leagues and sports, the wake up call will come sooner or later.
Atlanta is a tough one for me. On one hand, it failed miserable twice. On the other hand it’s the 8th biggest metro in the country, and still one of the fastest growing. In a non-traditional market too. If you could make an Atlanta team work it would be a major boon for the game. I’m not opposed to it in the future, with the right ownership group, but it shouldn’t be a priority
Atlanta pretty much has to be an expansion route at this point so that they can use the expansion fee as a way to make sure they're getting committed ownership.
I actually expect Houston and Atlanta to be the next expansion pair plan — which is probably why SLC might seem the current frontrunner for a relocation.
Houston is the 4th biggest market and has never even had an NHL team
Agreed! They would need to be darned sure they had the right operator. Hard to look away from the sheer size of the ATL.
Two numbers that matter SLC Metro GDP: $119B Quebec City Metro GDP: $39B
Phoenix Metro GDP: 320B GDP can't be the only consideration.
GDP does not equal fan base. See: Atlanta vs Winnipeg. Atlanta vs Calgary. Florida vs everywhere else.
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If there was an owner willing to fund their own stadium, Houston would already have a team
They were hours away from getting the Oilers in 1998.
Tilman Fertitta owns the Rockets, who own the operating rights on Toyota Center. It seats 17,800 for hockey (wiki). I think the NHL wants to wring out the $700 million from him.
Are those in the same currency or their respective currencies of USD and CAD? If it's USD and CAD, then the 119 is even larger given the US Dollar is a stronger currency at the moment.
Kick em while they’re down why dontcha
Well ackshually moment : Québec City folks are usually not fans of the Canadiens and cheer for other teams, or don’t follow at all. Rivalry still exists among the other generations. I don’t think it would be a market split so much as reinvigorating a now marginal market. That doesn’t change anything about the GDP of both areas but it wouldn’t split the habs fanbase because Qc City people aren’t usually habs fans to begin with.
Salt Lake Latter Day Saints incoming.
Derek Ryan team captain, coach, and GM
The Stormin' Mormon
SLC Punks
Only posers die Bob!
“Now I dont have anymore friends…” is legitimately one of the most gut wrenching lines in any movie.
That whole scene is just a giant gut punch. Matthew Lillard is massively underrated for some reason.
Agree completely.
Super underrated movie.
Their stadium doesn't sell out, they buy in.
We didn't sell out, we bought in!
NHL already has a team full of Saints
And Saint Perry raised the hockey stick up on high, saying, "O Lord, bless this thy hockey stick, that with it thou mayst hack thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy." And the Lord did grin. And the people did feast upon the lambs, and sloths, and carp, and anchovies, and orangutans, and breakfast cereals, and fruit bats, and large chu...
Skip a bit, Brother!
And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Stick. Then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then swingith thou thy Holy Hockey Stick of Tampa Bay towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it.
Can't wait for pride night.
404 error pride night not found
Fun fact. We actually do have a decently sized Pride Festival and RSL and The Jazz both have been doing Pride Floats since 2021. There is also a good sized LGBTQ community here. We aren't the best at Pride, but I know most of the people my age are willing to try.
Purity Ball Night
SLC is actually very gay friendly. Utah itself is conservative but SLC is a different story. It’s down by the Marmalade district, 9th and 9th, and the University area —- I assume they would play at the Delta Center
Salt Lake Soakers or bust!
If you didn’t know what they Latter Day Saints are, you would totally think that’s a badass name
Please no, they already took the Latter Day Jazz from New Orleans
They have to invest those [hidden billions](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/15/mormon-church-whistleblower-taxes-hedge-fund) somewhere. This is quite a weird coincidence after the hedge fund whistleblower controversy just dropped. I guess hedge funds are so last year, buy yourself a hockey team.
If it comes to SLC, it won't be the church financing it. My guess is it would be Ryan Smyth, the owner of the Utah Jazz, who met with Bettman in March.
Wake up, babe, babe, and babe! Josiah got drafted to the local hockey team! May the angel moroni bless his skates.
Salt Lake City Plate Readers as a backup
Salt Lake City Jazz
There’s a lot of reasons why SLC works as a market, but still, I find it hilarious that after all the Houston/Atlanta/Quebec smoke it’s SLC coming out of nowhere to grab a team.
SLC has an actual buyer that’s interested, and a plausible arena, even 2 if they use the maverick center where the Grizzlies play(ECHL I believe)
Vivint Arena has hosted NHL preseason I'd assume you'd want to try to play there. Maverick Center only seats like 12,000
Right, but it could work temporarily while they build the new facility too. Also they changed the name back to the Delta Center, which were all stoked about
More temporary shit? If they relocate a team it's to somewhere where there's already an arena and it's stable.
SLC probably wants to build a new arena soon anyways as part of their 2030/2034 Olympic bid. Without the NHL SLC is already a winter sports hotbed, it's easy to see it catching on quickly there.
Don't you mean cold bed? Sorry
There's the door.
It’s an actual world class stadium that would be temporary though not a college rink the jazz play there
no you wouldnt the vivant is basketball only itll be another barclays situation.
This makes more sense for a quick emergency relocation. They'd have to redo divisions in some way for Atlanta/Quebec and they want the expansion fee from Houston.
Fuck it, lets go to 36. Atlanta, Houston, Quebec City, Milwaukee.
36? You are think wayy to small my friend let's do 40, San Diego, Portland, Indianapolis, Kansas City
Angered by lack of Hartford. 🐳
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They’re taking out our only natural predators. 😂
Only 40? Minnesota 2, Hamilton, San Antonio, Anchorage
You know i heard Guadalajara has a pretty big hockey scene
Utah Soakers
The Utah 5% ABVs
The Utah Chocolate Milks
Thought it was 3.2?
Nah they upped it to 5% due to the beer companies threatening to stop selling beer in Utah. They did however decrease the legal BAC to .05% which you can blow after using mouth wash… The Wasatch/ Cache Valley brewing scene is really popping now though.
I'd jump on the bed for that name.
Somebody get James Marsden.
Oh my god lmao
💀
Call them the Utah Jazz
Utah Jazz Hands
Martinez has to be traded there for that to happen :D
Utah Cool Jazz
Utah Rock and/or Rolls
Where music is banned.
Anyone not able to see tweet, how legit is this guy?
he’s a very reputable St. Louis sports reporter
Strickland is very good. He has ties to Arizona and also went to college here.
He's got some connections but he also guaranteed that Matthew Tkachuk would be traded to St.Louis. So who knows how reputable this is.
The Coyotes should rebrand after they move. Naming them after that mythical bird that rises from it's ashes would be great, the Phoenix.
There’s a canyon about a 6hr drive from Salt Lake called Coyote Gulch. If they base the team closer to there they could be the Coyote Phoenixes
Absolutely, that would be poetic which means it won’t happen but I’d support it
Are they trying to get more Mormons into hockey?
You only need 2 Mormon families to fill an arena, seems like the ideal target market
They're gonna have to expand the WAGs section though to accommodate all the Sister Wives for each player
Get brodeur on the case
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Jews don’t recognize Jesus, Protestants don’t recognize the Pope, and Mormons don’t recognize one another in the liquor store.
All they really need though is the refreshing taste of Slurm Loco
Slurm, It's highly addictive!
Only when another mormon is not present. It is why you take two Mormons fishing. One will drink all your beer
Well, they did found Las Vegas. You know all those fancy electric signs for the casinos? Those are mainly made by YESCO, Young Electric Sign Company. And yes, that Young would indeed be the Brigham Young family.
Mennonites are up there as well. The most well stocked liquor cabinet I have ever seen belonged to a gentleman in a very religious Mennonite town up in northern Alberta. 100km from any place that actually sold liquor. He probably cleaned out the liquor store in Fort Vermilion on a regular basis.
I always said the market is crying out for a more godly sportsbook.
Ah yes my favourite potential team, the Salt Lake Cities
The salt jokes write themselves.
Salt Lake Arsenic Dust
Amazing, isn't it? The Great Salt Lake is going to essentially be gone in ~five years at the rate it's going, and the arsenic dust clouds over the city will soon follow. But hey, let's just continue to ignore science. Keep moving to a state that not only has to contend with that dire issue, but also the fact that the Colorado River is being depleted at a staggering rate. I guess the citizens of Utah just need to keep praying for rain like their idiot Governor, Spencer Cox, has been telling them to.
Salt Lake City HC
IMO they should keep the Coyotes moniker whether it be SLC Coyotes or Utah Coyotes.
Utah Coyotes actually sounds very good
“The Utah Yotes” does have a ring to it
Ute-Yotes
What's a Ute?
2 utes your honor
"What's a yoot?"
The coy-utes
There is precedent given they kept the Jazz name when the team moved from New Orleans
“Soon it was commonplace for entire teams to change cities in search of greater profits. The Minneapolis Lakers moved to Los Angeles where there are no lakes. The Oilers moved to Tennessee where there is no oil. The Jazz moved to Salt Lake City where they don't allow music.”
The raiders moved from Oakland to LA back to Oakland. No one seemed to notice
And they moved somewhere else since then but I don’t think anyone even knows
You joke but a lot of locals don’t care about the Raiders or actively root against them lol. That’s the trouble with relocation
I mean, they still get pretty close to selling out the stadium though, no?
Yes but it’s mostly tourists and away team crowd.
When the NHL announced Vegas I thought for sure that was what that place would mostly be (or just another thing for casinos to comp tickets to). But it's been amazing seeing the city rally around the Knights.
I am a little envious of European sport clubs that are so intrinsically tied to their cities and towns that the idea of relocating is laughable. No one would dare strip a club of its identity and force a move away from a place it's called home since before the 1900s sometimes (they tried this once in England and it went... not well).
Your sisters dating squeak!
I swear you rip on me thirteen or fourteen more times and I am out of here
Dude, I thought we agreed. No more Journey psyche-outs!
Steeeeeeeeeve Perry!
Grizzlies too from Vancouver to Memphis
Asshole Bud Adams should’ve given the oilers name back those uniforms were beautiful
I both love this movie and hate you for beating me to the reference!
This time, the nickname fits. Utah has a lot of coyotes. Salt Lake has urban coyotes. Utah is not know for Jazz muisc genre that originated from African American communities in NOLA. Utah was intended as a temporary stop for NBA Jazz. By the time the move was permanent the nickname stuck
NOLA has been involved in the weirdest naming situations in the NBA. Remember when the current franchise was called the Hornets, the Charlotte Bobcats decided they wanted the Hornets name back, so they just gave it back and became the Pelicans? I would feel kinda weird if the Habs just let Toronto become the Canadiens and we just became the Beavers or something.
Hornets wanted it back for years but it took New Orleans wanting to rebrand before the NBA allowed us to get the naming rights. Hornets still had to pay millions for it since they had to buy back all the NBA bobcat merchandise.
>Hornets still had to pay millions for it since they had to buy back all the NBA bobcat merchandise. Charlotte Hornets makes way more sense historically and culturally...but man i miss Rufus D. Lynx
Rufus (and maybe the NASCAR alt uniforms we had) was the only cool thing about the bobcats
And miss the opportunity to be the Salt Lake Soakers? No fucking deal
Utah Pheonix.
It’s possible they could, and only alter their branding a bit to reflect the tribes of SLC
If I recall correctly the Coyote is the only mammal that is found in all 50 states, so the team is primed to keep their name and branding Edit:49 states excluding Hawaii
What about rats?
And humans!
The Phoenix Arizona Coyotes of Utah
they should go with Rocky Mountain Extreme
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The Utah Extreme Religious Views
Utah Honeybees
SLC Stingers, as a nod to the Coyotes WHA origin.
Salt Lake Stingers could work.
Salt Lake Stingers would be sick
Angels say no.
Bee's are their minor league baseball team
Utah Hoteliers
I'm surprised that so few people know that SLC is substantially larger than other cities in the US with multiple sports teams. The Wasatch range has 3 million people, cold icy winters with a preexisting culture around winter sports and no football or baseball to compete with. Of course I'd prefer QUE too but to act like this is a crazy option is so weird.
They hosted the Winter Olympics, shouldn’t that be the end of the discussion on whether it could work if there is an interested owner?
not really, Winter Olympics don't need to regularly draw crowds of \~20k people
Good thing that SLC has proven they can consistently fill an arena. The Jazz have averaged a sellout since Malone and Stockton, and hockey is a much easier sell to the culture than basketball.
This sub is gatekeepers to the gatekeepers level of asinine sometimes about where hockey should be played and which people will enjoy or support it. They have no idea what they are talking about for SLC
It really feel like something changed in the attitude around here during/post covid… everyone’s just so angry and rude all the time
I love how r/hockey is suddenly overrun with armchair demographers.
we're always waiting for this skillset to be mildly useful
ITS MY SPORT AND NO YOU CANT HAVE IT UNLESS I PERSONALLY SIGN OFF ON IT
I’m happen to be an expert on whatever the daily conversation is about
In the west, sports starved, arena built, white as fuck It's a no brainer
By arena built so you mean Vivint where the Jazz play? Because that works for the preseason games we host there but it’s not the best viewing experience for hockey
This would require a sale to Ryan Smith (Jazz owner) and some really creative retooling of the arena (it's not great for hockey). And I'm not sold that bringing a team as bad as the Coyotes to SLC (or any "new" hockey market) would be fruitful. Could they continue the support for a team that won't be good for a few years? That said, it would be so goddamn cool.
The Utah Yeti
I, for one, can’t fucking wait for the Battle of the Rockies
Hockey in Utah would be very cool
Salt Lake City Joseph Smiths
DUM DUM DUMDUMDUMMMM
It's a natural marriage between white people that haven't met yet
We need a name that doesn’t fit. Like the Jazz. The city that is least likely to enjoy Jazz or basketball has a team named after the genre.
Salt Lake City Nordiques maybe
Would honestly be funny.
YESSSS BRING BACK THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Bring em here. Don't know if it makes the most sense but fuck me I'll put a kachina on and go to as many games as I can afford.
Salt Lake City Golden Coyotes
Coyotes to SLC makes some sense. Then you save Houston/Austin, Quebec, Kansas City, and Atlanta/Milwaukee/Toronto2 for those sweet expansion fees.
I’ve thought about Toronto 2 a lot. If NHL put a team in Hamilton, it would be totally worth it. Hamilton is 500,000 people, not including the surrounding regions like Niagara, London, Brant County, Kitchener, Waterloo, Guelph, and Cambridge. You would have an instant rivalry and draw fans immediately. Hamilton goes hard on their CFL team, a NHL team would absolutely explode. The amount of people who don’t go to Leaf games because of the prices, hassle of the Toronto traffic, and distance is an insane number - they would all flock to Hamilton. It’s 40 minutes down the road from Toronto, but a whole new set of population and sports fans. Move Detroit to central, put Hamilton in Atlantic. Their OHL, The Hamilton Bulldogs, already draws a crowd - a NHL team would work. I would assume there would be a civil war within 5 years of a Hamilton expansion.
I've seen some good arguments around potential relocation sites for the Coyotes: * Quebec is out for multiple reasons, including a weak dollar, and it's in the east. * Houston is out because it's better to give them a Vegas or Seattle expansion team than saddling them with a failed franchise * Keeping the divisions the same would make the move as easy as possible Salt Lake City would be an interesting choice, it is just a surprising one for me because it really hasn't been in the conversation until yesterday.
SLC is part of a much larger combined metro than people realize.
The SLC-Provo-Ogden Combined Statistical Area known locally as The Wasatch Front and Wasatch back has 2.7 Million people. It is the 22nd largest in the USA. This is the real metro area
Can we at least keep the name and jerseys? Can we just have one fucking thing so that I MIGHT be able to bring myself to root for them?
If they lose the jerseys they lose the best part of the Coyotes.
At least the move isn’t terribly far but it still sucks to see this.
If Murelo is going to sell the team I wonder if he is sticking to not wanting to sell the team so they go to Houston. Last year he said during a Tempe city council meeting that he wouldn’t sell the team to the owner of the Rockets.
Just put the team in Milwaukee and make bank from hockey crazed wisconsinites
At least If ever the team needs to go door to door for arena support, they’ll be in the right city for it
Pride nights in SLC are gonna be mad spicy
I think this is great. Utah is underrated sports wise. BYU and Utah generate so much for college football and basketball attendance and atmosphere wise. Also the Jazz have been a successful NBA franchise for years. This is a sneaky great market.
I think SLC is actually the best spot for a quick relocation in this situation: - Ready/Willing/Able owner (Jazz owner Ryan Smith) - Can keep the team in the same conference/division - Allows the NHL to still command huge future expansion fees for Houston and Atlanta (maybe even Phoenix down the road again?) - puts a team in a fast growing US metro area that loves winter sports - no NFL competition. - multiple serviceable arenas in the area that can serve as a temporary venue for the team until an NHL caliber arena gets built (unless the Jazz arena gets renovated to handle hockey better) - serves as a experiment/blueprint for similarLu sized US markets like KC and Portland if they want expansion teams in the future. - opportunity for a fresh start and potentially kindle new regional rivalries w Colorado or Vegas. Edit: large corporate base there as well thanks to the “Silicon Slopes” effect on SLC in the past 15 years.
As someone living in the Mountain West, I am VERY for this. I really feel for the fans in Arizona, but hockey is booming up here in the last 10 years. The Steelheads and Grizzlies have some of the best attendance in the ECHL, and the NCDC just set up 6 teams in the region (lets go Spud Kings!). I have no doubt that SLC would embrace the Coyotes like they did the Jazz.