Coyotes relocating to Salt Lake City

[Grapes]

I love team names... because they all now have to contends with trademarks and whether they are taken.
Utah has a better hockey team ring to it than Salt Lake (City)... though I could see just "Salt Lake".

Utah is doing OK with ECHL attendance, about 9th.
https://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attenda...L2004&sid=2024

For opponents...
to their West: Vegas Golden Knights (black/gold)
to their East: Colorado Avalanche (purply/navy)

I'll go boring:
Utah (____) Miners
Go hard on two tones of gray with maybe copper for color.
[Just like VGK... they may have to find a third word to get around modern trademarking.]

(something like this)


And with that name... their social media accounts... {clears throat}... can take some... *digs*... at the golden boys (VGK) and mountaineers (Avs).

Salt Lake City settled by early pioneer settlers led by Brigham Young . Became known as Mormon Pioneers. With that I can see Utah Miners or Utah Pioneers.
Kudos for the logo and colour combination. Actually looks really good. Very nice.

[pmorrow]

"Utah is a slam-dunk, whether expansion or relocation. Start submitting jersey sketches or mascot names, that’s going to happen."

https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article...n-the-horizon/

[ericdaoust]

Utah Skinwalkers

Stadium Series at Skinwalker Ranch on top of the mesa

[Grapes]

Utah Skinwalkers

Stadium Series at Skinwalker Ranch on top of the mesa

I would bet the logo for Skinwalkers in Utah would be completely opposite than Skinwalkers in Vegas

[pmorrow]

Latest 32 Thoughts bits...
- Friedman stated again that Utah is a lock
- Marek said he's starting to feel like Atlanta is an inevitability
- Friedman says not sure if Houston is on the frontburner anymore because owner there balked at the price for a team
- also says if the Coyotes leave Arizona, the NHL will absolutely try to come back as soon as possible

[PenguinHunter]

Utah Buzz is already taken - or else that would be my pick. With the state insect being the honeybee.

Along the line of Miners (which I really like), they could go with Utah Coal Miners or Utah Coalers.
There is a local senior team named the Coalers


Need a lot better logo then this... but its a name I could support.

A third option which I don't like, but its unique (outside of the CFL) - Utah Elk

[pmorrow]

Lots still up in the air but listening to Seravalli today:
- If the Coyotes are moved, current owner is still going to try to buy the land and build an arena
- NHL wants to work with owner/next owner to expand with a franchise in AZ in a few years once an arena is built or some better arrangement is found
- If relocation is going to happen that news will probably come well before the June auction, if it gets to June it's probably too late to move them for next year.

[Pengwin7]

^I don't buy any "new Arizona owner".
It's done. I mean... there was a public vote for land usage in May 2023 and the public voted it down.
I think Arizona hockey was over right then and there... but - obviously - the team wasn't going to have a new home for 2024-25, not enough time.

If somebody said I had to bet my bank account IN-Arizona or OUT-Arizona for 2025-26 season... I'm saying "OUT".

"Arizona"... like "Atlanta"... it could've worked.
They are similar places to Nashville.
But sometimes it just feels like it's too far from being fixed.
Bad ownership, not the perfect location, team without enough upward trajectory...
Toast.

NHL & Arizona still has to "say the right things" - right up until that final day of Arizona hockey.
So - in the spirit of accurate reporting, people like Seravalli will say what's being said.
But it's over... I think it's over.

[rataylor22]

^I don't buy any "new Arizona owner".
It's done. I mean... there was a public vote for land usage in May 2023 and the public voted it down.
I think Arizona hockey was over right then and there... but - obviously - the team wasn't going to have a new home for 2024-25, not enough time.

If somebody said I had to bet my bank account IN-Arizona or OUT-Arizona for 2025-26 season... I'm saying "OUT".

"Arizona"... like "Atlanta"... it could've worked.
They are similar places to Nashville.
But sometimes it just feels like it's too far from being fixed.
Bad ownership, not the perfect location, team without enough upward trajectory...
Toast.

NHL & Arizona still has to "say the right things" - right up until that final day of Arizona hockey.
So - in the spirit of accurate reporting, people like Seravalli will say what's being said.
But it's over... I think it's over.

So the "rumour" that Seravalli was floating yesterday on the Flames specific podcast is that this iteration of the Coyotes is finished, and that they are moving to Salt Lake, and it will be announced as early as the day after the Coyotes last game and as late as May 31, but that it is basically a done deal.

The secondary piece on that is that the league has essentially promised Merulo an expansion franchise whenever this new arena is ready. I would note, just about every insider out there has stated that if the NHL leaves PHX they will go back basically as soon as possible. So this really isn't all that surprising.

Couple other nuggets to touch on what Frank said:

- The "promise" of an expansion franchise is likely to make Merulo less difficult in the SLC sale process
- This promise also likely comes with a very specific set of conditions, which would likely give the NHL an easy way to back out of this promise later
- A "new owner" in Phoenix wouldn't be for this team, but for the same new expansion franchise. Other ~potential~ rumours that the NHL might be working with another party to compete with Merulo on this land auction. If another party wins, expansion condition fails and the league works with the new owner
- The other subplot here is Merulo might be done too, but he's playing the part of "staying committed" to make sure he gets a $1B sale price and then he'll opt out of future NHL ownership

[Pengwin7]

The secondary piece on that is that the league has essentially promised Merulo an expansion franchise whenever this new arena is ready. I would note, just about every insider out there has stated that if the NHL leaves PHX they will go back basically as soon as possible. So this really isn't all that surprising.

Thanks.
I hadn't listened to the podcast.
This all makes sense... though I'll be really effin surprised if Merulo ACTUALLY stays with hockey.
With the way hockey franchise evaluations are these days... I think it's more likely he takes whatever profit comes from Arizona-to-SLC and calls it a day from the world of hockey.

I think there's some "say the right thing" for the Arizona/Phoenix hockey-community.
Bettman "says"... there'll be hockey in Arizona if it is wanted.
And owner "says"... I'm going to go after land and an arena.

And once the team is sold/gone/profited... things from the Merulo-camp could* change.
*And I hedge they will.
Absolutely nothing worse than failing... BIG... twice.
If Arizona hockey comes back - I don't see it being Merulo.

[In short "promised Merulo" is clever... because Merulo could bail on hockey - and I think he will. So I mostly, completely, agree with your last point.]

[rataylor22]

It sounds like it’s almost a bit of a Mexican stand-off behind the scenes.

Merulo is feigning interest to make sure he gets his big payoff so the NHL can’t undercut/lowball him. To do so needs to have all these long term plans.

The league is supporting him so he plays ball, doesn’t make the sale process difficult, doesn’t sue the league after the fact.

But Merulo probably wants out of hockey, and the NHL wants Merulo out of the NHL. I personally agree that the team moves to SLC and Merulo bows out of the hockey business with a tidy $600M profit or so.

[rataylor22]

Also, I don’t listen to Frank’s DFO podcast. The info I gave is from the “Barnburner” podcast that he does guest spots on from April 8th and it is timestamped so you don’t have to listen to everything.

[2014olympicgold]

Seravali has said:

"Sources: #NHL is drafting two schedule versions for next season - one with #Yotes in Arizona, another with the relocated franchise playing in Salt Lake City. "

To me there's too much work happening around Salt Lake right now. It's def getting moved, and I can see it happening the end of the season.

[Pengwin7]

LOL, love that quote above.

Interpretation:
"We are drafting one realistic schedule (SLC) and one so that Arizona fans keep showing up to games over the next couple weeks and keep their piss in the urinals."

[2014olympicgold]

This is from PuckEmpire:

Relocation is less likely outcome after the plot of land the Coyotes intend to use for a new arena and entertainment distric tin North Phoenix was officially listed fo auction last week, but Seravalli reports majority owner Alex Meruelo is "intimately involved" in a backup plan that would sell control of the franchise to Ryan Smith before the June 27 land auction.

The Smith Entertainment Group would spend over $1.2B to acquire the franchise, including a relocation fee distributed to the league's other 31 owners. Meruelo could still get paid for his majority stake at a valuation north of $1B after purchasing the franchise at a valuation of $300m in 2019.

Even in the overwhelmingly likely event that Meuelo wins the June Land auction, that's not a guarantee this franchise remains in Arizona past next season - part of an agreement to sell the team "could include language that would allow Meruelo to 'reactivate' the Coyotes franchise in future years, including names and trademarks, if a new arena is built and terms and conditions of the agreement with the NHL are met.

That would pave the way for the Coyotes to start fresh with an expansion draft after the development is built, perhaps bringing hockey back to Arizona before the end of the decade.

So there's a chance the land is bought, arena is being built, but the current Coyotes get moved to Salt Lake, and in 5yrs when the Phoenix arena is ready an expansion draft takes place to get a fresh team in Arizona.