Confirmed with Link: All-Purpose "Days of Our Meruelo" Talk

[LAIslanderFan]

Nyah… can’t blame Smith. He just wants a team. He’s paying top price to get one.

Walsh was an ass but that's his job

I respectively disagree. Following the stories regarding NHL expansion, it seems clear that Utah was in line to get an expansion team, so that was going to happen anyway, probably in time for the new arena being completed in SLC. It appears to me Smith got impatient and along with the Players Association forced this sale. I think (and it's purely my opinion based on everything I've read) that Merullo had every intention of buying the land in N. Phoenix and building the arena. It seems Smith made a $1 billion offer for the Yotes, plus a substantial fee to the NHL for brokering the deal and they used the Players Association to push as well because of the Mullett situation. I think if Murello pushed back he would end up in court with the league.

Would you take the $1 billion or take on the league and the Players Association in court?
You would spend years in court, further delaying the arena project and millions in lawyer fees, not
to mention you'd be a pariah with the rest of the owners.

What really pisses me off, is that Utah will get to see all of the prospects the Coyotes accumulated over the years and not have to put up with waiting the Yotes fans went through for
years as the team tanked and piled on loses on the ice. Certainly not a just outcome.

 

[DustyDangler]

Probably things like fornication, intoxication and profanity. I don’t think they expect unbelievers to become believers just to please the culture. That’s not a worldview taught be the church, so far as I know. But they’re probably more likely to demand that folks are a bit less public about all of that. Which isn’t an issue with most NHL players anyway. Short of Spittin’ Chiclets type lifestyle flaunting, I’m sure it won’t be an issue. Having a live-in girlfriend and some beers at the golf course and the occasional casual swearing isn’t likely to get the torches lit and the pitchforks sharpened I don’t think. SLC is a pretty big city. And there’s lots of city folks there. It’s not children of the corn. Lol.


I suspect this issue would be open flaunting. Not private stuff. Again, not really an issue. Maybe and I mean MAYBE guys like Evander Kane or Sean Avery would’ve been an issue. That’s like two dudes over the last 20 years.

Kane and Avery did nothing akin to Malone impregnating a 13 year old girl and Malone's stuff wasn't all that private.

 

[Nowotny]

They're fine with people who leave them alone or treat them normally. They are, however, pressured to try and make friends with people and convert them. Some members take that way more seriously than others.

As for famous people and sports figures, if they say complimentary things about the Church, Mormons will love them. Even better if one or more of them converts. But Mormons will not be understanding of "shenanigans," not at all. The players will have to be on their very best behavior or there will be pressure to run them out of town.

That's my opinion based on my life experience and living with Utah Mormons. YMMV.

If you are young single guy (especially European) you may have a hard time since many things that are considered normal behavior for a young man elsewhere are "verboten" in Utah

 

[TheLegend]

Listen, I've been involved in saving this team in more ways than I publicly let on here. Feel free to send a PM. I have a looooong history.

You're quite frankly nothing in comparison and I'd be happy to discuss. Glad you've been a mod on HF but I've been on the Ground.

Just stop, and take a step back.

Nope.

I’m going to say what I think and if you can’t handle that I can’t help you.

 

[MIGs Dog]

Don't Mormons consider themselves Christian? Just another denomination?

Yeah. I think Mormons consider themselves Christians, but the feeling is not mutual.

 

[Edenjung]

Getting too drunk. Pulling an Auston Matthews and flashing someone after a bender. A messy extramarital liaison. Etc.

They're extremely pleasant people on the surface. Stepford-level.

So Most Hockey players should be fine. They are very private people (most of the time) and big scandals are not as common as in Other sports.

But the last part makes me cringe. Being nice is great and all but after googling stepford i am reinforced in my believes that its a fassade. And i don't like that. I prefer the more honest, a bit blunt but friendly middle european approach

 

[Sinurgy]

If urban players in the NBA can cope and live in SLC, then NHL players will have no problem whatsoever.

I don't disagree but that's why I specifically used the word want, not can. Also "urban players", interesting choice of words. lol

After seeing a few things this morning.

We need to get away from Alex Meruelo as far as we can.

Any particular reason you're being cryptic?

 

[TheLegend]

I respectively disagree. Following the stories regarding NHL expansion, it seems clear that Utah was in line to get an expansion team, so that was going to happen anyway, probably in time for the new arena being completed in SLC. It appears to me Smith got impatient and along with the Players Association forced this sale. I think (and it's purely my opinion based on everything I've read) that Merullo had every intention of buying the land in N. Phoenix and building the arena. It seems Smith made a $1 billion offer for the Yotes, plus a substantial fee to the NHL for brokering the deal and they used the Players Association to push as well because of the Mullett situation. I think if Murello pushed back he would end up in court with the league.

Would you take the $1 billion or take on the league and the Players Association in court?
You would spend years in court, further delaying the arena project and millions in lawyer fees, not
to mention you'd be a pariah with the rest of the owners.

What really pisses me off, is that Utah will get to see all of the prospects the Coyotes accumulated over the years and not have to put up with waiting the Yotes fans went through for
years as the team tanked and piled on loses on the ice. Certainly not a just outcome.

Unfortunately this is a pure business decision on the part of the league (and they have to take some responsibility for it) and these kinds of decisions always involves pain.

I’ve been through it on a personal scale. I had my career set back 20 plus years because of a couple of upper level managers played the corporate game.

Tried to be the team player through it all and got screwed.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

But the last part makes me cringe. Being nice is great and all but after googling stepford i am reinforced in my believes that its a fassade. And i don't like that. I prefer the more honest, a bit blunt but friendly middle european approach

Funny story. I was born in the Midwest and then my family converted to Mormonism when I was 6. So my entire personal development made me into the most Stepford, passive-aggressive person ever conceived. Because Mormons tend to stick to their own socially, I never knew how WEIRD and off-putting I was until I moved to Boston for work after college.

I could not believe that people could be THAT DIRECT, that blunt, that honest, and still be good people. It was like the Massachusetts population had zero filters, and for the first two months I was almost literally scared for my life. But I grew not just to appreciate it, but prefer it. You always knew where you stood in Boston, compared to everyone else I ever knew, who were pleasant as all hell to you on the surface, but trying to navigate relationships was like walking in a live minefield.

(I won't go into when I discovered the "Masshole" demographic... another day, another thread )

 

[lanky]

You can afford $3 billion for a new stadium district but not a couple grand to stay at the Hilton?

I don't think the hotel payment issue is about ability to pay. I suspect there was a disagreement and that is the one of AM's tactics in navigating disagreement.
I'm not really defending him, just pointing out that there's a lot of information we don't have.

 

[TheLegend]

Any particular reason you're being cryptic?

Not cryptic….. I have no trust in him right now. And I’m more tolerant of things than most people.

I said after the IceArizona clown show I didn’t care where this team played in Arizona as long as it had a solid ownership running it. And up until a few days ago I still had that feeling we were on the right track.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

I don't think the hotel payment issue is about ability to pay. I suspect there was a disagreement and that is the one of AM's tactics in navigating disagreement.

You know how Donald Trump spends his time going from lawsuit to lawsuit, using delay tactics to stay one step ahead of any real accountability? It's the old Roy Cohn formula. That is a common tactic among a subset of, shall we say, more ethically flexible businesspeople. It's a giant shell game. It doesn't even need to be about hiding a true financial picture - the GAME is the thing, seeing how many people you can rip off and how many contracts you can skip out on without paying even the bare minimum.

When Meruelo first bought the team, that was all he was doing - ditching payments, challenging contracts, daring people to come to collect... we thought it was because the contracts were unreasonable at the time, but in hindsight it seems pretty clear that the guy does this as a habit.

Not cryptic….. I have no trust in him right now. And I’m more tolerant of things than most people.

I said after the IceArizona clown show I didn’t care where this team played in Arizona as long as it had a solid ownership running it. And up until a few days ago I still had that feeling we were on the right track.

I never thought I would ever conceive of anyone more malfeasant, bad-faith, or combination unethical/moronic than Anthony LeBlanc. But the picture that's coming out is that LeBlanc and the Ice Clowns were just the minor league warmup act for the Main Event.

 

[Prarievarg]

Idk, there’s too much smoke for there to be no fire. However, if the NHL wants to escape the arena headaches and wants to replace Meruelo with Smith without tarnishing their own image, it's in their interest to cast Meruelo as the villain. I don't trust AM, but I have absolutely no faith in the NHL either.

 

[Sinurgy]

But they’re probably more likely to demand that folks are a bit less public about all of that.

This is the big thing right here, they are extremely fixated on public perception, especially anything that might hurt that ultra nice, ultra pure stereotype they cultivate. The church has been in hot water lately over several pedophile cases where they've been caught actively covering them up. Literally happened to a friends (who is also Mormon) neighbor. It came out a young kid was being was being molested and the church swooped in and "handled it". Extreme pressure not to report it, not to get authorities involved, etc. just let the church handle it. So the family reluctantly agreed and instead of the police doing something the church moved the offending teen and their family across country, gave the victim and their family some "spiritual counseling", and called it a closed case.

 

[LAIslanderFan]

You can afford $3 billion for a new stadium district but not a couple grand to stay at the Hilton?

We don't know how true this is or what the back story is. I would think if it were true, the NHL would have never let it get to this point. Seems like hearsay from Seravalli.

 

[Sinurgy]

They're extremely pleasant people on the surface. Stepford-level.

Gotta protect the brand!

 

[Arizonatah Coyetis]

I was born in the Midwest

Me too. Lately I've seen several people in the media write "mint west" instead of Midwest. It's been driving me freakin' crazy!

 

[Bonsai Tree]

Teams make multiple visits to half of the NHL cities. The claim that the Coyotes are not paying hotel bills doesn’t pass the sniff test. More likely there were ancillary charges, such as bar or restaurant charges in dispute.

 

[Brodie]

Lurking here but want to say it isn't like young NHL players can't get coke and IG models to hook up with in SLC, they certainly can on the road in any case.

 

[Sinurgy]

What could have been, going to watch this site carefully. Arizona Coyotes Josh Doan Adidas Black Authentic Jersey

"Production time is 2-4 weeks regardless of shipping method chosen."

I.e. they make these on demand, they don't have a batch of Josh Doan jerseys sitting around they'll suddenly need to discount.

 

[Edenjung]

Lurking here but want to say it isn't like young NHL players can't get coke and IG models to hook up with in SLC, they certainly can on the road in any case.

But the quality might be worse in SCL.

@The Feckless Puck
Well AZ also has some more interesting people. I just read about the "pray-in" some people had in AZ Congress.

 

[RABBIT]

https://x.com/gambo987/status/1778838908060807565?s=46&t=LjHv8qiaMZVbgvvNJ_a7IA

Say what you will about Gambo, but he’s been spot on so far

 

[Mosby]

The hotel thing sounds like it happened repeatedly though, not just after one horrible night at the Four Seasons.

I am reminded of Kramer...

"Your nana has been passing those bum cheques all over town and she finally pissed off the wrong people"

 

[Brodie]

But the quality might be worse in SCL.

Obviously. I think most people would prefer Phoenix to SLC for a number of reasons, but I don't think that an area that has supported the NBA for 45 years will be scandalized by hockey players who are generally much more lowkey

 

[LAIslanderFan]

You know how Donald Trump spends his time going from lawsuit to lawsuit, using delay tactics to stay one step ahead of any real accountability? It's the old Roy Cohn formula. That is a common tactic among a subset of, shall we say, more ethically flexible businesspeople. It's a giant shell game. It doesn't even need to be about hiding a true financial picture - the GAME is the thing, seeing how many people you can rip off and how many contracts you can skip out on without paying even the bare minimum.

When Meruelo first bought the team, that was all he was doing - ditching payments, challenging contracts, daring people to come to collect... we thought it was because the contracts were unreasonable at the time, but in hindsight it seems pretty clear that the guy does this as a habit.



I never thought I would ever conceive of anyone more malfeasant, bad-faith, or combination unethical/moronic than Anthony LeBlanc. But the picture that's coming out is that LeBlanc and the Ice Clowns were just the minor league warmup act for the Main Event.

And yet Glendale still wanted to sign a 10-15 year lease with Murello? Hmm? I don't think it seems clear at all.
My guess is that there were a lot of legal entanglements from the previous ownership that needed to be ironed out, otherwise Glendale would have never wanted to continue the relationship.