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

[Bandit]

It's brown on my screen...and wouldn't call that gold either but sure, I guess we could go hot pink and neon green if we really want to have a color scheme that is completely not related to any other color scheme in the entire league...

Ok I guess that is pastel brown. and hey why not hot pink and neon green? The 80’s were awesome.

Uniform and name problem solved. The Utah Smootches!

 

[DFAC]

Black and gold is unique?

Boston?
Pittsburgh?
Vegas?

Oh! That must be pastel black…

It's brown on my screen...and wouldn't call that gold either but sure, I guess we could go hot pink and neon green if we really want to have a color scheme that is completely not related to any other color scheme in the entire league...

It's hard to come up with completely new color schemes because there's only so many combinations of colors that actually look good together (black and yellow being one of them). They could throw a bit of red in there or even something more adventurous like a purple. Lots to work with. Kind of like how Vegas added teal to their colors.

If the name does indeed being Utah Swarm, you can also play around with the bee logo so that the two wings make up a "U"

 

[hockeyboy1923]

I mean, the NHL did everything they can. To the point of Bettman catching ridicule even when it was unnecessary. Like he controlled the whole thing. At this point, the best thing *IS* to celebrate. This is a marriage of sorts to Utah and you might as well do it up. I don't think the celebration has anything to do with the Coyotes. I wouldn't celebrate all that work for nothing. So pop a cork and toast to Salt Lake City. You have different problems now.

The owner of the AZ Coyotes did not want to sell - they forced him too!

If they are going to force a sale to investors in Utah, they could have forced a sale to investors in AZ.

They can cheer because it could be a short-term win and profit for the NHL owners, but this is a huge loss for hockey popularity in the US long-term, which is already a huge problem. Phoenix is the 5th most populous states and one of the fasest growing in population and economic growth. Hockey was also growing in popularity in Phoenix and there is a growing youth development program (see Austin Mathews). Pulling the NHL out of this market is bad for hockey.

 

[Spargon]

Arizona’s corpse isn’t even cold and the NHL is celebrating their asses off.

The Coyotes have been playing weekend at Bernie's for years.

 

[Gnashville]

Why don't they just keep the "Coyotes" - if not even the colors?

Why do they need to change the name?

Arizona retained the rights to “Coyotes” in the event they get an expansion team.

 

[Weztex]

Here's hoping for a name that

1) is unique among major sports leagues
2) isn't the name of a particular animal
3) is a single word
4) has ties with the culture or symbols of the place
5) isn't a silly name marketed to kids
6) rolls well off the tongue

Utah Stingers?

 

[Viqsi]

The owner of the AZ Coyotes did not want to sell - they forced him too!

If they are going to force a sale to investors in Utah, they could have forced a sale to investors in AZ.

The lack of arena would have made that approach nonviable, unfortunately. They're giving Meruelo a grace period to make it happen regardless, and I'm hoping that it does happen even tho Meruelo can go f*** himself.

 

[93LEAFS]

As someone from MN that relocated to AZ recently I have to say I am dissapointed and surprised at the decision. I am still planning to get my kids involved in hockey when they are older, but not having an NHL team will make this a lot harder. This feels like very bad long-term decision for the NHL and how everything went down is incredibly shady. The fact that they were able to strong arm this movie is incredulous.

Phoenix is the 5th most populous city in the country and has one of the fastest growing economies. Additionally, we are seeing A LOT of migration of people into the state from colder weather climates that enjoy hockey. We also have a pretty strong youth hockey development program with many NHLers like Austin Matthews, etc. Do they really think it is in the best interest of the NHL and hockey to pull out of this market?

Obviously AM was a bad owner that severely mismanaged everything, but to strong arm a move to Utah, and take hockey out of the state, feels like terrible mistake. Why not strong-arm to the rumored AZ investors that were interested? Did they not grease enough palms?

I have nothing against Utah - I am a Delta Diamond and fly through their airport frequently, but it is a small city, and the potential growth for hockey there is significantly lower. If Utah wanted a team it would have been better for the NHL to do an expansion.

You are just using the city's alone population, which is a bit misleading. When it comes to pro-sports MSA and CSA mean a lot more. Otherwise, markets like San Diego and San Antonio would be viewed as more desirable than they are (the 7th and 8th most populated cities in the United States). While, Phoenix is a much bigger MSA/CSA multiple other ones are significantly bigger than the ones you've listed (NYC, LA, Chicago, and Houston), areas like the DMV, Bay Area, Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, Boston/New England, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and South Florida.

I feel bad for fans of the Coyotes. It would suck to have your team taken from you. While growing, Phoenix isn't a top 5 most valuable market in the United States and is likely just outside the top 10.

 

[BKarchitect]

It's hard to come up with completely new color schemes because there's only so many combinations of colors that actually look good together (black and yellow being one of them). They could throw a bit of red in there or even something more adventurous like a purple. Lots to work with.

I wonder if Ryan Smith will try to tie the colors to the Jazz to create something of a city unity look that some cities have since he owns both or if he will go somewhere completely different.

The Jazz are very hit or miss. Their classics and some of their city editions are really cool...and some are really boring.

 

[12ozPapa]

Yikes, those are some very dumb names.

 

[BKarchitect]

The one thing we know for sure about the new Utah franchise…

It doesn’t matter what the name and colors are, people are gonna find a way to be outraged and unhappy with it. lol.

 

[joelef]

So are the Quebec people on here going after this team?

 

[red devil]

The one thing we know for sure about the new Utah franchise…

It doesn’t matter what the name and colors are, people are gonna find a way to be outraged and unhappy with it. lol.

 

[Bandit]

5,999 of them being corporations and scalpers looking to sell them at inflated prices.

 

[BB79]

I'm really more interested in what the color pallette will be. They already said they aren't rushing to chose a name and will just go by "Utah". I like this color scheme, navy/gold/orange with a hint of red. Fits the region well. Would go well with a lot of names as well-

 

[AlwaysSunnyInTampa]

The owner of the AZ Coyotes did not want to sell - they forced him too!

If they are going to force a sale to investors in Utah, they could have forced a sale to investors in AZ.

They can cheer because it could be a short-term win and profit for the NHL owners, but this is a huge loss for hockey popularity in the US long-term, which is already a huge problem. Phoenix is the 5th most populous states and one of the fasest growing in population and economic growth. Hockey was also growing in popularity in Phoenix and there is a growing youth development program (see Austin Mathews). Pulling the NHL out of this market is bad for hockey.

They had nowhere to go mate. That's the problem. Speaking as a fan of a team once owned by the Yazuka and played at the Florida State Fairgrounds and then the current Rays stadium, I can testify that the NHL is willing to let a lot go. Mullett Arena would have sufficed as the home of the Coyotes so long as a deal was in place. And at best we're looking at a 5 year plan. The fact the NHL remained another 2 years after the deal in Tempe fell through is a testament to their patience. It took the Lightning some 5 or 6 years to get their home. But the only difference is the plan didn't have so much red tape as Airzona does. So it was easy for 28,000 people to show up every night and wholesale commit to the team.


They need a different owner than AM. If the NHL can strike a new deal with the stadium in Glendale, it'll expedite the process tremendously. The whole reason the Coyotes were evicted to begin with was bad business practices by bad owners

 

[HTFN]

Not saying it's not a dump but the arena is there and if someone like the Knight family were interested I could see it. They fill the Timbers stadium and the Trailblazers do pretty well.

It's also just... not a dump. It's a nice city with a similar homeless presence as a lot of the west coast, but it's not like it's out of control or ruining the place.

If that's a dump places like LA are an absolute shithole, isn't stopping them from getting sports teams.

 

[BKarchitect]

I'm really more interested in what the color pallette will be. They already said they aren't rushing to chose a name and will just go by "Utah". I like this color scheme, navy/gold/orange with a hint of red. Fits the region well. Would go well with a lot of names as well-
View attachment 854790

I love that jersey and palette too.

The sunset gradient thing has been done in other sports (Jazz, Astros) - I wonder if there is a way to apply that to a hockey sweater without it looking tacky? I mean, it would drive traditionalists nuts but…it would certainly be different.

 

[kingsholygrail]

I like the idea of a Blizzard vs an Avalanche.

 

[hockeyboy1923]

You are just using the city's alone population, which is a bit misleading. When it comes to pro-sports MSA and CSA mean a lot more. Otherwise, markets like San Diego and San Antonio would be viewed as more desirable than they are (the 7th and 8th most populated cities in the United States). While, Phoenix is a much bigger MSA/CSA multiple other ones are significantly bigger than the ones you've listed (NYC, LA, Chicago, and Houston), areas like the DMV, Bay Area, Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, Boston/New England, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and South Florida.

I feel bad for fans of the Coyotes. It would suck to have your team taken from you. While growing, Phoenix isn't a top 5 most valuable market in the United States and is likely just outside the top 10.

Phoenix is the 10th largest MSA but it is also the 4th fastest growing in the country. The NHL pulling out of this market is a huge mistake for hockey.

Utah is the 50th largest MSA.

At the end of the day, this may have been a win for Utah and certain NHL owners but this is a loss for hockey popularity in the US which is what *should* matter to the NHL. If the NHL wants to grow in an increasingly competitive sports market in the US, it needs to do more to expand popularity of the sport. Otherwise it will continue to lose popularity to football, basketball and soccer.

Just look at management of the MLS compared to the NHL. The MLS is actively looking to cut deals to expand into new locations and bring in big players. They are actually making decisions that benefit not just the league but also soccer in the US. The MLS is going to eat the NHLs lunch unless they start making smarter decisions. To be honest, I don't have much confidence the NHL will figure it out.

 

[Bubbles]

What happened to the 200M relocation fee? The NHL is not a broker?

 

[Gnashville]

What happened to the 200M relocation fee? The NHL is not a broker?

It’s between 200 to 300 million and divided amongst the 31 other teams
Around 6 to 9 million per team

 

[Sentinel]

Wyoming is next, then Montana, then... hopefully -- Canada!

 

[Dog]

Hot diggity dog Utah hockey is a coming!

 

[joestevens29]

The owner of the AZ Coyotes did not want to sell - they forced him too!

If they are going to force a sale to investors in Utah, they could have forced a sale to investors in AZ.

They can cheer because it could be a short-term win and profit for the NHL owners, but this is a huge loss for hockey popularity in the US long-term, which is already a huge problem. Phoenix is the 5th most populous states and one of the fasest growing in population and economic growth. Hockey was also growing in popularity in Phoenix and there is a growing youth development program (see Austin Mathews). Pulling the NHL out of this market is bad for hockey.

Who are these mystery owners that want the team and have a place to play?