Per Friedman: Coyotes players told team moving to Utah starting next season (Mod warning post #50)

[orby]

Meruelo seems like a big-time grifter to me. Not showing up to the last game is a pretty chickenshit move.

 

[wunderpanda]

Meruelo seems like a big-time grifter to me. Not showing up to the last game is a pretty chickenshit move.

his showing up might have changed the mood. fans celebrated & grieved losing the team. meruelo could have turned the fans angry.

 

[ItWasJustified]

It's sad they are losing their team but the joke has lasted long enough.
Anyways, I'm convinced they'll have an expansion team within 10 years.

That's not early enough for some Coyotes fans.

 

[GrkFlyersFan]

I was sadder than I thought I'd be watching the last game(Coyotes broadcast especially). Even though this was a long time coming. Still always sad to see a team move.

 

[yzerman]

How is the fans in Utah for hockey?is it going to be a good "hockeytown?

 

[Harvey Birdman]

My heart goes deeply out to all Coyotes fans. I know the anxiety of your team possibly moving and it’s horrible. But my team ended up staying… So I am sorry genuinely to all of you. Those of you that have stayed with the team are one of the purest examples of unflinching fandom in the NHL. If you choose to keep cheering for them in Utah, change teams (any of you are welcome over at the Pens board come on over if you wish), or wait to see if you get a new expansion team I hope all of you Yotes fans see something that keeps you a hockey fan. Again, sorry you are loosing your team.

 

[ijuka]

How is the fans in Utah for hockey?is it going to be a good "hockeytown?

Have they ever seen ice before? Do they get snow?

If the answer is yes, it's probably a better hockey town than Phoenix.

 

[Summer Rose]

That's not early enough for some Coyotes fans.
View attachment 854346

Not cool of that guy to wish relocation upon anyone.

 

[yzerman]

Have they ever seen ice before? Do they get snow?

If the answer is yes, it's probably a better hockey town than Phoenix.

Yes of course but i want some answers from people who lives in Utah area would be great.

 

[GrumpyKoala]

Serious question here.
To the ones that lives or know the social economic imperatives of the American west/mid west cities

What does SLC have as a competitive advantage that Phoenix doesn't?

* not talking about the owner or theirs money nor having a rink.

But how it could succes where phoenix could not
Building a stronger fan base, filling the rink, getting maximum tv deal/ viewership.

 

[Summer Rose]

Serious question here.
To the ones that lives or know the social economic imperatives of the American west/mid west cities

What does SLC have as a competitive advantage that Phoenix doesn't?

* not talking about the owner or theirs money nor having a rink.

But how it could succes where phoenix could not
Building a stronger fan base, filling the rink, getting maximum tv deal/ viewership.

I know you didn't quite ask about the owner, but having stable ownership in a market with growth potential will go a long way in helping the success of the team in Utah.

What I will say as well, being a Phoenix native (although I don't live there anymore), is that Phoenix is a very fickle sports town where people only seem to show up for winners, and ignore teams that suck. I'm partially guilty of that behavior in that I only pay attention to the Suns when they're winning, and the Diamondbacks pissed me off so much that I stopped following baseball entirely for a while (when I started again, I had moved to Florida and became a Rays fan instead). In contrast, Salt Lake City doesn't seem as fickle at first glance. The Utah Jazz have a very long sellout streak even though the team has, if I'm remembering it correctly, sucked for quite some time. One could conclude that Salt Lake City is a good sports town whereas Phoenix is not, based on all of this.

 

[Thallis]

Serious question here.
To the ones that lives or know the social economic imperatives of the American west/mid west cities

What does SLC have as a competitive advantage that Phoenix doesn't?

* not talking about the owner or theirs money nor having a rink.

But how it could succes where phoenix could not
Building a stronger fan base, filling the rink, getting maximum tv deal/ viewership.

Demographically SLC looks a lot more like the NHL's typical clientele than Phoenix, there's an inherent winter sports culture due to the mountains being accessible directly from the city(the city even runs a free bus service to world class ski resorts), and a lot of the current population boom are from tech jobs.

 

[MVP Zacha]

I think, this maybe the record.

This ties the record I believe along with the now current NJ Devils

KC Scouts -> Colorado Scouts -> NJ Devils

@KrugAvoy beat me to the punch.
KC Scouts -> Colorado Rockies -> NJ Devils

 

[Coaches Coroner]

Seeing the end with the players and the fans, what a bummer. First time I really felt for AZ fans, seeing it be real and how much the ones their cared.

 

[AintLifeGrand]

wish there had been this much support and reverence for the Thrashers fans and team in May 2011.

Per usual, Phoenix always gets more than it deserves….

 

[syz]

his showing up might have changed the mood. fans celebrated & grieved losing the team. meruelo could have turned the fans angry.

Think both things are true, tbh. Can understand why he wouldn't show up, but I also think he's just gonna take the money and run. We're talking about a guy who had to have his arm twisted to pay his team's outstanding hotel bills.

 

[Uberpecker]

All I can say is I empathize with the fans. And only them.
Having the team in which you've invested time, passion and money taken away for whatever reason just sucks hard. Something I know from personal experience.

 

[Guardian17]

I wonder, what's the NHL franchise record for most relocations? This will be relocation #3 for the WinniPhoeniUtah Jets 1.0

I think, this maybe the record.

The Kansas City Scouts moved to Denver to become the Colorado Rockies.

The Colorado Rockies moved to New Jersey to become the New Jersey Devils.

 

[BretterThanYou]

Serious question here.
To the ones that lives or know the social economic imperatives of the American west/mid west cities

What does SLC have as a competitive advantage that Phoenix doesn't?

* not talking about the owner or theirs money nor having a rink.

But how it could succes where phoenix could not
Building a stronger fan base, filling the rink, getting maximum tv deal/ viewership.

That's the thing though. The NHL absolutely could've and should've succeeded in PHX. Owner after owner after owner not caring about the team is the only reason it didn't succeed in Phoenix. The fans were there, it was just a bad move to Glendale followed by years of mediocrity.

 

[joepeps]

Have they ever seen ice before? Do they get snow?

If the answer is yes, it's probably a better hockey town than Phoenix.

are you serious? lol

 

[Ratsreign]

To be fair, without Bettman`s obsession with NHL in Arizona, this saga would have ended years earlier. And even now, NHL promised return to Arizona if they build proper ice hockey arena within 5 yrs? That is quite astonishing, when NHL was never a success story in Arizona...

People seem to ignore that Bettman works for the owners, and he pursues the goals they desire him to attain.
A lot of mis-steps piled up one after the other over their (Coyotes) time, seemingly starting even before the beginning of the franchise. They started in an obstructed view basketball arena, and never had any real stability with ownership. Hockey would work there, a big help to it really taking off there would be if the specter of re-location isn’t hanging over the team throughout most of their existence. The NHL would work there, they just horribly botched it.

 

[Ratsreign]

But how it could succes where phoenix could not
Building a stronger fan base, filling the rink, getting maximum tv deal/ viewership.

Success all starts with what you were not talking about...
an owner with money and a (suitable) place to play (with a new arena definitely coming).

 

[chethejet]

The expansion process is so much better now. NHL did expansion without the needed guardrails to insure stability of the franchise. AZ moving around was a joke. Ownership never built the foundation to succeed. Utah/SLC will be a much better franchise and that is in the best interests of everyone.

 

[Ragamuffin Gunner]

With Meruelo retaining the name and team rights, is the Utah team a "brand new" franchise or will it take it's history with it?

Will Doan's #19 be retired in Utah or kept as retired for the hypothetical new Coyotes expansion franchise?

 

[Juxta Position]

but phoeni

wish there had been this much support and reverence for the Thrashers fans and team in May 2011.

Per usual, Phoenix always gets more than it deserves….

Phoenix hasn't pissed away TWO franchises though....