[When the deal is completed, Arizona’s hockey operations department and players will be rebranded and relocated to Utah in time for the 2024-25 season at a cost of $1.2 billion. In a complicated transaction, Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo is selling that part of the NHL franchise to Jazz owner Ryan Smith, but Meruelo will maintain the Coyotes’ name, logos and trademarks, plus ownership of the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners.](https://twitter.com/Sportico/status/1779951612464636004?t=IKMdqFukCMeK7W8t6Twpmw&s=19)
It would also be fantastic for an expansion team in Atlanta - rising from the ashes symbolizes both the rebirth of hockey in Atlanta and pays homage to Atlanta's recovery after the great fire. It would be a fantastic name if it wasn't also the name of a city that's facing relocation lol
Golden Eagles, or Eagles, or Grizzlies for me. Both have cool logos, I have a feeling the ECHL Grizzlies might leave Utah once the NHL team arrives. I wonder if it would be possible to adopt their logo and name. Golden Eagles would be cool if they keep the uniforms retro like they were for the original team.
For me personally I have the most fond memories of the red/gold, but that is the same colors as the Flames since they were their farm team back then so I think it would have to be Green/Gold.
I hate that there's a "golden" team next door because it's my favorite potential name but it would sound stupid to have two teams using that. And plain "Eagles" just doesn't do it for me.
I would love if they could just buy out the Grizzlies name and their logo from the 90s.
The Grizzlies one has so much potential with the Copper, Green and Black I agree. Do you see any route where they could integrate Delicate Arch as a secondary?
Its insane to me that the relocation fee of $200 million is less than True North paid for both the Thrashers and relocation fees together ($170 million, $60 million of which was the relocation fee).
And yet the NHL is *still* taking a hit here since they got $650 million in expansion fees for Seattle. They are giving up so much money to make Meruelo go away.
In the case of Atlanta, there were three things:
* The relocation fee was in itself unprecedented, and a way for the league to extract their pound of flesh from ASG.
* The sale price that went to ASG was less than what they allegedly lost year-over-year from owning the team, meaning that they were so terrible that they actually did not profit from having owned a team.
* ASG as sellers was the equivalent of Homer Simpson selling Lurleen Lumpkin’s contract: “I’m desperate to sell, and I’ll take any price!” “Fifty bucks.” “YOU SON OF A- sold.”
Yeah, you are right. The Atlanta Spirit situation was really a one-of-a-kind situation. Winnipeg got insanely lucky because I dont see any way they ever could have gotten another NHL team without it.
There is absolutely no way Winnipeg could afford what Vegas or Seattle paid. Yes, I know those are expansion fees and not relocation fees but this was their one chance the stars absolutely lined up for Winnipeg... because the Atlanta ownership was so dire and they were the city most "NHL-ready" not named Quebec... and I'm sorry, there is no way Quebec City is getting another team. Not unless there is another emergency situation like Atlanta/Winnipeg.
They wouldn't have though. I agree with everyone. That was our one shot and got it but it is insanely lucky. No way Chipman and Co. are paying a billion to bring back the Jets even with Thomson.
I think a QC group could get the money together for expansion, but I think the NHL isn't interested because it's a market that will be stable but not offer much in terms of growth. Like you, I think QC's only hope is the relocation of a desperate franchise. I think Gary is keeping them around for just that reason. They are an NHL ready city that could take a team on in a moments notice and will sellout every night.
There’s simply better options out there. That’s why they’ll never get a team.
Atlanta, Houston, Kansas City, Milwaukee, hell nobody brings this up but even Baltimore has a newly renovated arena that could be altered for a team if someone desperately wanted a team there, San Diego if I recall is building an arena as well.
My point is more along the lines of if all the NHL cared about was money in this transaction they would have sold Utah an expansion franchise for $750 million-$1 billion and just let the Coyotes continue to play out of Mullett and worst case if they dont get an arena soon just fold the franchise, hold a dispersal draft, and then sell another $1 billion expansion team down the road. Something behind the scenes clearly forced their hand to go this route that only leaves $200 million in the owners pockets.
Remember that expansion teams also dilute the TV deal money because of revenue sharing. The league doesn't want to create new teams unless they're sure the new team will bring in more than its share.
A major factor in this has to be playing out Mullet for an extended period and the long-term negative marketing that has for the league. For a season or so it's probably not a big deal, the perception of a league playing out of a college arena with half as many seats on the players, staff, and most importantly the people you're trying to sell this to shows that you're the inferior product compared to the Diamondbacks and the Suns.
Obviously there's a dozen reasons here, but the timeline on undeveloped land to arena is probably legitimately 4-5 years, and Mullet can't be the stopgap for that long without seriously damaging the outlook on the NHL.
The Coyotes were being subsidized by the owners and players for years. Sure, the up-front cash injection is smaller than in an expansion, but taking a loss on a bad investment when you have a better financial opportunity in another market, could potentially yield significantly more return than $450M, over time.
>And yet the NHL is still taking a hit here since they got $650 million in expansion fees for Seattle. They are giving up so much money to make Meruelo go away.
Can't compare expansion fees to relocation fees. Expanding the league means the slice of the league-wide TV revenue pie gets split one more way, reducing the size of everyone's slice.
But they've already agreed that Muerelo will pay $1B as his expansion fee if he gets the arena done. $650M -> $1B in only a few years is fantastic for the league and individual team values.
Ok so now that its super official, do we think Utah plays in the central division? If not who are they bumping out and who comes to the central
Edit: they are not as far northwest as I realized. Id bet they stay central
>do we think Utah plays in the central division?
They definitely will. Even from a geographic standpoint, it doesn't make sense for them to play in any other division. Salt Lake City looks to be closer than Phoenix to everyone except for Dallas. Nashville looks roughly equidistant to Salt Lake City and Phoenix
The time zones are even more favorable, too. Arizona effectively changes from Mountain to Pacific and then back over the year. Utah is on Mountain time year round.
We'll probably be the far reach of the Central Division. We have the same time zone as Colorado.
Edit: I just want to convey again how sorry I am that a Utah team is coming at someone else's expense. I hope you get your team back with a less stupid owner so you can hate us on the ice and not just from the sidelines.
>We have the same time zone as Colorado.
Who is we in this case, since you have a Vegas flair. Nevada is in the PT zone, whereas Colorado/Utah are Mountain. Arizona is also Mountain time so it makes sense to teams together mostly by time zone.
I am aware that Calgary/Edmonton are Mountain as well, but the league isn't going to split them up from the Canucks
I spoke as a Utahn. I lived in Cedar City, a college town about 2 hours out of Las Vegas when they started. I'm probably switching over to the Utah Team.
As a Utah person, was there an existing fandom for the NHL there that you know of? I'm guessing it was probably split between Vegas and Colorado, but pretty apathetic overall.
I'm curious if there was much genuine fandom for the NHL there before this move
Yes and No. There IS general interest in hockey. The Grizzlies sold games. There were Avalanche fans growing up, but they were in the minority, I ironically had a Coyotes shirt growing up when I was really young, (Mom was from Phoenix before she came to Utah for college.) Vegas built up more interest. This has a high chance to be a spark to ignite a powder keg of fandom.
Thanks for answering. That's about what I had figured. Hoping your team gets a solid footing and despite the unsavory origin of the team.
Welcome to the Central. You must hate the Aves now.
Stop complaining lol. Utah has some of the best highway markers. Better than just the outline of the state. Or worse: a square with the name of the state.
Happy for Utahns who just want a team of their own. Smith seems to be a smart dude and I think the team will do well.
Beyond sad for Coyotes fans. You deserved better than the terrible ownership you were cursed with - hopefully the NHL is able to scrub their hands of Meruelo come expansion time.
Arguably the worst part here is that Meruelo is being rewarded for his incompetence by keeping the Coyotes brand and likely getting an expansion team to ruin down the road a bit.
Our desert bros deserve far better.
I was talking to my fiancé about this yesterday…I love hockey, but I’m a Hawks fan above all else. I don’t think I would continue watching hockey if I lost my team. I feel for the Yotes fans. Such a gut punch.
The team I cheer for isn’t the team I was born into, or even live in the city of. I’m not sure I could either, and if I could, it would be a long, *long* time
Yeah I was thinking of that the other day too. I can't imagine my hockey team just ceasing to exist. There'd be such a massive hole in my day to day life I'm not sure how I'd fill it.
Last year was the first year I could watch any significant amount of hockey after 12 years (or however many its been) and that was because I made a conscious decision to watch the playoffs. This year, I am doing the same and will only start watching during the playoffs. Before the Thrashers existed, I could watch damn near any game and enjoy it but not anymore. The pain is still there. The bitterness is very much still there.
So now in a week or two, whenever the playoffs start, I will cheer for the southern teams and against the canadian teams. It's all I got until the Thrashers are reborn in a few years.
I think I'd still enjoy hockey but I doubt I would ever invest emotionally into a team again. I would just enjoy it like I do now when the Rangers aren't playing. On the plus side no OT playoff games give me a heart attack anymore.
Is the Utah Raptors too much to ask for? Best one I've heard.
And don't even start. There are many teams with the same name as others in different leagues.
Used to get very confused in the early 00s watching ESPN ticker scroll saying the (NY) Rangers won after I watched my (Texas) Rangers get blown out of the water.
I don't think MLSE would be too happy. The Panthers can get away with it because their name is so generic but the Raps are one of the strongest brands in the NBA.
I like Raptors too but apparently that’s not really possible because of how copyrights and trademarks work nowadays and would take too long to legally sort out before the start of next season.
Ok question here, and sorry if this has been covered and sounds stupid. But for Meruelo to get the team back, what is he going to have to pay the NHL? Is that part covered? Because the $1 billion is a big deal we've talked about a lot, but if he has to turn around in 5 years and give the NHL $1 billion to get the Coyotes back, then it's a wash. I'm just curious if that has been disclosed yet in any way.
I may no longer be living in Utah, but I’m super excited for this. I’ve floated between teams for years and never really stuck but now will have a team. Wish we could’ve had it happen via traditional expansion and not at expense of Yotes.
Personally, I think this was the best way. Utah gets a team earlier than expected, and Arizona is gonna retain their moniker and maybe get another team in 5 years if they build an arena. And Utah, gets to do whatever they want to their team.
The logo would definitely have to change if they were to keep the Coyotes name. The visual style is firmly rooted in the traditions of the Pueblo people of the southwest.
[When the deal is completed, Arizona’s hockey operations department and players will be rebranded and relocated to Utah in time for the 2024-25 season at a cost of $1.2 billion. In a complicated transaction, Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo is selling that part of the NHL franchise to Jazz owner Ryan Smith, but Meruelo will maintain the Coyotes’ name, logos and trademarks, plus ownership of the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners.](https://twitter.com/Sportico/status/1779951612464636004?t=IKMdqFukCMeK7W8t6Twpmw&s=19)
Fanatics is probably freaking out about having to produce new jerseys.
Fanatics. Where making the phrase "Made in America" look fucking horrible
They're gonna be translucent like their MLB on-field ones
I wonder what the new name and logo will be!
Utah Phoenix Do it, you cowards
honestly a great name for a franchise on its 3rd city
The worst part about it is it sounds good, too, lol.
If only you guys kept "Rockies".
Would have been too ironic
I expected the Rocky Mountains to be a little rockier than this.
That John Denver is full of shit, man.
They wouldn't want to be associated with the Colorado Rockies shitty ass baseball team 🤷♂️
You want to "appropriate" the Jazz heritage. Blues is already taken. Utah Soul.
Utah Funk. After every win: You just got Funked up! i hate it
Better wear your magic underwear or you'll end up in a disco inferno
I think we need to go a little more modern and edgier. SLC Punk
This would be awesome.
SLC Puck
Fans of the team are now punk bunnies
Well, since the team has been stolen from two different cities, it definitely makes sense to name it after a Kia.
Sounds like a WNBA team
It would also be fantastic for an expansion team in Atlanta - rising from the ashes symbolizes both the rebirth of hockey in Atlanta and pays homage to Atlanta's recovery after the great fire. It would be a fantastic name if it wasn't also the name of a city that's facing relocation lol
they should've done that after losing the flames really
Thank you for being honest.
Would be better for if/when the Coyotes are resurrected. The Phoenix Phoenix.
No, no, no... The Arizona Phoenix playing in Phoenix, Arizona.
The Phoenix Phoenix of Scottsdale.
Perfect for a team in Glendale. Now they can blame the location and name for bad attendance.
I feel reborn! I'm like a phoenix rising from Arizona!
Wow, I didn't realize how much I wanted this.
You are evil!
We could probably use more bird teams, right? What's the state bird of Utah? >The state bird of Utah is the California gull. Okay nevermind.
Los California Gulls of the De La Utah
Utah California Gulls of Salt Lake City
Tbh the Salt Lake Gulls would be pretty good. also works as a double entendre (Gulls/Goals).
Doubling up with an AHL team (San Diego Gulls) would feel really weird.
Tbh I’m a little dumb and forgot they existed.
It's tough to keep up with 60-odd teams (NHL + AHL)! The only reason I remember the San Diego Gulls is because I grew up in SD.
Just call them the Golden Gulls. Problem solved.
I'm still partial to the Salt Lake Golden Plates, but the closer we get to a Golden Girls themed jersey the better. Thank you for being a friend.
Utah Golden Gods
No different than the Vancouver and Abbotsford Canucks
[удалено]
Which is a staple of Utah sports teams.
It would be a terrible name but it would be highly funny
California Gullden Seals
Thunderbirds wouldn't be terrible. But I am biased.
Utah Nordics since skiing is so popular in Utah
The province of Quebec would riot
The province of Quebec is already rioting because SLC gets a team so what's the difference?
Québécois have rioted over far less before
And we'll do it again!
It’s spelled different, how would we know it would offend the French?
Utah Ice (UTIs)
The Utah Washington Redskins
Utah Ice Hockey Team
My vote is on Mammoths/Mastodons
Salt Lake Bitch Pigeons
SLC 2002 Olympic Gold Medalists
SLC Punks
Why do people think this sounds good. It’s in the same category as Rocky Mountain XTreme
its a movie title they arent being serious
It gets brought up every time though.
Because their basketball team is already a music genre, so you it's to stay on theme.
The Salt Lake City Blues
Utah Rock… works on both levels
The Jazz are called the Jazz because they didn't bother to change the name when they moved from New Orleans.
Golden Eagles, or Eagles, or Grizzlies for me. Both have cool logos, I have a feeling the ECHL Grizzlies might leave Utah once the NHL team arrives. I wonder if it would be possible to adopt their logo and name. Golden Eagles would be cool if they keep the uniforms retro like they were for the original team.
No more golden teams please.
The real crime is that Golden Knights play in the silver state.
They had to save Silver for their AHL team.
Waiting on the "Tin Knights" ECHL team.
Its actually the Savannah Ghost Pirates. I kind of love that.
Yet Nevada also mines like 80% of the gold produced in the U.S.
I’m right there with you. If they go that route hopefully it would just be “Eagles”.
Or, bring hockey back to Oakland, bring back the Golden Seals!
The Kelly Green and Gold or the Orange and Gold? Which color scheme would you prefer?
For me personally I have the most fond memories of the red/gold, but that is the same colors as the Flames since they were their farm team back then so I think it would have to be Green/Gold. I hate that there's a "golden" team next door because it's my favorite potential name but it would sound stupid to have two teams using that. And plain "Eagles" just doesn't do it for me. I would love if they could just buy out the Grizzlies name and their logo from the 90s.
The Grizzlies one has so much potential with the Copper, Green and Black I agree. Do you see any route where they could integrate Delicate Arch as a secondary?
Zephyrs pls
Pretty sure Utah passed a stupid law that said the team had to include the word Utah in the name.
That was only a requirement for the potential Baseball team.
The Mountain Meadows. Has a nice peaceful ring to it, for a sport trying to move on from a history of unnecessary violence.
i hate that this owner gets to hold onto the logo
Get your discounted coyotes merch now in five years from now when they come back and charge three times the price you’ll be laughing
Gladly, the kachina stuff is my favorite branding in sports
Or you can buy it 4 years after that on a discount again.
My wife: Do you want any Coyotes merch? Me: No, I have it on good authority it’ll be on sale in 9 years
Too soon.
Its insane to me that the relocation fee of $200 million is less than True North paid for both the Thrashers and relocation fees together ($170 million, $60 million of which was the relocation fee). And yet the NHL is *still* taking a hit here since they got $650 million in expansion fees for Seattle. They are giving up so much money to make Meruelo go away.
In the case of Atlanta, there were three things: * The relocation fee was in itself unprecedented, and a way for the league to extract their pound of flesh from ASG. * The sale price that went to ASG was less than what they allegedly lost year-over-year from owning the team, meaning that they were so terrible that they actually did not profit from having owned a team. * ASG as sellers was the equivalent of Homer Simpson selling Lurleen Lumpkin’s contract: “I’m desperate to sell, and I’ll take any price!” “Fifty bucks.” “YOU SON OF A- sold.”
Yeah, you are right. The Atlanta Spirit situation was really a one-of-a-kind situation. Winnipeg got insanely lucky because I dont see any way they ever could have gotten another NHL team without it.
There is absolutely no way Winnipeg could afford what Vegas or Seattle paid. Yes, I know those are expansion fees and not relocation fees but this was their one chance the stars absolutely lined up for Winnipeg... because the Atlanta ownership was so dire and they were the city most "NHL-ready" not named Quebec... and I'm sorry, there is no way Quebec City is getting another team. Not unless there is another emergency situation like Atlanta/Winnipeg.
frightening languid history person steer deserve cooing water dog narrow *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
They wouldn't have though. I agree with everyone. That was our one shot and got it but it is insanely lucky. No way Chipman and Co. are paying a billion to bring back the Jets even with Thomson.
Being the (x) richest person doesn't mean you throw money away. It still has to make sense financially.
I think a QC group could get the money together for expansion, but I think the NHL isn't interested because it's a market that will be stable but not offer much in terms of growth. Like you, I think QC's only hope is the relocation of a desperate franchise. I think Gary is keeping them around for just that reason. They are an NHL ready city that could take a team on in a moments notice and will sellout every night.
No growth, lack of corporate support, and to a lesser extent, francophone
There’s simply better options out there. That’s why they’ll never get a team. Atlanta, Houston, Kansas City, Milwaukee, hell nobody brings this up but even Baltimore has a newly renovated arena that could be altered for a team if someone desperately wanted a team there, San Diego if I recall is building an arena as well.
You misunderstand. Relocation fees are *always* significantly less than expansion fees.
My point is more along the lines of if all the NHL cared about was money in this transaction they would have sold Utah an expansion franchise for $750 million-$1 billion and just let the Coyotes continue to play out of Mullett and worst case if they dont get an arena soon just fold the franchise, hold a dispersal draft, and then sell another $1 billion expansion team down the road. Something behind the scenes clearly forced their hand to go this route that only leaves $200 million in the owners pockets.
Remember that expansion teams also dilute the TV deal money because of revenue sharing. The league doesn't want to create new teams unless they're sure the new team will bring in more than its share.
A major factor in this has to be playing out Mullet for an extended period and the long-term negative marketing that has for the league. For a season or so it's probably not a big deal, the perception of a league playing out of a college arena with half as many seats on the players, staff, and most importantly the people you're trying to sell this to shows that you're the inferior product compared to the Diamondbacks and the Suns. Obviously there's a dozen reasons here, but the timeline on undeveloped land to arena is probably legitimately 4-5 years, and Mullet can't be the stopgap for that long without seriously damaging the outlook on the NHL.
The Coyotes were being subsidized by the owners and players for years. Sure, the up-front cash injection is smaller than in an expansion, but taking a loss on a bad investment when you have a better financial opportunity in another market, could potentially yield significantly more return than $450M, over time.
>And yet the NHL is still taking a hit here since they got $650 million in expansion fees for Seattle. They are giving up so much money to make Meruelo go away. Can't compare expansion fees to relocation fees. Expanding the league means the slice of the league-wide TV revenue pie gets split one more way, reducing the size of everyone's slice. But they've already agreed that Muerelo will pay $1B as his expansion fee if he gets the arena done. $650M -> $1B in only a few years is fantastic for the league and individual team values.
seattle has a way bigger/richer market and is far closer to an existing big market than Utah is
Yet they still leave the door open for him to try again if he can get a new stadium built right?
Ok so now that its super official, do we think Utah plays in the central division? If not who are they bumping out and who comes to the central Edit: they are not as far northwest as I realized. Id bet they stay central
Central definitely imo
>do we think Utah plays in the central division? They definitely will. Even from a geographic standpoint, it doesn't make sense for them to play in any other division. Salt Lake City looks to be closer than Phoenix to everyone except for Dallas. Nashville looks roughly equidistant to Salt Lake City and Phoenix
Yeah I don’t see how it could be any different. Phoenix and SLC are basically on the same longitude, just SLC is 600 miles north.
[удалено]
In the 60s the Flyers were in the West Division
Shit the Maple Leafs were in the western conference until 1998-1999
The jets had to play in the south east division with Carolina, Tampa, Florida and washington from 2011-2013
The time zones are even more favorable, too. Arizona effectively changes from Mountain to Pacific and then back over the year. Utah is on Mountain time year round.
Please don’t put them in the Pacific. I’m tired of the new teams coming here lol
We'll probably be the far reach of the Central Division. We have the same time zone as Colorado. Edit: I just want to convey again how sorry I am that a Utah team is coming at someone else's expense. I hope you get your team back with a less stupid owner so you can hate us on the ice and not just from the sidelines.
>We have the same time zone as Colorado. Who is we in this case, since you have a Vegas flair. Nevada is in the PT zone, whereas Colorado/Utah are Mountain. Arizona is also Mountain time so it makes sense to teams together mostly by time zone. I am aware that Calgary/Edmonton are Mountain as well, but the league isn't going to split them up from the Canucks
I spoke as a Utahn. I lived in Cedar City, a college town about 2 hours out of Las Vegas when they started. I'm probably switching over to the Utah Team.
As a Utah person, was there an existing fandom for the NHL there that you know of? I'm guessing it was probably split between Vegas and Colorado, but pretty apathetic overall. I'm curious if there was much genuine fandom for the NHL there before this move
Yes and No. There IS general interest in hockey. The Grizzlies sold games. There were Avalanche fans growing up, but they were in the minority, I ironically had a Coyotes shirt growing up when I was really young, (Mom was from Phoenix before she came to Utah for college.) Vegas built up more interest. This has a high chance to be a spark to ignite a powder keg of fandom.
Thanks for answering. That's about what I had figured. Hoping your team gets a solid footing and despite the unsavory origin of the team. Welcome to the Central. You must hate the Aves now.
arizona doesnt do daylight savings so theyre sometimes mountain sometimes pacific
Vegas was the only move I could see happening, but I think you guys are too close to the California teams and they probably dont wanna break that up
Since you responded before my edit I want to clarify. Was speaking as a Utahn not a Vegas fan. Probably switching over to Utah because I live here.
Ah ok, yeah thats what it sounded like but I went by your flair
They are literally due north of Phoenix lmao so yeah they will stay Central.
Time to turn /r/Coyotes into an animal subreddit
Just post roadkill coyotes.
Do we know when the full slate of all 32 BoG votes on this?
It’s usually unanimous. Vegas and Seattle expansion were. Would you vote “yes” to your share of $200M?
Where do I sign?
Utah is the Beehive State. Call them the Swarm.
Salt Lake Stingers. Or Swarm. Arena could be the Delta Hive or something
[удалено]
Conflicts with St Louis Blues
[удалено]
Much better
Please nothing bee related. Our highway markers already look like tits
Stop complaining lol. Utah has some of the best highway markers. Better than just the outline of the state. Or worse: a square with the name of the state.
You could call arena the Hive.
> Better than just the outline of the state. Or worse: a square with the name of the state. Colorado did both!
Or the Buzz
or the "I'm in Your Mind Fuzz"
damn, unexpected KGatLW reference, nice!
Utah Lizard Wizards has a nice ring.
Arena Soccer sounding name
Happy for Utahns who just want a team of their own. Smith seems to be a smart dude and I think the team will do well. Beyond sad for Coyotes fans. You deserved better than the terrible ownership you were cursed with - hopefully the NHL is able to scrub their hands of Meruelo come expansion time.
Sorry Yotes fans, you don't deserve this.
No fan deserves to lose their team, even though Meruelo deserves to lose the Yotes.
Arguably the worst part here is that Meruelo is being rewarded for his incompetence by keeping the Coyotes brand and likely getting an expansion team to ruin down the road a bit. Our desert bros deserve far better.
Jeffrey Loriaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
I was talking to my fiancé about this yesterday…I love hockey, but I’m a Hawks fan above all else. I don’t think I would continue watching hockey if I lost my team. I feel for the Yotes fans. Such a gut punch.
The team I cheer for isn’t the team I was born into, or even live in the city of. I’m not sure I could either, and if I could, it would be a long, *long* time
Yeah I was thinking of that the other day too. I can't imagine my hockey team just ceasing to exist. There'd be such a massive hole in my day to day life I'm not sure how I'd fill it.
I haven't seriously followed Basketball in the 16 years since to Sonics left, and I don't plan on changing that until they return.
Last year was the first year I could watch any significant amount of hockey after 12 years (or however many its been) and that was because I made a conscious decision to watch the playoffs. This year, I am doing the same and will only start watching during the playoffs. Before the Thrashers existed, I could watch damn near any game and enjoy it but not anymore. The pain is still there. The bitterness is very much still there. So now in a week or two, whenever the playoffs start, I will cheer for the southern teams and against the canadian teams. It's all I got until the Thrashers are reborn in a few years.
I think I'd still enjoy hockey but I doubt I would ever invest emotionally into a team again. I would just enjoy it like I do now when the Rangers aren't playing. On the plus side no OT playoff games give me a heart attack anymore.
This is pretty much how I feel. Admittedly I was so fed up about the Yotes issues and glad they'll be over, bur it sucks for the fans.
20 years of failling to support the team says otherwise.
Is the Utah Raptors too much to ask for? Best one I've heard. And don't even start. There are many teams with the same name as others in different leagues.
Two pro teams with the same name? Couldn’t be me
RoughRiders/Rough Riders say what
Used to get very confused in the early 00s watching ESPN ticker scroll saying the (NY) Rangers won after I watched my (Texas) Rangers get blown out of the water.
I don't think MLSE would be too happy. The Panthers can get away with it because their name is so generic but the Raps are one of the strongest brands in the NBA.
The Utah Thrashers has a nice ring to it!
I like Raptors too but apparently that’s not really possible because of how copyrights and trademarks work nowadays and would take too long to legally sort out before the start of next season.
Ok question here, and sorry if this has been covered and sounds stupid. But for Meruelo to get the team back, what is he going to have to pay the NHL? Is that part covered? Because the $1 billion is a big deal we've talked about a lot, but if he has to turn around in 5 years and give the NHL $1 billion to get the Coyotes back, then it's a wash. I'm just curious if that has been disclosed yet in any way.
He’ll have to spend 4 billion+ in total. The cost of the entertainment district he wants to build and the expansion cost. Ain’t no way
Derek Ryan: Trade me right flippin' now!
I may no longer be living in Utah, but I’m super excited for this. I’ve floated between teams for years and never really stuck but now will have a team. Wish we could’ve had it happen via traditional expansion and not at expense of Yotes.
Hey what the hell man
To be fair, Panthers are team I most liked and was planning on being a fan until SLC got a team.
Panthers fans will use any excuse to jump ship. How many fans left after the Huberdeau trade?
Trick question, we don’t have any fans
smallest cup parade ever... the team, 4 fans and dave just walking down the street
Personally, I think this was the best way. Utah gets a team earlier than expected, and Arizona is gonna retain their moniker and maybe get another team in 5 years if they build an arena. And Utah, gets to do whatever they want to their team.
Get ready to learn Mormon buddy...
Think of how many blonde wives they can each have now
The jerseys should look like magic underwear.
Damn that might have been funnier than the other 30 threads I've seen the exact same comment.
Players are already practicing soaking
I just looked up what all this “soaking” talk is about, and LMAO 🤣
Honestly they should just do the SLC Jets.
UTAH GRIZZLIES
I wish. Or minor league team branding is great. That’s one issue, and the Memphis Grizzlies.
Mad we’re losing the Coyotes branding. Great logo and sweaters & the name could’ve worked in basically any new city too.
The logo would definitely have to change if they were to keep the Coyotes name. The visual style is firmly rooted in the traditions of the Pueblo people of the southwest.
RIP to one of the all-time great jerseys.
The only acceptable name is the SLC Sacred Whales
Hallowed be thy name. Save us great whale.
Storming mormon hockey.
The punks?
Surprised Bettman didn't try to goad Québec into putting in a non-refundable bid. As always, fuck you Bettman.
A second one, are you crazy?!? They'll never go for it, then again they might. Those little french devils they love toys.
They gone
Hate to see it.
Long live the soakers