He did hug him after so he wouldnt fall flat on his face after being hit in the face....so he's got that going for him.
2023-24 NHL News Thread
- Thread starter PC Drunken Friar
- Start date
It’s Tom Wilson and the other guy is on the Leafs. I’m expecting a long suspension. The Trouba hit on Frederic is way different according to the league since in that case the offending player plays for the (Bettman favorite) Rangers, and the guy getting hit is someone that “plays on the edge” for the (hated in Toronto ) Bruins.
See, totally different scenarios.
See, totally different scenarios.
that's all true but the league also desperately wants Ovechkin in the playoffs. So it's going to be tough for them.
Coming in 2024/2025 (possibly)
The Salt Lake City Coyotes!
View: https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1778065322525819321
The Salt Lake City Coyotes!
View: https://twitter.com/frank_seravalli/status/1778065322525819321
Some reports say “as soon as April 18”!
I’m guessing that means an announcement as soon as April 18 - not any actual games…but, it’s not 1000% impossible. But it would be hard!
This says so much without saying anything:
View: https://twitter.com/pierrevlebrun/status/1778176272704713197?s=46&t=QgPlur015YjYmVsNzWFFfg
per LeBrun: Daly says “The League is continuing to work on a solution to what has been a challenging and difficult situation. But we are not in a position to comment beyond that.''
EDIT: Friedman has a column on Sportsnet’s website. The money shot:
View: https://twitter.com/pierrevlebrun/status/1778176272704713197?s=46&t=QgPlur015YjYmVsNzWFFfg
per LeBrun: Daly says “The League is continuing to work on a solution to what has been a challenging and difficult situation. But we are not in a position to comment beyond that.''
EDIT: Friedman has a column on Sportsnet’s website. The money shot:
….and it’s even harder seeing as their last game is April 17 and they’re not in the playoffs…
So my very quick-and-dirty read on this is that, as much as the league doesn’t want to lose the Phoenix market, they can’t withstand any more egg on their face. Best-case scenario is one of their franchises spends half a decade in an arena not suitable for the AHL, worst-case is Meruelo stumbles again. The plan may be to sell the team to Smith for $1b+, but keep the franchise identity with Meruelo. If/when he can get an NHL-level arena built in Phoenix, the league expands, one Phoenix and one East.
The fact that LeBrun and Friedman said what they did leads me to believe this is a lot closer to happening, and it might be a way to get Meruelo to sign, IMO.
The fact that LeBrun and Friedman said what they did leads me to believe this is a lot closer to happening, and it might be a way to get Meruelo to sign, IMO.
Craig Morgan is hosting a livestream of his Coyotes podcast and has had Frank Seravalli and Elliotte Friedman on. Both said that the move to SLC is about 90-95% done. Friedman’s last thought was that the NHL really wants Ryan Smith as an owner. Again, reading between the lines, I think the league is done with Meruelo, and the five-year window is just them trying to get the arena in North Scottsdale, and will walk away if he can’t get the land.
I think a move now is a win-win for the league - get Smith in as an owner, the league keeps the franchise identity (and gets rid of Meruelo), and once a better ownership groups steps in and can get an arena deal in place, they can expand there.
Right, but Meruelo’s been a problem for the BoG for most of his tenure, and Friedman said explicitly that the NHL was doing this to keep him from going full Charlie “WILD CARD BITCHES! YEEHAW!” Kelly on them. Soooooooo, why give him the window? Best I can guess is they want SOMEONE keeping the fire stoked there, but hoping he won’t reap the reward of being there in 2029.
I feel like not only had Meruelo worn out his welcome with the NHL, I think he doesn’t have much credibility in the Phoenix metro either. He couldn’t get an arena deal while owning an actual active team…I can’t see him doing any better with vague promises of eventual expansion. I think the project needs a fresh face on it.
And I DO think NHL in AZ can succeed - but it has to be in/near Scottsdale.
The only reason I am a little unenthusiastic about this move is that Mullett Arena is the best possible name for a hockey stadium.
If the name could move with the team I would be 1000% onboard.
If the name could move with the team I would be 1000% onboard.
Well, it’s still going to be a hockey venue…and ASU inherits some kick-ass dressing rooms.
Also there’s apparently some AHL movement built into this deal - rumor is that Tucson’s AHL team (and the for-now Coyotes affiliate) will move to Mullet.
Not sure what will happen to the ECHL Utah Grizzlies. While I think Salt Lake is a great potential hockey market, I don’t think they can pull off the NHL/Minor League combo some of the real big hockey towns do (Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver). Maybe the Grizzlies go to Tucson?
In peripheral ECHL news, Toronto’s ECHL affiliate in Newfoundland (The Growlers) folded abruptly with like 5 games to go in the season. Any of their players who were on ECHL only contracts became immediate free-agents so could finish the ECHL season anywhere, but those down from AHL had to go back to Toronto Marlies. A friend of mine’s son was in that boat - they’re a bit frustrated, because now the AHL roster is huge and the guys up from ECHL aren’t getting much playing time.
Hockey in Newfoundland is great from what I’ve heard - as long as it’s an all-Newfoundland league. Integrating it into any regional or national league highlights how damn far St. John’s is from everything else. In this instance, the closest ECHL team was in Portland. The next closest was Trois-Rivières, Quebec, and they nearly folded with the Growlers. And this was after two different AHL teams had been tried there as well as a Q team. It’s just not viable.
The NHL didn't have any leverage. They couldn't sustain another year in Mullett without a firm plan in place for a new building. Meruelo was back at square one, vaguely hoping to win a land auction which would've been step 1 of a million towards a new arena and it being an auction, he may not have even won it. But at any rate, it's looking like another 5+ years before they'd get a new building. So the NHL needed to be out of there, immediately. Problem is, Meruelo doesn't want to sell. The league can't just relocate the franchise or force a sale without a lengthy, and probably costly, legal battle. They need to incentivize him, thus the $1 billion (he paid $300 million originally) and the 5-year window.
I think it's also a caluclated gamble that he won't get his shit together in 5 years anyways.
MAF extended another year with the Wild ($2.5M)
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39962379/wild-extend-goalie-marc-andre-fleury-age-40-season
Perhaps a bit strange with Jesper waiting in the wings but maybe the Wild think another year in the minors is needed.
https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39962379/wild-extend-goalie-marc-andre-fleury-age-40-season
Perhaps a bit strange with Jesper waiting in the wings but maybe the Wild think another year in the minors is needed.
View: https://twitter.com/TheAthletic/status/1781047682511069655
BREAKING: The Arizona Coyotes are officially headed to Salt Lake City starting next season, sources tell The Athletic. On Thursday, the NHL Board of Governors unanimously voted in favor of the sale and relocation of the team’s hockey assets.
BREAKING: The Arizona Coyotes are officially headed to Salt Lake City starting next season, sources tell The Athletic. On Thursday, the NHL Board of Governors unanimously voted in favor of the sale and relocation of the team’s hockey assets.
No immediate nickname but they are going with Utah instead of Salt Lake City.
View: https://twitter.com/PierreVLeBrun/status/1781052478475182572
View: https://twitter.com/PierreVLeBrun/status/1781052478475182572
Too bad Blues is already taken. Another geographic misnomer would be appropriate. (Even if the 1st was fron NO)
Sold for 1.2 billion. Coyotes were last purchased in 2019 for 300 million. What the hell? Current value listed in the 600 million range. The red wings are currently valued at 1.2B. That doesn’t make any sense.
The most well known pre-NHL team in Salt Lake was the “Golden Eagles”, and that shows up in all the team name speculation articles…
It's complicated. As best as I can lay it out is this.
Utah's ownership group had approached the NHL about an expansion franchise. The NHL and the Utah group did their due dilligence and it seems like the Utah plan was going to happen at some point. Vegas' expansion fee was $500 million. Seattle paid $650 million. They have both been massive successes. The reports were out there that for Utah and other future expansion teams, the price tag was going to be $1 billion or more. So under this scenario Utah was looking at $1 billion or more for their franchise.
Enter Arizona. They have been a clusterfuck for the entiretly of their existence. The past 2 years they had been playing out of ASU's 5,000 seat arena The team had a referrendum for a $2.1 billion arena project shot down (badly) by the voters and were back at square one, with no clear direction and path towards a building. Their latest hope was to win a land auction that is happening in June to purchase land for an arena. No guarantees they win the auction, and winning the land would only be step 1 in a lenghty process to actually break ground and build the thing. The NHLPA had been up in arms about the situation playing out of ASU (alont with a myriad of other ownership related issues). The NHL couldn't play another year out of ASU, especially without a clear, executable plan for the new arena.
The NHL was in a position where they needed to get out of Arizona, immediately. The problem was the owner of the Coyotes, Alex Meruelo, had no intention of selling or relocating the team. So the NHL stepped in and brokered a deal between Meruelo and the Smith's (Utah), with Meruelo holding leverage. As part of the deal, Meruelo maintains the trademarks and history associated with Coyotes. Meruelo also has a 5-year window to build a building and re-activate the Coyotes. Utah gets all of Arizona's current hockey assets (players, coaches, management draft picks, etc.).
So essentially what is happening here, financially, is Utah is paying the going rate for an expansion franchise ($1.2 billion) but they are getting the assets from an existing team. The $1.2 billion is broken down like this, $1 billion to Meruelo and $200 million split amongst the league owners. The $1 billion to Meruelo is essentially the expansion fee he'll pay back to the NHL if he builds a building and wants to re-activate the Coyotes.
I don't think the NHL loves giving Meruelo the $700 million profit. He could just pocket it, and even if he does continute the arena search, the likllihood of him hitting the benchmarks and actually getting the arena project completed within 5 years is probably close to zero given the history. But they kind of had no chocie. They had to get out of Arizona prior to next season. For Utah's perspective, the price point is probably what they were going to pay for an expansion franchise. They start their own team with their own name and history, expcet they are inheriting a roster and management group as opposed to going through the expansion draft process. And to be honest, if I had a choice, I'd rather have Arizona's roster and assets than starting from scratch. It's almost a blank slate. Due to their financial turmoil they have a million draft picks, a solid prospect pool and tons of cap flexibility.
Those are all terrible.
Wasn't the long time minor league team in SLC called the Grizzlies?
I think that’s the name of their ECHL team so yeah.
The IHL team from the 90s was called the Golden Eagles.
The IHL team from the 90s was called the Golden Eagles.
How about the Utah Arches and snag McDonald's as your sponsor?
edit: fans could throw out quarter pounder patties for a home team hat trick.
As mentioned upthread, the ECHL team that plays in the Maverick Center (built as the hockey venue for 2002 Olympic Games) is the Grizzlies. When I lived in Utah, they set their players up in the apartment complex I lived in, and at 8 pm every night there wasn’t a game or a road trip, the hot tub was full of hockey players, and I never paid for a ticket all season!
The Grizzlies are near the top of the ECHL for attendance every year, so that bodes well for NHL in Salt Lake.
In other Utah NHL news, the arena plan seems to have changed. What had been positioned as a new Smith Entertainment Group “Battery Style” arena/entertainment district has turned into a massive overhaul of the existing Delta Center in downtown Salt Lake instead. I think city officials sweetened the pot to encourage this - and I think it’s a good idea, especially with a potential MLB anchored entertainment district already in the works.
I sort of wish, but understand the economics would be tough, that the Jazz and NHL team could play in different buildings - no matter how hard the architects try to make it not matter, I find the basketball experience is always better in a basketball only building because in a dual-use building the seating is built around the bigger hockey footprint.
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The other thing that's awesome about SLC is that Romney made sure the Olympic funds went towards improving public transportation that would remain after the Olympics left. My grandparents lived in northern SLC until they died, and they loved how the transporation improvements let them get around the city after their ability to drive went away.
Thank you for this summary.
Any idea what happens to the Winnipeg Jets 1/Arizona Coyotes history and trademarks if, or when, Meruelo can't get a new Arizona franchise started? Does it all go away? Does it all go to the Utah franchise? Do the current Jets get the old Jets trademarks at least, if not their old history?
If the league were smart, they’d give the Jets the original’s team history and make the Coyotes an “expansion” team starting in 1996. But it’s the NHL, so who knows?
Utah to have a bracket style name picking tourney?
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/utah-owner-ryan-smith-divulges-name-and-uniform-plans/sn-amp/
If they don't pick the Utah Yetis, I can't ever root for them
https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/utah-owner-ryan-smith-divulges-name-and-uniform-plans/sn-amp/
If they don't pick the Utah Yetis, I can't ever root for them