Former Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo says he is “committed to buying the land on June 27th and keeping hockey in the desert.” pic.twitter.com/dEDe3xIION
– Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 18, 2024
Will they be out for good? After all, there is a world in which the Coyotes, a franchise that is “on hiatus” and has officially let all its players go to the “new” Salt Lake City franchise, return within a few years.
If the good Alex Meruelo manages to build himself an arena, it’ll happen.
But now that the Coyotes players will be playing in Utah (in Utah? in Utah? in Utah?), that doesn’t mean all is well in the best of all possible worlds, just like that.
Yes, on paper, the demand is there and that’s the fun of it. Seeing 20,000 deposits for season tickets since yesterday wouldn’t have been possible if the club had stayed in Arizona, that’s for sure…
Just got off the phone after doing an interview with Utah NHL owner Ryan Smith and he said the updated total is now at just over 20,000 season-ticket deposits.
– Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) April 19, 2024
One of the first challenges will be to find a name for the club. It’s possible that the team will start without a name (like a private label product at the grocery store) to take the time to get things right.
Well, well… #Utah #SaltLakeCity #LNH pic.twitter.com/nu7AgeWWsr
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) April 19, 2024
It means that even if everything looks good on paper and the NHL is right to be “very happy” to see hockey come to Salt Lake City, there’s still work to be done.
The stage is set for #NHLinUtah! pic.twitter.com/bPBdSyW7q9
– NHL (@NHL) April 18, 2024
After all, aside from the name, the club still doesn’t have a locker room in its 12,000-seat arena for hockey.
There will be renovations to bring it up to 14,000 (which is still small) shortly before a new arena is built… but we all know that in Quebec City, that would have been turnkey.
Lavoie, who isn ‘t closing the door on a Nordiques comeback if the NHL goes up to 36 clubs, believes there’s still a lot of work to be done before the first game next October.
In Quebec City, your problem is solved. In Utah, it’s just beginning. – Renaud Lavoie
Using East and West to talk about Quebec City’s absence no longer makes sense. If we really had to move the Coyotes quickly, Quebec City was the most logical option because of the arena.
But we all know that’s not how it works.
In Brief
– News from the Rocket.
With Lucas Condotta at center and Sean Farrell on the left, Joshua Roy makes his return to the Laval Rocket tonight in Belleville. He says he’s in great shape and excited to help the team win and extend its season.
“It’s been a long time since I targeted the…
– Anthony Marcotte (@anthonymarcotte) April 19, 2024
– Good news: he’s skating.
#Isles Noah Dobson joined the team for practice. pic.twitter.com/gpxp2m7IKy
– New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) April 19, 2024
– Connor Ingram is looking forward to playing in SLC. [NHL]
– Check it out.
Behind the scenes of their meeting with Trevor Zegras and more @HFTVSports https://t.co/KuW3UgVFmA
– TVA Sports (@TVASports) April 19, 2024
– Four organizations in the playoffs have never tasted the Stanley Cup.
Will we see a first-time #StanleyCup Champion this season? pic.twitter.com/TmJDLaRW02
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 18, 2024