“Our TV set in Utah is worth more than all our installations in Arizona.”
Credit: Screenshot/Twitter

Tomorrow night, the Canadiens take on the Utah Mammoth for the very first time in their history. This will be the first duel between the two clubs since the Utah outfit chose its name, as you may recall.

Tomorrow's duel will take place at the Bell Centre, but the Habs will visit the Mammoth later this month. And what's clear is that the Utah team likes its new market.

In fact, Mammoth GM Bill Armstrong spoke to Chris Johnston(The Athletic) about his new reality in Salt Lake City…

And you can tell he's very, very impressed with the improvements:

Our TV in Utah is worth more than all our installations in Arizona. – Bill Armstrong

We know that Armstrong, who lived through the Coyotes' final years in Arizona, also lived through the Arizona outfit's financial difficulties. The Coyotes couldn't even pay their arena rent, after all, so they ended up playing at Mullett Arena, Arizona State University's arena.

This is in stark contrast to the brand-new (NHL-calibre) facilities that were built for the Mammoth in Utah.

And that, in the GM's eyes, is a major factor in why the club is turning the corner in its rebuild. The guys are being treated like royalty, and the ownership group in Utah isn't afraid to put money on the table to get the club where it needs to be.

That's quite a change from the last few years in the desert, when the club was in survival mode. Good for the club members, then.


Overtime

– Ivan Demidov has been practicing his skating stroke for a long time.

– Still.

– Nazem Kadri: Frank Seravalli has questions about the Maple Leafs.

– He's incredible.

– Can you believe it?