[Speculation] NHL expansion - Atlanta, Houston, Salt Lake City & Quebec City

[6of1_halfdozenofother]

17 hours ago, gwarrior said:

I'm so sick of the raging hard on that Bettman and the league have for Arizona and Atlanta. Hell, the mayor of Scottsdale pretty much told them don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out. If that dosen't tell you hockey won't work in that market, NOTHING will.

 

I'm beginning to wonder if the whole reason for setting up teams in those markets despite the evidence that they won't work is that they're using those franchises as a means to launder money that otherwise can't see day of light.

 

I mean, that's gotta be the only rational explanation, right?

[Coconuts]

31 minutes ago, MeanSeanBean said:

I don't think they change the name. 

 

There's a good chance they do though, although this could just be an attempt to draw more attention to the potential move

 

https://news.sportslogos.net/2024/04/09/jazz-owner-asks-fans-for-possible-utah-nhl-team-names/hockey-2/

 

 

 

[MeanSeanBean]

13 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

 

There's a good chance they do though, although this could just be an attempt to draw more attention to the potential move

 

https://news.sportslogos.net/2024/04/09/jazz-owner-asks-fans-for-possible-utah-nhl-team-names/hockey-2/

 

 

 

Huh, really.. Proved me wrong, potentially. I guess it's really a 50/50 in the past if they change the name or not.

 

Still, I don't think they change the name. The NHL has a weird thing for the Yotes.

[Diamonds]

32 minutes ago, MeanSeanBean said:

Huh, really.. Proved me wrong, potentially. I guess it's really a 50/50 in the past if they change the name or not.

 

Still, I don't think they change the name. The NHL has a weird thing for the Yotes.

The NHL might force a name change this time though if they're giving first expansion rights to Meruelo. That way the new Arizona/Phoenix team can still be called the Coyotes.

[MeanSeanBean]

1 minute ago, Diamonds said:

The NHL might force a name change this time though if they're giving first expansion rights to Meruelo. That way the new Arizona/Phoenix team can still be called the Coyotes.

Interesting point. Counter point, hockey just don't work in Arizona.

[PistolPete13]

50 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

 

There's a good chance they do though, although this could just be an attempt to draw more attention to the potential move

 

https://news.sportslogos.net/2024/04/09/jazz-owner-asks-fans-for-possible-utah-nhl-team-names/hockey-2/

 

 

 

I think that Utah is the beehive State, and I recall that the old Salt Lake City baseball team in the Pacific Coast league was called the Bees.

 

A little too dated, so they might go for something more up to date like the Salt Lake City Swarm. 

[BabychStache]

Salt Lake is a great sports town. NHL would be a hit there. The beer sales at games would be low, but the fanbase would love it. 

 

Would love to see the Yotes move there. 

 

I propose the name to be: The Salt Lake LDS Super Pajama Soakers. 

[Bob Long]

11 minutes ago, BabychStache said:

Salt Lake is a great sports town. NHL would be a hit there. The beer sales at games would be low, but the fanbase would love it. 

 

Would love to see the Yotes move there. 

 

I propose the name to be: The Salt Lake LDS Super Pajama Soakers. 

 

my guess is "pioneers" 

[Satchmo]

31 minutes ago, BabychStache said:

Salt Lake is a great sports town. NHL would be a hit there. The beer sales at games would be low, but the fanbase would love it. 

 

That line reminded me of this bit from an article in The Athletic today:

 

“Whatever people think of Salt Lake City and Utah, if they don’t live here or they don’t come here, they probably have misconceptions,” Mendenhall says. “Salt Lake is a blue dot in a red state. We are different political animal here. We’re a safe space for people. We celebrate diversity, and we have a kickass Pride parade.”

As Mendenhall likes to point out: “We make great beer in Salt Lake.”

Concession lineups for beer at Jazz and Grizzlies games are just as long as you would see in other venues in North America. Salt Lake City is a forward-thinking, beer-guzzling community like many other major hubs in North America.

 

[PistolPete13]

32 minutes ago, Satchmo said:

That line reminded me of this bit from an article in The Athletic today:

 

“Whatever people think of Salt Lake City and Utah, if they don’t live here or they don’t come here, they probably have misconceptions,” Mendenhall says. “Salt Lake is a blue dot in a red state. We are different political animal here. We’re a safe space for people. We celebrate diversity, and we have a kickass Pride parade.”

As Mendenhall likes to point out: “We make great beer in Salt Lake.”

Concession lineups for beer at Jazz and Grizzlies games are just as long as you would see in other venues in North America. Salt Lake City is a forward-thinking, beer-guzzling community like many other major hubs in North America.

 

It’s come a long way then. In the late nineties I had to become a member just to have a few beers in a brew pub in downtown SLC.

My waitress looked like this, so the service was pretty slow

 

[Johngould21]

Driving into SLC, is pretty boring. Lots of miles of industrial sites. The downtown core is pretty small too. If approved it might be the ugliest city in the NHL. In previous years we used to go to Wendover Nevada, the bus loads of uni students making the trek across the Salt Flats was incredible.

[Bob Long]

2 minutes ago, Johngould21 said:

Driving into SLC, is pretty boring. Lots of miles of industrial sites. The downtown core is pretty small too. If approved it might be the ugliest city in the NHL. In previous years we used to go to Wendover Nevada, the bus loads of uni students making the trek across the Salt Flats was incredible.

 

I think you have some competition with Edmonton on that score.

[farinush]

3 hours ago, Satchmo said:

That line reminded me of this bit from an article in The Athletic today:

 

“Whatever people think of Salt Lake City and Utah, if they don’t live here or they don’t come here, they probably have misconceptions,” Mendenhall says. “Salt Lake is a blue dot in a red state. We are different political animal here. We’re a safe space for people. We celebrate diversity, and we have a kickass Pride parade.”

As Mendenhall likes to point out: “We make great beer in Salt Lake.”

Concession lineups for beer at Jazz and Grizzlies games are just as long as you would see in other venues in North America. Salt Lake City is a forward-thinking, beer-guzzling community like many other major hubs in North America.

 

I travel down to Utah for work about once a month and it’s a very confusing state. It is a Republican stronghold with high Mormon population yet has some of the most progressive inclusivity laws/reforms in the nation. Everything is too big for its population and it almost feels like they built the city in anticipation of more people, but there just aren’t many. Most of the people who emigrate to Utah are trying to escape something. It’s a place to sober up, find new opportunities, or get away from bad relationships. 

All of these are just anecdotal experiences so take it with a grain of salt… I can say pretty confidently that SLC is NOT a beer guzzling community. The alcohol laws are incredibly restrictive and there really aren’t many bars in the city. I haven’t been to a Jazz game yet so I could totally be wrong. Despite the low population, it has a high average income so who knows… the city could have a very loyal fan base down the line. People in SLC know next to nothing about hockey so it’s going to take a bit of time to build the trust and loyalty and a lot of things need to go right for a team in SLC to thrive. 

[Satchmo]

9 minutes ago, farinush said:

I travel down to Utah for work about once a month and it’s a very confusing state. It is a Republican stronghold with high Mormon population yet has some of the most progressive inclusivity laws/reforms in the nation. Everything is too big for its population and it almost feels like they built the city in anticipation of more people, but there just aren’t many. Most of the people who emigrate to Utah are trying to escape something. It’s a place to sober up, find new opportunities, or get away from bad relationships. 

All of these are just anecdotal experiences so take it with a grain of salt… I can say pretty confidently that SLC is NOT a beer guzzling community. The alcohol laws are incredibly restrictive and there really aren’t many bars in the city. I haven’t been to a Jazz game yet so I could totally be wrong. Despite the low population, it has a high average income so who knows… the city could have a very loyal fan base down the line. People in SLC know next to nothing about hockey so it’s going to take a bit of time to build the trust and loyalty and a lot of things need to go right for a team in SLC to thrive. 

I'm beginning to wonder if I quoted some marketing bs from someone trying hard to attract a hockey team to their city.   

 

I've never been there so I don't have a clue what it's like.  What you and others are saying might need less salt than the article I quoted.   

[iinatcc]

8 hours ago, MeanSeanBean said:

I don't think they change the name. 

 

Then half the excitement is gone 

[iinatcc]

On 4/10/2024 at 9:18 PM, Chickenspear said:

 

Soon Homer will be telling Lisa the story of the Coyotes 

 

 

[The Brock Star]

21 hours ago, Coconuts said:

That's a lot of salt

 

 

 

Well at least that would be significantly less of an embarrassment. The Abby Nucks play out of a University rink and it works well for them. 

[Ghostsof1915]

1 hour ago, The Brock Star said:

Well at least that would be significantly less of an embarrassment. The Abby Nucks play out of a University rink and it works well for them. 

Abbotsford Centre is 7000 seats that's 40% larger than the Mullett. Are you thinking the Langley Events Centre that has 5276? That's a Junior team with a slightly larger capacity than Mullett. Even Thunderbird Sports Centre at UBC seats 7500. Why would Tuscon move from a 6521 seat arena to a smaller arena? That makes zero sense.

In fact the Coyotes would have been better off sharing the Tucson Convention Centre Arena than playing in the Mullett.

[Coconuts]

19 hours ago, PistolPete13 said:

I think that Utah is the beehive State, and I recall that the old Salt Lake City baseball team in the Pacific Coast league was called the Bees.

 

A little too dated, so they might go for something more up to date like the Salt Lake City Swarm. 

 

Swarm would be interesting, maybe something like the Stingers 

 

Could take it a step further and jump to something like the Hornets 

 

 

[The Brock Star]

1 hour ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

Abbotsford Centre is 7000 seats that's 40% larger than the Mullett. Are you thinking the Langley Events Centre that has 5276? That's a Junior team with a slightly larger capacity than Mullett. Even Thunderbird Sports Centre at UBC seats 7500. Why would Tuscon move from a 6521 seat arena to a smaller arena? That makes zero sense.

In fact the Coyotes would have been better off sharing the Tucson Convention Centre Arena than playing in the Mullett.

No, I meant the Abbotsford Center. It’s on UFV’s grounds. I’m not saying the move makes sense, just that it’s less embarrassing to have an AHL in a college arena than an NHL team. 

[Ghostsof1915]

39 minutes ago, Coconuts said:

 

Swarm would be interesting, maybe something like the Stingers 

 

Could take it a step further and jump to something like the Hornets 

 

 

Buzz?

[Coconuts]

 

 

[Coconuts]

32 minutes ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

Buzz?

 

 

[Bob Long]

1 hour ago, Coconuts said:

 

Swarm would be interesting, maybe something like the Stingers 

 

Could take it a step further and jump to something like the Hornets 

 

 

 

Holy Rollers?

 

My bet tho is Pioneers. 

[Coconuts]

Just now, Bob Long said:

 

Holy Rollers?

 

My bet tho is Pioneers. 

 

The Salt Lake City Arizona Coyotes 

 

Really rub it in