Things that make SENSE about NHL in UTAH 

Utah Yeti let's go

Utah Hoodoos 🏒

You can still have merch just like at the PWHL we’re doing just fine without team names and we’ve still made merch, it’s better you take your time to get this right

The Stormin' Mormons! Let's Go!

​@@Vossenatoryeti is awful. Utah Summit or Grizzlies

I’ve gone to several Grizzlies games, and a few years ago went to an Avs game. The energy difference is amazing. Hard to even compare.

They should just promote the Grizzlies and use that logo and name for the NHL team

its honestly refreshing Utah is embracing the coyotes.

@@codymachado Why? When the Grizzlies are already an established team in Utah.

Minor League hockey has such a unique atmosphere, they can't get rid of our Grizzlies

Nah. Just like Florida it was seeded by Yankee transplants. It didn't catch on because unlike the panthers and bolts, they've always had poor ownership and no home. The bolts succeeded because they had the thunderdome which was a high capacity arena football stadium at the time so they were able to seed the fan base because tickets while they were there were dirt cheap. Like $5 for the 300 level, because they had so many seats. John Tucker setup a youth hockey school that was also dirt cheap. They let kids wander around and watch from the 1dt level regardless where your seats actually were as long as no one was sitting there. Their general attitude towards fans was a long term one wanting ti make generations of bolts fans. They were so focused on the kids in the area. Heck, my hockey team got to play on the ice when I was 10 during an intermission it was so awesome being cheered for 😂 The coyotes ownership never really focused on long term growth.

He already explained why he won’t do that.

No way Bettman would've agreed to that.

@@michaelmarkowski204 Silver wouldn’t have either

Bring back the Racers - the first pro hockey team Wayne Gretzky played for.

Does that count kinds shoveling off sections of frozen lakes to make rinks?

@@michaelmarkowski204 nope, only those registered with USA Hockey. Interestingly enough, I took a look at all the states and Minnesota has the most registered hockey players of the entire US. Back in the 90s and 00s, Michigan had the most, but Michigan has declined by about 20,000 skaters than when it was at it's peak. Massachusetts has the second most, but I think still 10,000 less than Minnesota.

@@captbloodbeard Yeah, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota are all great youth hockey states. Throw in Wisconsin too. Glad the NHL returned to MN with the Wild, though I'm not big on the new nickname.

@@captbloodbeard Also gotta keep in mind that it's expensive for kids to play youth hockey given the equipment, ice time, etc. Soccer / baseball / basketball are far cheaper sports for parents to pay for - even youth football is less pricey than youth hockey.

Of COURSE we were prejudiced against southerners! Not nearly as prejudiced as southerners are towards 'damn yankees', so dont fear that we will steal your thunder! Have you ever heard the term 'Yankee flatball'? thats how i heard my Dixie cousins refer to hockey! You hayseeds STILL shouldnt have hockey! LOL

Also the Hurricanes in Raleigh. The Panthers in South Florida. The Lightning in Tampa. All succeeded.

It was a gamble, as all of the NHL's southern expansions were. In Nashville's case, they certainly had better support than some Southern NHL cities (looking at you, Atlanta!) Plus, Nashville really isn't Deep South. Nor is Raleigh. Both are doing okay. The whole nontraditional hockey market thing started with the 1967 NHL expansion: Doubling in size from six teams to twelve, and with the Original Six geographic distribution being hopelessly out of whack with North American population distribution at the time, the six expansion cities were selected as they were because of major constraints. First off, Montreal and Toronto blocked any attempt to put another team in Canada. Outcry was such that the NHL finally enfranchised the Canucks in 1970 when Montreal and Toronto finally withdrew their blocks after intense pressure, including threatened beer boycotts (Both teams owners owned major breweries) from the Canadian people. Next, CBS demanded two of the six teams be placed in California as a condition of getting a TV contract done, which became the Kings and the Seals. The Kings plodded along until Gretzky joined them in 1988 but L.A. is so big it wasn't going to fail. The Seals, on the other hand, never got going. Bottom feeders, they moved to Cleveland in the 1970s then were merged into the North Stars organization. The Sharks are technically the reincarnation of the Seals as that organization was spun off of the North Stars organization when it was founded. Finally, St. Louis did not even submit a bid for an NHL expansion team in 1967, but they got one simply because the Norris family, which owned the Red Wings and had interests in the Black Hawks and the Bruins, owned an arena in St. Louis that they wanted to fill. To this day, the Canadian teams are still very hostile to any Canadian expansion, maybe because Hockey Night in Canada money only goes so far. Toronto and Buffalo would scream bloody murder at any attempt to put a team in Hamilton. Ditto for Montreal and Quebec City. What I can't figure out is why no NHL expansion was ever considered for Houston, who has a track record of hockey support, the best in the south. The Aeros were one of the WHA's most successful franchises. Instead a third team to fail in Atlanta is making the rumor circuit.

@@craigrohn9938 The Canadiens would allow a team in Quebec City if a few dollars were thrown their way. The Habs had the highest average game attendance in the NHL this season at over 21K per game with a bad team. The Bell Centre is the largest capacity arena in the NHL at 21,105. These are not people from Quebec City. The rivalry aspect alone makes it attractive. The biggest bench-clearing brawl in NHL history occurred during a Canadien / Nordique game. Agree Houston should get an NHL team, but so will Atlanta (third time's the charm).

@@michaelmarkowski204 The Canadiens had a track record of opposing ANY new Canadian team, not just Quebec City. Wholeheartedly agree though, that Quebec City should be near the top of list for future teams. I truly question the wisdom of putting a third team in Atlanta to fail. I know plenty of people from that part of the country. All of them see the NHL as not a major American sports league. For hockey to grow in Georgia, any new team would have to get good quick and the people must learn the finer points of the sport, at least as much as Nashville has, or even better, how Houston supported the Astros

trying to connect with Pitching Ninja for that!!

Speak for yourself, there's a ton of knowledgeable hockey fans in Utah who have followed the NHL for decades.

And a Tim Horton’s!

Ryan Smith attempted to buy The Pittsburgh Penguins when they were for sale in 2021. The Fenway Sports Group won out. They own The Red Sox and Liverpool Football Club as well. Ryan Smith has been talking to Bettman since 2022 and biding his time. Smith owns The Utah Jazz and Bettman was in The NBA head office before The NHL called. That Jazz ownership gives Smith a track record.

Kind of like the winnipeg jets of the new york jets

Try, like most REAL hockey fans wanted! I'm an American and i want Quebec to get their Hockey team back before ANY new market gets a team!

The winnipeg Phoenix of uta

no not tough, but there's no rush. A team that will be around for decades, just take some time and get it right.

Bro yeti is just as bad.

The Olympics is not the main reason. It’s a chance to build a sustainable and updated downtown in SLC.

@@wadewixom7029 Then why mention the Olympics? Also, check out Field of Schemes and similar sites - there are better ways to revitalize downtown cores than throwing public money at private pleasure palaces. I’m excited for the NHL to land in Utah, but I’m definitely wary about the spending.

I actually kinda like Utah Blizzards. Would go well with the Jazz

@@Soundtracks92 I would hope for a non-animal team name, just feels hard to root for if someone isn't that into, blizzard is fairly neutral, though I hope the logo doesn't have something holding a stick or a Puck inside it

The Buzz

You want a Russian tank for a mascot? Maybe a swastika?...Lose the double zeds...

Blizzard is dumb as hell

The NHL set the owner’s milestones and it’s up to him to meet them. Most of us diehard Yotes fans believe it’s an uphill battle for him.

@@Michael_RareZebra that is what I thought. I hope you can get an owner that will do better.

@@roywall8169 Thank you. I think we need some time to heal here in AZ and having this horrible owner lingering around doesn’t help as we lost trust in him.

Probably. I don't think anyone wanted to play out of a college arena for at least another 3 years, and Bettman was willing to do it as an end to a means.

That's actually pretty good

@@codymachado thx i mean it makes sense yeah?

All my Wyoming friends and family are Avalanche fans. Speak for yourself 😎

How do you pick Seattle which is a brand new team as your hill to die on as a Wyomingite?! 🤢

Follow the story. That can't happen. Name was retained by AZ owner

😂

Honestly I'm pretty tired of hearing the joke names. Just don't even bother with your input

Get original

Pathetically unfunny and unoriginal

Most of Utah doesn't experience snow, let alone blizzards

Or Summit if they and fans are so Bent on this yeti Jargin

Blizzard is horrible. Utah doesn’t even get blizzards 😆

Phoenix wants the team. They just don't want the ownership. The Coyotes never had a chance in Phoenix.

@@mr.brenman2132 phx. really wanted team so bad they voted a resounding NO when they had the chance to keep it last may.

@@stevenbauer4799 Sports referendums rarely work out. I guess you think people from Kansas City don't want the Chiefs. A small group of people in Tempe voted no. They were under the impression that there were going to be tax payers dollars spent. There was also some union issues. This is the failure of ownership.

@@mr.brenman2132 i know exactly how sports referendums work. In az. it wasn't tx payers $$$'s that were going to be spent. It was the tax breaks Merullo was going to get at the expense of taxpayers. That is why tempe voted NO. That would have happened anywhere in az. Merullo was an untrustworthy con man. And phx. forces that be will never let an arena go up anywhere near phx. and take $$$'s away from suns arena so no matter how they sliced it up it was never going to pass. It was a failure in az. by lying ownership and bettman broken promises. In kc fans were smart enough to say NO to that shit. And told an owner worth $25 billion to fund his own $500 mil. upgrades. It had nothing to do with not wanting the chiefs and everything to do with saying NO to corporate welfare.

@@stevenbauer4799 If he buys the land it will be a step towards a new arena. It was Bettman's fault allowing the team to go to Meruelo. AZ has never had a chance. Never a good location for an arena. Never a NHL caliber arena. Never consistent success. Never good ownership.

Agree. Can't believe Raptors hasn't already been trademarked by another pro team.

All awful

No way, Portland is dying. Businesses and people can’t get out fast enough. The city is packed with homeless and drugged out junkies.

Portland is a dying city thanks to its far Left politics. NO thank you!

Why?

Better than BlIzZaRd 🤡

Orlando Solar Bears. Not a good Utah fit

Sun dogs is too closely related to Coyotes. That won't happen

I agree! 30 years was long enough to make it work!

UTAH GRIZZLIES THE SINGLE GREATEST LOGO IN HOCKEY

Eagles play football. The Golden Eagles play in Marquette. Raptors play basketball. Get original.

They’re going to avoid names that are the same / too similar to existing pro sports franchises - the Raptors in Toronto, the Eagles in Philly. Also, in the NHL, “Golden” is already taken by Vegas.

To all those people saying they won't repeat names. You know, aren't there? The San, the New York Giants. Aren't there the New York Jets and the Winnipeg jethat's personally I think? They should call themselves the redskins. Or the Indians just to p*** off the professors at Wolk State University.

​@@mr.brenman2132Salt Lake City historically had a minor league hockey team named the Golden Eagles in three different leagues from 1969 to 1994.

houston doesn't like hockey there are no houston columbus, houston buffalo or houston vegas rivalries AT ALL and saying it out loud makes me realize how boring those matches would be HOUSTON-DALLAS is a rivalry..... but nobody in Texas likes hockey

​@@sampicanoNobody is Texas likes hockey? Pantera only did their goal song lol. Dallas does better attendance then most Canadian teams. They sell out every game. Nice try though.

I really thought Houston was the next city for an NHL expansion team

@@sampicano LOL Houston has a downtown arena, and more corporate money there than in like 5 Canadian markets COMBINED. To say nothing of its massive population.

@@geoff3103 And Atlanta failed twice Phoenix failed this year teams that lose the most money are: Florida (Miami) Carolina (Raleigh) Anaheim (Los Angeles) COOL! So you can add another failure in the South in Houston! - they can generate as much revenue as Atlanta (relocated), or Phoenix (relocated) or Florida (loses more money than ANY other team in the NHL), or Anaheim (loses SECOND most money in the NHL) hahahaha Houston is a TERRIBLE hockey market. You don't have to be Canadian to see that, you just can't be stupid....(or American apparently). Yes, there are 7.1 million people....cough cough Anaheim/LA is bigger lol and is BLEEDING money

It’s actually because SLC also landed the 2034 Olympics and wanted a new stadium for hockey/metals ceremonies. Ryan smith took advantage of this at the same time and he’s actually using the funds now to renovate the delta center and create a huge entertainment district in downtown SLC with lots of new housing. So it’s not for validation just super smart and killing many birds with one stone. ;)

that makes no sense. smith already paid $1.2 billion expansion price which was way overinflated re-location price. he wouldn't make much profit doing that. And they are doing a total re-vamp of jazz arena to add 5,000 seats for nhl viewing. and nhl wants houston for expansion $billion.

@@stevenbauer4799 well thats not my fault you don't understand how things work. Ask a sports lawyer or an NFL or NBA executive

This is the dumbest comment I've ever seen. We don't deserve a team because we don't drink lol

@@geoff3103well than why don't you explain it to me? you must have a degree in sport business to better explain things to me. I followed this shit saga for 15 years. And where you are wrong is nhl should have never gone to phx. in the first place to play out of an nba arena not suited for nhl. That began the big $$$ losses. Then yotes had a fine arena in glendale then in typical yote fashion they fkd that away. I don't think i need a sports lawyer or executive to explain that to me.

@@Gpsrater5 I think this dude was drinking when he wrote that shit. makes no sense.

It's a cold weather state. It's a winter sports state. They have hosted the winter Olympics and might be chosen as a permanent winter Olympics site. They have passionate sports fans. It's clear Canadian's would be happy if the NHL was only 6 teams but that wouldn't make it a major sport. Adding teams in Canada doesn't grow the game. It's double dipping. Ottawa is a failure. Winnipeg is a failure. Canadian's are in denial about these facts. Drinking? Strip clubs? What does that have to do with hockey? These are professional athletes with families. Could you be more out of touch? What strip clubs do they have in Canada these days? Drag queen story hour? Men with money and game don't go to strip clubs. They get the real thing.

Hockey players like doing things other than going to strip clubs man. I've known plenty that would rather go skiing/snowboarding, hiking, mountain biking, etc with the few that wanted to drag everyone to a strip club being in the minority

@@mr.brenman2132 spoken like somebody who doesn't follow hockey Milwaukee exists Portland exists Toronto-Hamilton exists Quebec City exists and Salt Lake City will be the SECOND smallest US market in the NHL.... AND FUN FACT - for a "cold weather state".... it isn't a cold weather state....look it up, maybe the mountain tops are??? is that what you mean? the rocky mountains have SNOW? yes they do But fun fact for a cold weather state utah hs some of the LOWEST, WORST hockey registration numbers in America And strip clubs and bars are open until 2am and 3am in Canada - and drinking age is 18 in some places. So smarten up, give your head a shake....hockey players don't go to mormon church

Since you were 17...sounds like you are now 17 1/2

no chance. The Leafs will not allow it. They havent allowed it for over 100 years. Closest you MIGHT (still a big might) get an NHL team is Hamilton. But no way in Toronto proper eh?