Preparations are being made behind the scenes and in public view if an NHL team is in Salt Lake City sooner or later, perhaps as early as this fall.
After prospective owner Ryan Smith earlier this week suggestions requestedfor a team nameNews broke Wednesday that the league is working on contingency plans should the Arizona Coyotes move this summer.
The NHL is working on two draft schedules for next season, whether the team is in Arizona or plays under a different name in Utah, according to a person familiar with the planning. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because no decision has been made.
The schedule for the upcoming season is usually released in late June, after the Stanley Cup is distributed, close to the draft and before free agency opens on July 1. Commissioner Gary Bettman, when asked last month about the timeline and possible contingency plans, said only, “We still have some time.”
While the NHL, Coyotes and Smith Entertainment Group declined to comment on the double scheduling report, other machinations are underway to prepare for a possible relocation. According to multiple published reports, the league sent a memo to owners updating them on the situation, warning that there are moving parts and nothing is done.
If a sale to Smith happens soon, it will come after months of speculation, after the owner of the NBA’s Utah Jazz announced in January not only his interest in having an NHL club in Salt Lake City, but also the ability to make this happens immediately. Smith’s group asked at the time to begin an expansion process, something various groups in Atlanta are also anxious.
The moment, while preparations are underway for Salt Lake City to host the 2034 Winter Olympics, coinciding with continued uncertainty surrounding the Coyotes, who are playing a second season in a 5,000-seat arena and are still looking for a long-term home.
NHL Players’ Association executive director Marty Walsh has repeatedly expressed frustration with the Coyotes’ current situation as a second tenant in a building on Arizona State’s Tempe campus. Bettman said owner Alex Meruelo is working on it.
“It’s hard work and he’s committed to it,” Bettman told The Associated Press last month. “I think people want certainty. And so are we, but this is not a 60-minute game where the light goes on and the game is over.”
The Coyotes last week said they are committed to win an auction for a piece of land in Phoenix, which would house a 17,000-seat arena and entertainment district. The Arizona Department of State Lands has scheduled the auction for June 27 with a starting bid of $68.5 million.
There is already an arena in downtown Salt Lake City, and the Jazz’s ownership plan calls for using the Delta Center as a temporary home for a hockey team until a new building is constructed. This group has been talking to the league since 2022.
“During conversations over the past two years, we have been impressed by Ryan and Ashley Smith’s commitment to their community and their passion and vision for Utah, not just as a hockey market, but as a preeminent sports and entertainment destination.” , the NHL said in a statement in January. “Utah is a promising market and we look forward to continuing our discussions.”
One plan, according to the Daily Faceoff, which first reported the schedule contingency, involves selling Meruelo to Smith for $1 billion or more, with the ability to bring the Coyotes back as an expansion team as well. an arena is built.
The NHL has said it has no current plans to expand beyond 32 teams, despite speculation about possible additions in Salt Lake City, Atlanta and Houston.
