0
0
Arizona Coyotes Potential Relocation to Salt Lake City
While the National Hockey League (NHL) has not yet made an official announcement regarding the potential relocation of the Arizona Coyotes to Salt Lake City, it appears that prospective owner Ryan Smith has taken steps to move forward with the reported relocation.
Arash Markazi of The Sporting Tribune shared quotes from Smith during a sports business conference in Los Angeles, where Smith expressed his certainty about the move. “There’s no secret,” stated Smith. “Not everything on the internet is true but in this case, it’s true.”
Smith, who is also the owner of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, is allegedly in the process of acquiring the Coyotes from the NHL for $1.2 billion. He conveyed his confidence in the Utah community by saying, “I have incredible faith in the people of Utah. We show up. It’ll be packed. I’m excited about that and showing that.” Smith acknowledged the work ahead, from facility improvements to operational enhancements, but expressed certainty in their successful completion.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the NHL aims to make an official announcement about the transaction within the upcoming week. Friedman shared during Hockey Night in Canada that there is a strong possibility of the announcement occurring on Thursday or Friday. However, he emphasized that desire and execution are distinct, indicating that certain conditions must be met for the announcement to proceed smoothly.
Simultaneously, Coyotes’ current owner Alex Meruelo and general manager Bill Armstrong have refrained from commenting on the relocation or sale publicly. In a statement released by the team, Meruelo mentioned, “There has been a lot of discussion in recent days about the future of the Arizona Coyotes. We are focused on a myriad of issues that are unresolved, and therefore we are unable to make any official public comments at this time.”
Image/Photo credit: source url
