This afternoon, it was finally confirmed that the Arizona Coyotes will be playing in Salt Lake City next season. On paper, we’re not talking about a relocation per se (officially, the Coyotes franchise has become inactive and the hockey elements have been sold to Utah), but in concrete terms, it looks like a move.
Clayton Keller, Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther will be playing in Salt Lake City, basically… and owner Ryan Smith is a happy guy.
What we do notice, though, is that things are likely to change within the organization. The club, already banking on a ton of quality young players, also has a panoply of prospects within the organization, as well as a ton of draft picks.
There’ll be no shortage of second- and third-round picks, in any case.
But above all, we’ll have owners who are willing to invest money, which wasn’t necessarily the case in Arizona.
In short, the team’s future looks promising… and that’s what leads Antoine Roussel, a former member of the Coyotes, to say that the Stanley Cup could very well be won by the Utah outfit within 5-6 years.
That’swhat he said on JiC tonight.
Obviously, the move isn’t ideal for the players(André Tourigny noted tonight on 98.5 FM that it wasn’t what his players wanted), but that doesn’t change the fact that the club will finally have some stability, and above all, the means to achieve its ambitions.
Ryan Smith is likely to be aggressive on the financial front, unlike Alex Meruelo, who noted that he didn’t think he’d get kicked out of Glendale (at Gila River Arena). The city wanted a 20-year deal, and he refused, so they sent him elsewhere.
We’ll have to wait and see, but the elements are in place for Utah to eventually establish itself as a solid team to be taken seriously.
Trading a few of the countless picks for established players, signing 2-3 free agents and keeping the rest of the core seems like a recipe for the club to be in the playoff hunt, especially since there will be no more distractions around the organization.
In gusto
– Alex Meruelo’s plan is to move the Tucson Roadrunners (the Utah team’s training facility) to Mullett Arena. But it won’t be easy.
– A name to watch.
– The numbers are growing at a breakneck pace.
– An unacceptable gesture.
– Well deserved.
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