What will Utah/Salt Lake do next season

[Erick Estrada]

I don't see why Stamkos would want to end his career on a non-playoff/bubble team.

[Jordan!]

I don't care... except that I hope Josh Doan changes his number to #19 and gets traded to The Flames

[Calgary4LIfe]

I think the Salts will probably be a bubble team next season. They were a bubble team for the majority of the season this year until they went through their unprecedented slide. They will certainly be adding better players this year and have both the cap room to out-bid everyone, as well as draft capital up the ying-yang, and have a lot of good young players on the team already.



It is difficult to handicap it right now, but it would not surprise me at all to see them in the playoffs this upcoming season. That's going to be the most interesting team to follow for the next few seasons.

[activeStick]

I vaguely recall that the Coyotes started the season pretty well, didn't they? Like top 5ish team in the west and maintained for at least 6-7 weeks? Might be totally wrong here, but maybe they aren't that far off.

[Jordan!]

Originally Posted by activeStick

I vaguely recall that the Coyotes started the season pretty well, didn't they? Like top 5ish team in the west and maintained for at least 6-7 weeks? Might be totally wrong here, but maybe they aren't that far off.

Correct, then Rumors of SLC came out in January and they went on a 15 game losing streak.

[flambers]

Utah /Coyotes have a good young core.

With the new owner, they have the ability to use their cap space.

Would not be shocked if they are a playoff team next season

[1Nite]

Bold Prediction, they transform the defence to top tier by signing Troy Stecher.

[Leeman4Gilmour]

I think it's going to be fascinating to have Utah in play. The Coyotes have been "rebuilding" for so long it's hard to remember when they were actually relevant. They've become infamous for taking on bad money to just reach the floor and collecting draft picks in the process.

33 picks in the next 3 years. Crazy. They have a boatload of young players and an owner who will want to make them relevant much much sooner than the previous one. It will be super interesting.

[Oil Stain]

Originally Posted by thefoss1957

The biggest reason that NBA players are not attracted to Utah seems obvious. Utah Population distribution by race: White only 79.3% Latino 14.8% Two or more 9.5% Other (non mixed) 5.3% Asian 2.5% Black 1.1% Native alone 1% Pacific Islander alone 0.9%. As the NBA players are (ESPN study) Black 81.9%, there is little, culturally, to appeal to Blacks, and no exclusively black communities. I don't see this as being as large a problem in attracting Canadian, Americans, or European whites, that make up 84% of NHL players (per Sports Reporter).

Denver is also overwhelmingly white with fewer blacks and you never hear about them having any trouble drawing free agents.

What percent of NHL players like to drink and party?

I think that is going to answer the question better.

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

Denver is also overwhelmingly white with fewer blacks and you never hear about them having any trouble drawing free agents.

Who are the marquee NBA free agents that Denver has signed over the years? Until Jokic they've been like a lot of NBA teams where a casual fan is like...oh yeah that city has a team. Unless it's Boston, the Lakers, or Heat teams have trouble getting free agents. Any small market will have trouble keeping the marquee names over the long haul.

The NHL has a harder cap than other leagues and eventually enough money will talk.

[Norland]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

What percent of NHL players like to drink and party?

I think that is going to answer the question better.

If the Sundance crowd can handle 10 days in Utah, hockey players can handle a season.

Worst come to worst, Vegas is a 40 minute flight away.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

I don't see why Stamkos would want to end his career on a non-playoff/bubble team.

To make money.

[Johnny Makarov]

All those losers from Phoenix have been playing stress free pond hockey for 2 years in a curling rink. Unless they trade the entire team they will finish bottom 5.

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by Johnny Makarov

All those losers from Phoenix have been playing stress free pond hockey for 2 years in a curling rink. Unless they trade the entire team they will finish bottom 5.

Lol. C'mon now.

[Goriders]

Originally Posted by transplant99

They will be trading some of those picks guaranteed....and very likely for established older guys as that team is far to young to take a step on their own.

Also they cant give contracts to all those picks, so they pretty much have to deal some of them.

Add in that the new owner is pretty likely going to want to make a big splash and get the hype machine going, it all adds up to SL being really busy around and at the draft.

That’s not the Dallas model.

Maybe they will follow the conman model

[Goriders]

So tons of cap space and draft picks. Sounds familiar.

[thefoss1957]

Originally Posted by Oil Stain

Denver is also overwhelmingly white with fewer blacks and you never hear about them having any trouble drawing free agents.

What percent of NHL players like to drink and party?

I think that is going to answer the question better.

Ethnically, there is no comparison between Colorado and Utah. Colorado has a history of supporting Black Culture, Utah, doesn't. On the contrary, until the 1970's the dominant cultural unit in Utah, the LDS church, did not even allow Black membership.

[McG]

Wonder if they go after pissy. If pissy doesn’t re-sign July 1, speculation will mount. Would greasers risk losing him for nothing?

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

Huberdeau to be the face of Salt Lake City?

It'll be the Salty Lake City HC, if that happens.

[Kipper_3434]

Originally Posted by McG

Wonder if they go after pissy. If pissy doesn’t re-sign July 1, speculation will mount. Would greasers risk losing him for nothing?

Hopefully Pissy stays in Edmonton and eats up 15m in cap. Guy is a garbage player without the puck and a poor teammate.