[News] Coyotes relocating to Salt Lake City

[Kipper_3434]

Do whatever divisions you want for the regular season. Playoffs should be seeded 1 to 8 for each conference. That way good teams locked in the same division don't destroy each other every playoffs in the early rounds.

[Sidney Crosby's Hat]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

This was something that was much easier to acknowledge from the outside. I feel bad for fans like you and Jordan who were strung along by those guys. Telling people what they want to hear is a powerful method of deception.

The NHL is going to give Meruelo an explicit requirements list of what is needed to qualify for an expansion team during his window but you know they would prefer he doesn't meet it and just goes away.

I'm sure the league is holding their breath that he follows through on this sale agreement and doesn't change his mind and fight it.

He’d be very stupid to fight it if the rumours are true that he can get $1B for the team right now. If he loses that auction, the best he could probably do is half that but probably even less because the league won’t be looking to do him any favours. They might even put a minimum arena capacity requirement for League membership into franchise ownership if he messes this up for them.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by Sidney Crosby's Hat

They might even put a minimum arena capacity requirement for League membership into franchise ownership if he messes this up for them.

There isn't a public requirement, but I believe they've done this informally all along. As far back as 1980, the Flames were only allowed to move to Calgary on condition that they built a big enough arena ASAP. The Corral was accepted as a temporary venue only.

Of course, with the salary floor in place, it's in every owner's interest to have a big enough arena to compete with the rest of the league. Winnipeg seems to be at the very bottom of the viable range.

[N-E-B]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

At this point, why not try and do 8 Divisions with 4 teams.

Calgary
Edmonton
Seattle
Vancouver

Anaheim
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
San Jose

Colorado
Minnesota
Salt Lake City
Winnipeg

Chicago
Dallas
Nashville
St.Louis

Play your own Division 4 times, other 3 Divisions 3 times other conference twice and just do 80 games.

Division winners get a playoff spot and 4 wild cards based on record.

This would be cool but to keep it at 82 I think it would be fun if teams designated a “primary rival” that they played an extra 2 times a year. So for example, Calgary and Edmonton, Vancouver and Seattle, LA and Anaheim, Florida and Tampa, Toronto and Ottawa, Montreal and Boston etc.

And rivalry games are always on Saturday nights.

The NHL needs to promote these rivalry games better

[Sylvanfan]

Originally Posted by N-E-B

This would be cool but to keep it at 82 I think it would be fun if teams designated a “primary rival” that they played an extra 2 times a year. So for example, Calgary and Edmonton, Vancouver and Seattle, LA and Anaheim, Florida and Tampa, Toronto and Ottawa, Montreal and Boston etc.

And rivalry games are always on Saturday nights.

The NHL needs to promote these rivalry games better

Yeah and at least in the West pairing up like this
Cgy/Edm Van/Sea
La/Ana SJ/VGK
Col/SLC Wpg/Minnesota
Chi/St.L Dal/Nas

Could develop some good geographical rivalries. It's not quite the post lockout NHL doing 8 Division games so you get bored of seeing Minnesota and only get Crosby once every two years. You might get sick of seeing the Oilers, but it should make you hate them more.

[Gugstanley]

Originally Posted by Sylvanfan

Yeah and at least in the West pairing up like this
Cgy/Edm Van/Sea
La/Ana SJ/VGK
Col/SLC Wpg/Minnesota
Chi/St.L Dal/Nas

Could develop some good geographical rivalries. It's not quite the post lockout NHL doing 8 Division games so you get bored of seeing Minnesota and only get Crosby once every two years. You might get sick of seeing the Oilers, but it should make you hate them more.

I would rather see Calgary rolling through Salt Lake City as often as possible in the same division.

[Paulie Walnuts]

The wild card and divisional playoffs is a dumb, they are trying to create rivalries and its exhausting and boring playing the same teams over and over again. It is also unfair, just go back to 1-8. The best player of our generation has been saying that forever, maybe if McDavid says it the idiots at Sportsnet and TSN will start talking about it.

Play in for hockey doesn't work either. Hockey is way to random to have a 1 game and your in situation. Basketball is a different, you don't have the ball bouncing off someone and going into the basket.

Once the dinosaurs like Lou and Bettman are gone maybe the league will change for the better.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

That doesn't work well unless you have a balanced schedule. The league tried that system in 1979-80 and 1980-81, but the travel required was hideous.

Keep the schedule as is.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

There isn't a public requirement, but I believe they've done this informally all along. As far back as 1980, the Flames were only allowed to move to Calgary on condition that they built a big enough arena ASAP. The Corral was accepted as a temporary venue only.

Of course, with the salary floor in place, it's in every owner's interest to have a big enough arena to compete with the rest of the league. Winnipeg seems to be at the very bottom of the viable range.

But not too big and they will sacrifice rows of regular seats for more suites.

[Reggie Dunlop]

If the league is currently devising two schedules contingent on the relocation of one team, I can't see them also tossing in divisional realignment at the same time. Too many variables, and a logistical nightmare. Realignment alone is stepping into a minefield of owner egos.

The easiest path is to keep divisions and conferences as is, and take a year to organize the league teams.

[Jordan!]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

I'm a huge supporter of hockey in southern markets, especially AZ (which I feel like I will someday call my second home), and I love a lot of the players on that Coyotes team, but Meruelo and his cronies are all con men and I cannot fathom how the league put up with him for so long. Absolutely abysmal. Feel for the fans.

This market has attracted nothing but pretenders since day 1..

The only way it would survive is if The Suns owned the Coyotes/NHL Franchise in my opinion which is why I've been pining for that for a while. AM and his crew are amateurs who fail up in their businesses.

The NHL just wants a clean and profitable way out of an AM ownership, that involves relocation but there will be no chance AM will get an NHL franchise again. ZERO

EDIT:

Jordonstratomus predicts The NHL will return to Phoenix in 2037 when the Phoenix Suns move into their new Arena as a new expansion team and Alex Meruelo is long gone.

[Reggie Dunlop]

The Suns are going to need a new venue at some point. It'll be interesting to see how municipal governments react to the inevitable public funding/tax concession requests.

[thefoss1957]

On the potential move to SLC from Phoenix, the latest whining out of AZ media is that Players and franchise staff are upset, for franchise staff, the worries are especially about the chance of losing jobs. This is understandable, but, this has been the reality of American employment for decades. A lot of US states have what is cynically referred to as "right to work" laws, which were union killing regulations, that allowed for termination without cause. I had a 40 year career working in hospitals, with the constant threat of having our local non-profit sold to a for profit system. Downsizing and cost cutting were standard operating procedures for these kind of acquisitions. Even on a smaller scale, I have seen businesses that were in operation on a Friday, have employees show up to find a "permanently closed" sign on the door on a Monday. That's how it happened at a local fast food chain place. This Coyotes saga has been dragging for years, and, it seems clear that the rest of the league was getting impatient at the status quo. Do I have sympathy for the players? No, they have valid contracts that would follow the franchise. Do I have sympathy for the vendors, team staff, and arena workers? Of course, but, as I said, that is the reality of the American work force.

[timun]

Originally Posted by Paulie Walnuts

The wild card and divisional playoffs is a dumb, they are trying to create rivalries and its exhausting and boring playing the same teams over and over again. It is also unfair, just go back to 1-8.

Under the 1-8 playoff format used from 1994 to 2013 the division champs got the first two (or three) seeds in the conference anyway, so... generally, unless you happen to have a wildcard team who happens to be better than the third-place team in the other division, the matchups between division champs and wildcard teams would remain exactly the same.


I can see why fans of teams like the Maple Leafs have tired of playing the Lightning and Bruins, but a change to the old 1-8 system would have backfired sometimes. In 2022 for instance the Leafs (ATL2) wouldn't have played the Lightning (ATL3): they would have been third seed and played the sixth-seeded... Bruins (WC1) instead, anyway.

[topfiverecords]

Originally Posted by timun

Under the 1-8 playoff format used from 1994 to 2013 the division champs got the first two (or three) seeds in the conference anyway, so... generally, unless you happen to have a wildcard team who happens to be better than the third-place team in the other division, the matchups between division champs and wildcard teams would remain exactly the same.


I can see why fans of teams like the Maple Leafs have tired of playing the Lightning and Bruins, but a change to the old 1-8 system would have backfired sometimes. In 2022 for instance the Leafs (ATL2) wouldn't have played the Lightning (ATL3): they would have been third seed and played the sixth-seeded... Bruins (WC1) instead, anyway.

Look how it would play out this year though (based on today's standings).

Current format equals:
Dallas - Vegas
Vancouver - Nashville
Winnipeg - Colorado
Edmonton - LA

1-8 format:
Dallas - Vegas
Vancouver - LA
Winnipeg - Nashville
Colorado - Edmonton

The 1-8 better benefits teams 2-4 in most years.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Jordan!

Jordonstratomus predicts The NHL will return to Phoenix in 2037 when the Phoenix Suns move into their new Arena as a new expansion team and Alex Meruelo is long gone.

I think it's potentially sooner. That lease and arrangement was signed between Sarver and the City, not Ishiba. And I think the fear was that the Suns would leave Phoenix proper and go to one of the other areas.

The lease agreement is that the Suns have to stay downtown until 2037...the goal from Phoenix city council is to keep the Suns downtown...not necessarily that they need to stay in that arena until 2037.

My guess is eventually Ishiba gets a new downtown arena (2030-2032 time frame), or further improvements to Footprint to better support hockey, and a new NHL team is part of that arrangement.

[PaperBagger'14]

I was wondering what would happen with players that hold a NMC. Would they be forced to move to SLC or if they said no would they become UFAs?

All of this doesn’t matter because they don’t have any NMCs, just NTCs

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

I was wondering what would happen with players that hold a NMC. Would they be forced to move to SLC or if they said no would they become UFAs?

All of this doesn’t matter because they don’t have any NMCs, just NTCs

Naw, that's not the way it works. You can't be moved from the franchise, but if the franchise moves, you go with it.

[Ped]

Yeah, how is a player going to stay in Arizona because of NMC when they have no team?

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by Ped

Yeah, how is a player going to stay in Arizona because of NMC when they have no team?

By becoming a UFA, but it’s a moot point anyways. The second half of my 2 sentence post mentions that.

And Gio you wouldn’t consider a new city, new owners, new facility, new team name / logo to be a new club? Now I’m interested to hear what you would define a club as, because if it isn’t location, facilities, owners, name or logo then I’m out of ideas as to what would constitute a club.