The management of the Utah Hockey Club claims it is an expansion team, and for the NHL and record-keeping purposes, that is correct. However, in a practical way, Utah is actually a relocated franchise.
It is mostly the same team that played last season as the Arizona Coyotes, with the same head coach and general manager.
Utah will begin its first season in Salt Lake City on Tuesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks.
If we look at past relocated franchises, Utah fits this description, as it may soon become a regular playoff contender due to its group of young players. History shows that teams moving to new cities often have success quickly, with many winning championships shortly after relocating.
“I think it’s just been when (teams have) moved, they’ve generally been bought by bigger, richer organizations that can support them better than where they were,” said Eric Zweig, an award-winning hockey historian and author of several NHL books. “Arizona wasn’t always terrible when they first got there. But they never really had stable ownership.
“There aren’t many organizations in the NHL outside of the Coyotes that aren’t run by wealthy companies anymore. I mean, it’s almost impossible not to.”
Ryan and Ashley Smith, who lead the Smith Entertainment Group, own the UHC along with the Utah Jazz and are significant players in a downtown Salt Lake City redevelopment project.
They purchased the club from Alex Meruelo, who struggled to find a new arena in the Phoenix area. The Coyotes played their last two seasons at Arizona State University’s arena before the sale, with the NHL allowing Meruelo to keep the Coyotes name and intellectual properties in case another team comes to the area.
So, Salt Lake received a relocated team presented as an expansion franchise.
“It’s one of the fastest-growing markets in the country,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “It’s an affluent market. It’s a sports-focused market, especially for winter sports. Ryan had been in touch with me for a couple of years ‘selling’ — I use the word in quotes — Utah as a great place for us.
“He made a lot of promises about what he would accomplish, and they have done everything they needed to do, which has been amazing.
And remember: This all happened in about six weeks, including the fact that the lawyers were drafting documents that no one had ever created before because this was a unique situation.”
General manager Bill Armstrong, who came from Arizona, has been working on a gradual plan to make the team not just competitive but also capable of making deep playoff runs.
Utah might not be there yet, but Armstrong has built a team that could at least compete for a playoff spot. Given how unpredictable the NHL playoffs can be, Utah could find success sooner rather than later if they make it into the playoffs.
No matter what happens this season, Armstrong is focused on the long-term goal of ensuring any success is lasting.
Clayton Keller, the 26-year-old who led the Coyotes in scoring last season with 78 points, was named Utah’s first captain. Armstrong also strengthened the team by adding what should be a better defense, including trading for two-time Stanley Cup champion Mikhail Sergachev, who is the same age as Keller.
