This press conference was genuinely hard to watch

Let's talk about the most recent press conference related to the NHL leaving Arizona, as we have Gary Bettman alongside Alex Meruelo. We'll recap things from the Arizona and the Utah side on today's NHL hockey video!

[@erics.czernecki7333]

Actually, Meruelo's deal was that he sold the team's non-business properties to the league for $1.2 billion- of that, $200 million goes to the league as a relocation fee, and Meruelo keeps the remaining billion, but will refund it to the league as an expansion fee should his efforts succeed.

[@btk6298]

Seems like a LARGE enough thing (considering he talked about it for 50 percent of the vid) to actually double check the veracity of the info before posting. Just sayin

[@lelouchvibritannia4028]

​@@btk6298He's a Rangers fan. They're not exactly the smartest bunch.

[@willweisgerber245]

I believe the Deal was the league bought hockey operations for 1 billion and then they sold it to Utah for 1.2 billion, with the 200 k the relocation fee. Meruelo did not directly sell to Utah.

[@rodavision]

So Meruelo runs the team into the ground, rips off the City not paying the contract commitments, botches building a new arena, moves the team into a house league arena of 4600, rips off seasons ticket holders and I’m sure many others. He then gets paid by the league $1B and will get another team for a discount. Is he related to Bettman? No other owner could get away with all of that and not lose the team but in fact get a huge payday. He should go to jail for fraud not be given another team. Wtf is going on with Bettman and Meruelo?

[@6Heavy6Metal6]

Literally got a AZ Coyotes season ticket ad after the video ended...

[@j.thomas7128]

MISSING CONTEXT: The Delta arena, when in ice hockey configuration, seats 14,000. 20,000++ deposits exceeds capacity. Utah has had 5 times as many deposits for season ticket deposits as the Coyotes had capacity in their old arena. For two years they played in an arena with a max capacity of 4,600.

[@cmac3530]

It's 12,000 unobstructed for now. There's plans for renovations over the next 2 summers (this summer not included) to expand that to 17,000.

[@sdeepj]

Hockey can work in Arizona, but Meruelo is not the guy to do it.

[@thedude3065]

agreed he's the wrong man for the job woefully underqualified

[@louiscypher4186]

So who can make it work? Meruelo only owned the team since 2019. The team had 6 different ownership groups before him and none could make it work. That included the NHL itself who lost money on the team and also had problems securing leases.

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

You might just be as delusional as gary bettman. The league desperately tried take it work for nearly 30 fucking years.

[@jeffhaggarty9879]

Yet it has been proven by more than one owner thay it can't. Has been a disgrace to the game since day 1.

[@spime93]

​@@louiscypher4186The issue was Glendale. If the Coyotes played in Phoenix, they'd be fine.

[@IIMIKEYMOII]

I believe he will have to pay back the NHL $1B if he wants the team again. Either way, NHL makes $200M from Utah.

[@hoskins666]

Minus the 25 million they spent on the coyotes plus whatever they aren't saying

[@patricklawless5644]

He wouldn't be paying back $1B to the NHL. He would be using the $1B he received from the sale of the Utah team to Ryan Smith to cover an expansion/reactivation fee imposed by the NHL. There's just a contractual agreement to do so, given that certain benchmarks are met. What wasn't said, even though it was asked about, is what happens if Meruelo fails to secure an arena, or just decides to walk away. Bettman refused to answer that.

[@nicorobin5978]

Imagine getting a billion dollars for running a franchise into the ground. As a giant Coyotes fan, I'd rather not even have a team here if this guy's in charge again. Let the 5 years expire and then hopefully someone else steps up. Tired of Meruelo.

[@csharp48]

But! He has give back the billion PLUS the cost of an arena if he wants another chance at running the franchise into the ground again! So uh... theres that

[@Faz_O_Relax]

What is the obsession with having hockey in the desert?… if they can build an arena in five years they get a team, but Quebec, Hamilton, even Hartford can’t have a team even though they can or already have a NHL ready arena? Bettman is the worst thing to happen to hockey and unfortunately most won’t realize it until he’s gone.

[@mutantdolphin5283]

Yes, Bettman stole this team from Winnipeg (a thriving hockey town), subsidised it for 20 years. Bettman's fail.

[@triples3768]

The worst thing to happen to hockey is not Bettman. Literally because you’re able to watch the game, Bettman had a MAJOR hand in with league notoriety. A lot don’t like Bettman, myself included, however he is the best commissioner of the 4 major sports currently & has done much good for the game of hockey. The fact that you can say he’s the worst is remarkable because without his growth of the game, I can almost bet you wouldn’t be watching let alone being Able to watch without a regional blackout, as was the case years ago if the local team didn’t sellout. Like him or not, don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Don’t bitch about shit he doesn’t have a hand in, & just the frontman for the BOG & GMs.

[@blindidiot382]

The obsession with hockey in the desert? The entire goal is introducing hockey into non-traditional markets to grow the game. How many new hockey fans are you making with a Nordiques team vs a team in Vegas or Seattle? Its not a terribly difficult thing to grasp, and insinuating Arizona doesnt deserve a team because they live in a desert is ignoring the invention of refrigeration, which has been around for a while now.

[@GJBedrin]

​@@blindidiot382Not to mention it's a huge growing market . All 3 of the cities mentioned above have populations of about 500k or less. Phoenix and Tucson is 2 million plus.

[@TGerreGT]

What is the obsession with going back to places where they've already failed?

[@thisishandlenumber2048]

They had at least 20,000 people in Utah put a minimum deposit of $100 down? That's nuts, I don't know when they started allowing people to place deposits but it had to have been after it got leaked so the fact that they've already made at least $2 million (but likely closer to $3-4 million) is a great sign for Utah hockey.

[@bobaagard]

They literally started right after news became official that the Board of Governors voted to allow the sale. That was about 2PM in Utah (4PM Eastern) on Thursday. Prior to that, there was no mention of the web site or even that they were going to be taking sign ups, let alone deposits. It was over 20,000 in less than 24 hours. They had originally said that they were going to cap tickets at 12,000 per game, as that’s the number of (mostly) unobstructed seat in the arena, and would occasionally sell some of the more obstructed seats. They said today that they will probably sell all 16,500 or so seats for every game.

[@dsarmy1]

It was like the first 5 hours after it became official.

[@coldsnap5742]

Utahns absolutely ADORE the Jazz, which is why they've stayed there for 45 seasons now. They were supposed to be a temporary stop after moving from New Orleans, and expected another move to Minneapolis. But the fans turned up in droves, even in the worst of times. The bigwigs had no choice but to stick around. I'm sure they'll do the same for the NHL club. It's just a shame it had to happen this way. Poor genuine Coyotes fans.

[@bobaagard]

@@dsarmy1 it was 11000 deposits in the first 5 hours.

[@bobaagard]

@@coldsnap5742 it took a few years for the Jazz to catch on. Their attendance hovered around 50% capacity of the 12000 seat arena. 5 years after moving here, they played a portion of their home games in Las Vegas, trying to show the league that a team down there would work better than in Utah. But then the Jazz started making the playoffs, drafted a couple guys named Stockton and Malone, and had an ownership change, all within a couple of years. 6 years later, they moved into a 20000 seat arena. And other than a few lean years when Ty Corbin was coach, people have shown up. Nearly every game sold out this season, despite a losing record.

[@Alex-bo4je]

Sad to see the Coyotes leave Az. Glad to see a team in Utah, I guess. Why not! Don't need to expand the playoffs to accommodate a few more teams in the NHL. It's an 80+ game season. If you haven't found your way into the top 16 by then, you are not going to...

[@Jackyjack655]

I am not glad to see those bums gone 🤣🤣

[@CardinalStandard]

Bettman needs to ride off into the sunset & let real people that care about the NHL take over!

[@dgstellario4433]

you mean nutjobs like Eric Girard and his sidekicks? no way, thanks, let Bettman do his job

[@AwesomeNuke]

I dont think you understand how huge and positive this is for the NHL.. His job isn't to please you and fans, its to please the owners.. and its hard to see anyone doing a better job at that. You have to learn to control your emotions and soundly use your head lol

[@Thrashman-ye4cf]

@@AwesomeNukeokay but he’s still a shit commissioner, and he’s awful at marketing his sport, and getting people to watch it.

[@AwesomeNuke]

@@Thrashman-ye4cf Like I said, he's not really "supposed" to make people watch it. His job is to make money for the owners.

[@CanMav]

Bettman wants to expand the league beyond 36. He'll water it down so hard that it'll be a beer league

[@coreywahl524]

32 seems a plenty to me. If you add too many teams it devalues the league.

[@Jontism]

@@coreywahl524 32 is perfect because its half of 16 - half the teams make playoffs, half don't. You don't really want a situation where playoffs is less than half of the teams in the regular season, because you'll see franchises struggle to become contenders overtime more. Imagine the Blackhawks or Sharks right now in their rebuild, if they had to compete with 4 more teams for a playoff spot

[@jorgejohnson451]

And this is why you can’t compare players over the years.

[@JadedJet]

Should only be 32 teams

[@vargviper7192]

Skill levels and talent are expanding. So long as they continue to do so and any league expansion does not exceed that talent growth everything should be just fine. Have never liked Butthead but despite that and his less than stellar moves, the game is better today than it was. Now if the league can just stop some of its wokeness and stick to the game on the ice.......................

[@pilbomags488]

Arizona has had so many breaks it's unbelievable.

[@YoungThos]

Bettman took the cheer of 'Go Jets Go' quite literally, and keeps moving the 1972 Winnipeg Jets to new and exotic locales ✈️

[@DR.DisInfect]

I enjoyed watching it it was awesome they both got up there took questions. Now Yotes are on hold I'm very excited to see this team thrive in Utah. Can't wait to see their jerseys and what name they end up going with after next year You must not have watched it just got the highlights cause they cleared the hate the media comment he meant he doesn't like the limelight and even owns several media companies

[@bobaagard]

I think keeping the name and the ability to reinstate the team were what Bettman had to give the owner to get him to give up the team. He didn’t want to sell.

[@travity1051]

these bots crazy man, heres some real support ! thanks for posting some of the best nhl content

[@AlexandrawOfficial_Lexi]

bots? you really think people who comment in the negative are bots? I dont like the term as it is oft used by rainbowed liberals to shut down dissent on the ukraine war waste and amerikan imperialism overseas. And Eck, wrong use of the world iteration. I have heard it used this way but it is incorrect. you can saw "best team they have ever had" iteration is a mathematical repetition Any other usage is a corruption of the actual meaning

[@Berkanae]

Miriam Webster dictionary agrees w/ Eck. His usage is the first of 3 definitions of the word. It's a pretty definitive source.

[@AlexandrawOfficial_Lexi]

@@Berkanae Its a modern corruption sorry Heres the definition of the amerikan dictionary.2 : the action or a process of iterating or repeating: such as a : a procedure in which repetition of a sequence of operations yields results successively closer to a desired result b : the repetition of a sequence of computer instructions a specified number of times or until a condition is met Now please tell me where it refers to teams which are basically like offices in a franchise. that compete. would you say the iteration of HSBC bank in LA is better than the one from 1997? its nonsense american garbled jibber jabber You rainbow hair sniffing fools use the word "space" to define anything from outer space, to a parking space, to a safe space, to a room in a house, to a specific place in an economic market. Its a corruption Show me somewhere reputable that uses iteration in the manner you amerispeak

[@AlexandrawOfficial_Lexi]

@@Berkanae One google search will show this misuse of iteration is nothing more than " a Washington DC trendy word usage that's resulted in dictionaries CHANGING its meaning, adding a tertiary meaning" to appease the filthy destroying the culture NO thanks

[@travity1051]

@@AlexandrawOfficial_Lexi bro i commented when their was 10 other comments when he first released in there was 10 sex bots

[@joshuaneal7552]

The Smith Group owns them now 😂. Fitting for Utah.

[@CJbrinkman602]

He is LDS too

[@JesusFriedChrist]

Imagine living in the year 2024 and thinking that wearing magic underwear is a cool thing to do 🤣

[@rsuninv]

@@JesusFriedChristimagine being a bigot in 2024

[@user-jg5ws9gr8n]

More mon ney!!!!

[@joshuaneal7552]

@@rsuninv So, basically you don't know what a bigot is.

[@agcmano6324]

Did you watch the whole press conference? I did and it sounds like you just read Cliff notes. Videos like this is how misinformation gets spread. That's not what happened. All that being said, I think the team would be better off with a new owner.

[@josiahc6425]

I hope they find a format that keeps things similar to now. Avoid a play-in tournament at any cost.

[@kylepiccoli4762]

It was more like an interrogation than a press conference

[@fuse557]

I honestly can't wrap my head around any of this long story debacle. GO CAPS!!!

[@CoolsBreeze]

Bettman's main job was to find a quality billionaire to run the team and he couldn't even do that. This entire mess is on his plate.

[@JM_Solo]

Especially considering he kept them there as his personal pet project for so long. They went bankrupt in 09, and he decides that rather than send them back to Winnipeg where they came from and where they were wanted, he instead sold out the Atlanta franchise (there were people - including Ansen Carter who wanted to keep the Thrashers in Atlanta in 2011). We didn’t even get a goodbye game! At least Arizona knew their team was leaving! 15 years later, Arizona finally dies and Atlanta is now the top expansion destination with Utah getting their team. The only way it gets better is if Bettman finally steps down.

[@fr0styy156]

To be fair, most people in Arizona don’t support hockey, but I do feel bad for the true fans.

[@georgeblair3894]

So, let me get this straight. If Muerulo DOESN'T "get" a new team, he can pocket 1 BILLION dollars?

[@tombraiderstrums09]

Yup. For crashing and burning a franchise and robbing a fanbase of its team

[@crazyralph6386]

It boils my blood how Utah can get an NHL team, yet Canada gets the shaft again? Southern Ontario or the GTA could easily support a NHL team, as could Nova Scotia, but that will never happen of course, since the former would cut into MLSE market share.

[@SJSharkByte]

Bettman keeps putting teams in unconventional or at least non-Canadian locations due to growth potential. The potential to lasso in swathes of new fans to the sport is much higher in the southern and mid-USA regions than in Canada.

[@Gpsrater5]

We deserve a team more than them

[@SimRacingVeteran]

Absolutely crazy how this guy has an opportunity to get an other team when Quebec has a building ready to go and nothing is happening on that front.

[@JS-311]

Putting a team in QC doesn’t grow the game, simple as that

[@SimRacingVeteran]

@@JS-311 - oh so only markets that know nothing about hockey so hockey can “grow” eh?

[@spime93]

​@@SimRacingVeteranWhat makes you believe that nobody in Arizona knows anything about hockey? Auston Matthews is from AZ for God's sake

[@SimRacingVeteran]

@@spime93 - and what makes you think Quebec doesn’t deserve a team? Right the argument goes both ways budz.

[@inconnu4961]

@@SimRacingVeteran Exactly! I would much rather have a team in Quebec City!

[@YungSheerCold]

What I don't get is, if Arizona is able to get everything in place for a new team do they just start over? Like all those prospects and picks just don't exist to the team anymore because they're Utah now?

[@Soundtracks92]

Yes. Arizona would have to start over from scratch with a new NHL team. Draft and everything

[@AndyEightSevenFive]

​@Soundtracks92 I'm not too up on team sales and moves, but the Jets had to get the name and tradmarks back from the coyotes owners when they started with the new franchise right? Or something like that... so this would just be pre planning a "return" when it's technically a new team And I guess the Utah team is now the owners of the original Jets team history now.... or am I way off, haha

[@tastyneck]

I dont blame Utah fans for being supportive and excited. I hope the Yotes fans get a team...

[@DMOWAIVERS]

They’re moving to Utah…. Clearly Arizona wasn’t hurting for an nhl team.

[@energybarr4]

Utah Unicycles!

[@chrisgoater5616]

I remember the days when Hamilton Ontario Canada was in the running…..

[@Atletimatt]

It wasn’t as hard to watch as the entire history of Phoenix having a hockey team.

[@kud5659]

Idc what anyone say I love that Arazona jersey, it's a shame to see it go 😕

[@D-Fens_1632]

That one guy looks like the Vince Russo of hockey.

[@AncestorEmpireGaming]

BRO!

[@Khontis]

I mean... he's gotta build an arena. That should at least be a bit of a discount.

[@lucaslafontaine1]

@Eck the Yotes are "inactive" and he sold the team assets to Utah but business side, logo, local youth and AHL team are all still owned by "Coyotes Organization" He has to only pay back the 1b a year and a half before arena is ready as well so they can have the expansion draft like Vegas and Seattle. If you look at the time-line for it the free agency market at that time will also be full of heavy hitters so they could potentially pull a Vegas. Murello has to own the team though for 5 years after reactivating the team to complete the deal as well.

[@SimRacerSteve82]

It's honestly a brilliant idea by the league. Meruelo seems like an absolute door knob, but if he can follow through on his plan, it becomes a win win for everyone here. Only downside is the yotes fans loose thier team/players and need to rebuild if it comes back.

[@lucaslafontaine1]

@@SimRacerSteve82 Yes that's what's hurting us fans the most as we watched these players go through all this BS and a rebuild at the same time just to see promising young prospects get sent over to SLC. That's also why the fans were cheering F**k SLC because they stole our boys. I get why it happened though and don't blame the peeps of SLC we all are just Salty and upset😅😭

[@theholymackerel072]

Put the teams back in CANADA where fans appreciate the sport.

[@scooter29]

Anything with Gary Bettman is difficult to watch

[@Maksim-lz3og]

the total cost of what they are going to or planning to build in AZ, 3B, is kind of a lot without a strong guarantee from NHL that the franchise will return, I think it's all going to fizzle.

[@balkthor]

Try watching the press conference where David Stern gleefully shipped off the Sonics to Oklahoma City.

[@stevenbauer4799]

haha i saw it. sonicgate detailed that one, including showing a 'don't interrupt me while am lying' stern moment and a coward mayor held hostage.

[@garfieldbrooks]

that's all i could think about during all of this. feels like reopening old wounds lol

[@user-gh9qz8td4m]

Do the bracket challenge

[@bizzybee3021]

Ive seen quebec lose theirs, hartford, winnipeg , etc but usually it was bad attendance or broke owner. This is weird.

[@tombraiderstrums09]

Yeah the Yotes are filling their current barn, but it’s a college arena with a capacity of 4,600. They can’t find anywhere else to play bc the organization has been so poorly run that no city in the Phoenix metro area wants to do business with them

[@yelling3874]

I will bet you anything they're just trying to not have to go to court with him in order to get the sale done.

[@RJ-ht5jl]

NOT ME

[@saschaganser9671]

What you don`t mention here is the cost it will take to build an arena in the Phoenix area without local support. That`s at least a billion. And how likely is it, that if you can`t get it done while having a team in town, that you`ll get it done with the team gone? Also, Arizona is imo horrible undervalued. They will be a powerhouse soon. They have a pretty solid young core, just play outdated hockey. Keller, Schmaltz, there`s something to build around. Their prospect pool is packed, and on top they have all their 1sts and 10! 2nds + 7 3rd round picks the next few years. That`s a ton of draft capital and the team already has been good till they hit the slump. Utah gets a team and within the next few years it will be strong. For the NHL, they will get the fee, if Meruelo gets a team. And the NHL is smart, 33 teams? Come on, they will award another one, to Huston, to Hamiltion, to Altanta, to Quebec, whereever. 33 teams isn`t a good number. They will switch to a play in mode like the NBA does, and the NHL will make more money with that.

[@Mck499]

I think the nhl knows Arizona won't restart hence why they were willing to make the monetary sacrifice since in the long run it won't affect them

[@BleachCowboy2016]

Arizona ain’t building a new arena, the citizens in the area don’t want one.

[@AZWings]

It would be great to keep the NHL in Phoenix. But, there was a whole lot of wishful thinking in that press conference. As much as I hope it happens, it seems unlikely.

[@pomerlain8924]

It's been wishful thinking for the last 15-20 years.

[@benjaminlukk]

I don’t understand the expansion to Arizona thing. 33 is a weird number of teams to have. Does the NHL want to eventually expand to 36 teams, with markets like Houston, Atlanta, and Quebec City?

[@blindidiot382]

Most leagues are looking at expansion to 36 as a long-term possibility, if not actively pursuing it. The NHL isnt special here.

[@dper1112]

The NHL is at risk of the same issues the NBA faces. If you have too many teams, then you want a play-in system to keep the trailing teams interested. That makes sense, but as a fan, I feel like it dilutes the regular season even more. And the more teams you add, the more you're diluting the talent. You could argue that the talent level is increasing, which may be true, but regardless, the average fan can't keep track of that many players. So while adding a local team brings local energy, the league itself becomes that much less interesting. ... That all being said, there's no perfect answer to these questions. The league will do what it wants, there are pros and cons for any setup, and if we can see some good match-ups from time to time, great.

[@davidmartinez4309]

Hi there eck. This is so historical. (By my perspective) and it can represent something new in the future. Idk but I imagine these lads of Utah going to a Stanley Cup Finals in a few seasons later!!!!. Props!!!!!❤🌨❄️🧊🏒

[@Richard-od7yd]

The NHL needs to go to Expansion and Relegation.

[@jayblake682]

Having suffered through the agony of losing my Thrashers, I hate this for Yotes fans. Just like us, done in by horrible ownership.

[@JohnLesniewski-np7jg]

As an observer from the east coast, the league tried to keep the team there, but between bad owners and cities that didn't want the team, the Coyoties were doomed. The Coyoties best years was when the league owned them, go figure.

[@zacharyzbeetnoff7043]

I’d be open to the Coyotes coming back if they give them to a new owner Meruelo ultimately killed it by burning bridges and not paying bills. Also, as a Canadian hockey fan. It also kind of angers me that Winnipeg still did not get its history back out of this whole deal.

[@scotty28653]

It was better when they were called the Pheonix Coyotes, not the Arizona Coyotes after they moved out of the downtown area. NHL teams are a hard sell down south. Florida is the only southern state that seems to love hockey, as they have not just one team but two.

[@cardiac19]

33 teams means 34. 34 teams means 36. Gotta keep it even.

[@GrizzaSMASH]

My opinion is that if they bring a team back, which they will (because it's the 10th most populace metro in the US, so they will), it should not be with Murello again. Since he bought the team there was nothing but scandal after scandal. It didn't help matters after the way the team was run before either. Bottom line: Get someone who cares to expand the team into AZ and try and transfer the branding and trademarks. The state wants the sport there, but Bettman needs to just stop saying yes to money just because money. Makes sure the owner really wants it. Ryan Smith came to him and said, "I want a team, and I will pay whatever it is"

[@PanPanOB]

When he said he hates the media he wasn’t hiding his true feelings. The entire thing was awkward

[@matthewanderson9754]

F*ck sake give quebec back the nords! Actually a city and surrounding area that contributes to hockey!!!

[@Revkor]

I hear the issue isd opulation and the canadian buck

[@Habebandebardown]

​@@RevkorQc had 2 mil ppl in a 2h drive and 9 in the province its not a problem

[@kevinvanmeter2264]

How about a team in New Orleans?

[@dublinpub5363]

Fire Bettman!!!

[@danielleroux6967]

the league needs to be on the arizona owners side theyre essentially making him sell the team and they would not win that in court if he wanted to sue them

[@DD666789]

Arizona has 2 or 3 times the population of Utah.

[@Nay-kp6uu]

I won't blame Bettman for our woes like our Canadian friends like to do. There's one person, actually multiple, to blame for me losing my team.

[@Flaris]

If Bettman bent over backwards for Canadian teams like he did for Arizona people might agree with you.

[@dsarmy1]

I blame Meruelo. The NHL has given so many chances. This team has had so many owners and this owner has not been a good steward either. I give him credit for trying but he just isn’t good at ownership of a major sports franchise.

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

@@FlarisBent over backwards doesn’t even begin to describe it. Bettman practically sacrificed the rest of the league to keep Arizona afloat.

[@Nay-kp6uu]

​@MaxwellAerialPhotography No more afloat. You got what you wanted. Jets came back. You weren't rooting for success but for failure. That's what makes you happy. And you'll still whine about not another team in Canada.

[@pomerlain8924]

​@@Nay-kp6uu No people are pissed that that Arizona got so many chances, to the point of being moved to a college arena, while the original Jets, Nordiques and Whalers never got the same chances. And it is Bettman's fault. The Yotes never turned a profit in 28 years. 28. What competent business man is going to keep investing in a money pit for that long. And then Bettman finds a shady owner to buy the Coyotes that doesn't pay his rent on the arena in Glendale, which winds up getting the team kicked out of an NHL arena, and then doesn't pay hotel fees for the team. And Bettman allowed the Coyotes to play in a college arena with no actual plan on a new building. Just a bunch of proposals. And it's also pathetic how Bettman wants to give this owner another chance, while Quebec City has an ownership group and a new modern arena built and waiting.

[@grxygxds]

Lawson Crouse is my fav player sad to see him go hopefully utah appreciates him.

[@IamMedicine]

Bringing hockey to cities that don't know what a puck is totally wrong. Bring it back to Quebec.

[@whitegd4100]

If they keep expanding, hockey will be for everyone because literally everyone’s gonna play in the NHL and the average salary will be oh 50k

[@johndcornell6341]

Too many teams in the NHL already...the Canadian teams need to pull out of the league and take the Stanley Cup with them

[@Gallalad1]

In news that shocks nobody a sun belt team gets a bunch of exceptions and waivers that no other team would get. Fucking Bettman

[@baconchee]

Hell have to give the 1bil back to get a team again.. but who the f would want him to be owner of a team out here again

[@user-zn3rs5po3d]

No. Let's not move a team to Quebec city where they've had a NHL arena ready to go for twenty years.

[@geraldpardieux5246]

if they were allowed to sell the franchise, surely they will have to pay for a new franchise.

[@CSNA_Gaming]

Eck, a man of many loves. Star Wars & Hockey. What a weirdo and a guy cut from a cloth similar to mine.

[@lelouchvibritannia4028]

He thinks Star Wars tech is superior to Halo tech, which is laughable and shows how uneducated he is.

[@odin13th76]

For me i hope he can get a team going again b4 time is up otherwise the og Winnipeg jets lineage dies

[@austanhall]

It's bs that the failure of arizona coyotes and if the build a rink they get a new team when if you put a team anywhere in canada they'd out sell arizona and even some of the other teams but Bateman won't bring another team here

[@mrvroom188]

What about Winnipeg?

[@JadedJet]

Alex with his beady little eyes and he fills your mind with lies

[@eyetineetee]

Kadri

[@Higsby100]

NHL still thinks that arizona is there way into that region. Guess they are trying to keep it in their back pocket.

[@rudyando]

I dont understand the math. AZ owner gets $1B - does he pay tax on that? And how much? Lets say he keeps $750M of that, does he have to find another $250M to give the NHL a billion? Or is the NHL going to hold this money for the time being?

[@dak3031]

I don't like further expansion of the league. with 4 divisions and each division getting 3 guaranteed playoff spots, adding an extra team or two would just mathematically just make it harder for teams in those 1 or 2 divisions to make the playoffs. And I don't think adding 4 teams to balance it out is the answer either as each expansion just dilutes the talent pool of the NHL more. I think the NHL is in a decent spot as it is if not maybe a little too big and I don't think endless expansion before growing the game more is the answer.

[@ericscott9029]

Well if there are more teams, what about a similar round robin like the NBA Play-Ins where the 10th and 9th seeds have a shot if they win two games?

[@dak3031]

@@ericscott9029I don't like that either as it cheapens the regular season. Like sure it would feel good to see those bubble teams able to play hockey in May, but them getting there not because they beat out the competition but because they just let more teams into the playoffs isn't the right way to do it. Again I think the current format is a good balance of difficult to get in while still letting enough teams in for the playoffs to be interesting.

[@ericscott9029]

@@dak3031 Oh no the 9th and 10th seeds definitely end up beating their competition and in turn it allows for more basketball to be watched and played. Only issue is you often have below .500 teams becoming #9 and #10 seeds in the NBA and if they somehow win and beat the #7 and #8 seeds they become the #7/#8 seeds and get paired against #1 and #2 seeds which is nuts.

[@pomerlain8924]

​@@ericscott9029The Eastern Conference playoff race this year was a lot better than any play-in would be, as it took until game 82 to decide who would make the playoffs.

[@drumswest5035]

Too many teams already, North America is a big continent and travel is brutal. Playoffs should be best of 5 not 7, the playoff season is too long but money talks i guess

[@c95w13]

He has to pay back the 1 billion to get back in

[@dougosullivan7111]

This is going to be funny, it's going to be hard to sign players to play and live in a city with a population of under 200,000, and there won't be an arena built in Arizona, and the league will start losing money from Utah cause fans are going to lose interest, who is going to support a team that consistently near the bottom of the league year after year. The new battle will be for who is the biggest joke in the league, the Columbus Blue Jackets or Utah

[@Revkor]

I think SLC will be a mistake. too many teams in one area just look at oakland

[@someloser2847]

Why couldn’t the coyotes have been an expansion team? At least this mess wouldn’t have screwed Winnipeg

[@nickchristoforou7850]

Winnipeg wasn't viable, still might not be.

[@JM_Solo]

@@nickchristoforou7850funny. They’ve had one of the most successful seasons in franchise history this season. You’re a casual and it shows.

[@Reider242]

34 better be quebec city

[@moonsofneptune9306]

Utah does not deserve a hockey team, we need more Canadian teams... this league is a farce.

[@rasalghul8195]

Failure !

[@6Heavy6Metal6]

Ownership failed this team, not the fans. If we had an owner who actually gave a damn and was invested this wouldnt be a topic.

[@kindatoxic1474]

As an Arizona fan shutup. How many owners can we have before we realize it’s a fan/local position issue. If we had shown up at Glendale or passed the vote for a FREE arena this never happens. I’m so tired of everyone blaming Alex when he did try and so did Bettman.

[@jasonbeneke4710]

This is getting out of hand. U can't keep expanding while expecting the quality of the product to not suffer. Too many teams, too many games, too many worn out players come post season for a post season that itself goes on ridiculously too long. Same problem with baseball. We need _better,_ not more. But, as usual, it's greed driving these endless expansions.

[@BM_2002]

Bettman was the only reason the Coyotes stayed longer than they should've. I'm glad that shit stain of a team is gone.

[@nicorobin5978]

Imagine being this uninformed.

[@shawklan27]

Stay classy douche

[@inconnu4961]

@@nicorobin5978 I'm pretty sure this is what EVERYONE outside of Arizona believes! Bettman was hell-bent to keep hockey in Hell (Arizona), no matter how little most people wanted it! if you have a different fantasy, share it with us, Homer.

[@nicorobin5978]

@@inconnu4961 I don't even live in Arizona, genius. If you want the reality, educate yourself. It's not my job. Look up how Meruelo refused to pay bills and how he strung the state along with the land appraisal, and how the move to Glendale affected things, and all the other garbage the franchise and its fans had to deal with. I know it's easier to just parrot the same garbage everyone else says, but it doesn't make you correct.

[@JM_Solo]

They should’ve gone back to Winnipeg in 2010 instead of the fucking Atlanta team that was never BANKRUPT - unlike Arizona.

[@notfastenough1726]

First after bots

[@christinesevigny6980]

Bettman needs to go. Quebec built their arena years ago and still Bettman will not allow a team in Quebec City. UTAH????? Do they even have an arena capable enough to hold at least 20,000 people? Bettman HATES CANADA!

[@mrvroom188]

They are about to host a second Winter Olympics, it really isn’t surprising

[@Gpsrater5]

We deserve a team more than you do you

[@daytonshuflita2201]

He has to pay a billion to get it back

[@Chris-uz5dp]

The NHL, the biggest organized pyramid scheme ever. Increase revenues by just having more and more expansion fees 😂😂😂

[@Implicit_Truth]

This is not what a pyramid scheme is.

[@greatsoutherntrendkill8117]

The NFL has entered the chat

[@DonKnight-qi4tu]

Good bye to the Arizona Cash Cow franchise. The owner should hand over the billion dollars to the rest of the NHL, that paid for their existence for 2 and a half decades.

[@drifter5682]

You.mean the team owners get a big boost in there bank accounts

[@thelastdefenderofcamelot5623]

I always hated the name. Should be wolves.

[@Thedude4777-gh1lj]

So glad Arizona is gone worst market the NHL has been in since Atlanta or Vegas

[@jeremyswanson6513]

I'm really bummed out Detroit missed the playoffs. Please Rangers DESTROY Washington.

[@shanewilson8728]

Good riddance to the Arizona Coyotes. Fan support was never there in Phoenix. The best business decision was to allow Arizona Coyotes to relocate to Salt Lake City. Fans around the league won't miss the Arizona Coyotes, so the feeling is mutual.

[@Revkor]

but may not be a good move though. so many teams there they can run into issues