SALT LAKE CITY — Following last week's official request to bring the NHL to Utah, one report claims the possibility of top-level professional hockey in Salt Lake City "is starting to feel inevitable."
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ESPNs Emily Kaplan wrote that inevitability is the sense she's getting from around the NHL, mainly due to the relationship between league commissioner Gary Bettman and Jazz owner Ryan Smith, who's looking to add another pro franchise to his growing portfolio.
According to Kaplan, a current NHL owner believes the timing of Smith's letter asking the league to begin the expansion process coincides with Bettman's desire to "control" the narrative.
"It's clear this is someone that Gary trusts and is interested in doing business with," the unidentified owner told Kaplan.
The ESPN report highlighted a major advantage of Salt Lake City's pitch as being its availability to host a team as early as next season at the Delta Center. With the Arizona Coyotes still searching for a permanent arena to call home, its possible the NHL could look north if a solution can't be found in the Phoenix area.
Smith told Kaplan that his goal "is NHL in Utah" and doesn't care if it's an expansion team or an existing franchise on the move. He added that there's more than enough room to find a permanent home for a NHL in the Beehive State.
"We do own the Delta Center, so that plays a little in our advantage, because we're going to own that either way," Smith said. "But we can operate in two arenas; there's definitely the ability to do that here. We're rolling. I think we've got good options there. Utah is what I would call friendly for business. I think that's what's helped us create a tech ecosystem."
In addition, Kaplan said that she had spoken with current NHL players who say Utah is an "exciting potential location" for a team.
