Coach David Quinn and the San Jose Sharks were only in Salt Lake City for a few hours in October when they played at the Delta Center for a preseason game against the Los Angeles Kings.
But in the short time he was there, Quinn sure got the impression the city was ready to host an NHL team.
“To me, when you left there, you felt this would be a great place to have an NHL franchise,” Quinn said Thursday. “You just felt the excitement in the building and around the arena.”
Indications are the Sharks could be back in Salt Lake City as soon as this fall, with the NHL, per multiple reports, working on one contingency plan that would have the Arizona Coyotes relocate to Utah in time for next season.
While nothing has been finalized, an announcement from the league could come later this month, per ESPN and other outlets.
Daily Faceoff first reported Wednesday that the league is preparing two schedules for next season, one with the Coyotes in Arizona, playing at 4,600-seat Mullett Arena in Tempe, and the other with the franchise at the Delta Center in downtown Salt Lake City.
The Coyotes are hoping to win a bid for a 110-acre parcel of land in north Phoenix on which they want to build a 17,000-seat arena as part of a greater entertainment district. The land has been appraised at $68.5 million, and the auction is set to take place in late June.
If all goes well and the Coyotes win the auction, they could open the arena in the fall of 2027. However, reports have indicated the NHL — and especially the NHL Players’ Association — are wary of having the team spend three more seasons at tiny Mullett Arena, where the primary tenant is the Arizona State men’s hockey team.
This is already the Coyotes’ second year inside the college arena, which has, by far, the smallest seating capacity in the NHL.
“When you first go, it’s kind of cool,” Quinn said of Mullett Arena. “But obviously in the National Hockey League, you want to be in buildings that you get used to playing in in the National Hockey League.
“I can’t speak to (the NHLPA’s concerns). Our focus here is coaching our team and we’ll continue to move forward here as an organization. But obviously, from a financial standpoint, the PA feels the way they do and I certainly understand it.”
In a game billed as the Frozen Fury, the Sharks lost to the Kings 4-3 in overtime on Oct. 5, as Alexander Barabanov, Mike Hoffman, and Thomas Bordeleau all scored, with Bordeleau’s goal coming on a highlight-reel assist from William Eklund.
The game was played before a rowdy crowd of 9,126, and most seemed to enjoy the bellicosity between the two teams, as 17 penalties were called, including 10 in the final minute of the third period.
Seating capacity for the game that night at the Delta Center, home of the Utah Jazz that is mainly built for basketball, was 10,420, which would be the smallest in the NHL if relocation happens. Other reports indicate that the capacity for hockey at the building, which opened in 1991, would be around 14,000.
However, Ryan Smith, CEO of the Smith Entertainment Group, which owns the Jazz and MLS franchise Real Salt Lake, and wants to bring an NHL team to Utah, said the Delta Center would just be a temporary home and that a new arena for hockey would be constructed. Salt Lake City is bidding for the 2034 Winter Olympics.
There has been speculation that if the franchise moves to Salt Lake City, after the league buys the team from Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo, the Phoenix area would become an attractive market for an NHL expansion team.
Whether Meruelo would own that team, if he can get his new arena built in north Phoenix, is unclear.
“It was a situation I think the NHL should and would look long and hard at and if the rumors are true, I think it’d be a great situation,” Quinn said of having an NHL team in Salt Lake City. “But I also believe there’s a great situation for hockey to thrive in Arizona.”
KUNIN TO WORLDS: Sharks forward Luke Kunin will be joining Team USA for the IIHF World Championships next month in Czechia.
The Missouri native, who had 17 points in 73 games for the Sharks this season before Thursday’s game in Seattle, has represented the U.S. multiple times before, including at the 2017 World Juniors when the Americans won gold. He also played in the 2019 World Championships.
“It’s a great opportunity for him,” Quinn said of Kunin. “With the World Cup around the corner and the Olympics, I think we’re going to get a lot more yesses than we have over the last five or six years. From the names I see that have already committed, it’s going to be predominantly an NHL team.”