The Arizona Coyotes are no longer in business as Ryan Smith bought the franchise and will see them pack up for Utah. This squad has gone through a lot and has amassed a dedicated fan base during its stay. Now, it will see a new environment where avid spectators of the Utah Jazz get to cheer for another squad in one of the major sports leagues, the NHL. No other star was more excited to welcome the new team than Lauri Markkanen.
The Jazz star could not contain his excitement about the new NHL team. He particularly liked the fact that more Fins would be heading to Utah to play for one of the major North American leagues.
“Let’s go!! Excited for hockey in Utah, the atmosphere was already crazy!” Lauri Markkanen wrote.
He was not the only person who was excited when Ryan Smith bought the Coyotes. Other massive fans of hockey also celebrated the fact that they would get to root for a local team.
“This crowd is insane. It feels like a Jazz playoff game. Utah is NHL country now,” were just some of the energetic sentiments that rocked Salt Lake City.
Some members of the Coyotes and Jazz faithful already had big expectations too, “3 thoughts from tonight: 1. Utah will have one of the loudest fanbases in the NHL. 2. Spicy Tuna aka Liam O'Brien will be a fan favorite. 3. GM Bill Armstrong's speech made me want to run through a wall. That dude is the real deal LETS GO UTAH.”
Other fans have also now been conflicted that their team has a local squad, “I'm stoked to have an NHL team in Utah. But now that it's official, I’m having a fan crisis. I’m not sure my Avalanche can take a back seat. Been a fan since I was 12.”
Parallels between the Jazz and Coyotes
The Jazz have been the main team of Utah for a long while now. They saw most of their success in the 1990s when Karl Malone and John Stockton ran the show. The same story goes for the Coyotes. This franchise had quite a historic run from the 1980s all the way to 2002. Even their move from Winnipeg to Phoenix could not stop their long-standing postseason streak.
However, the similarities did not just end there. Both the Jazz and Coyotes have not come close to winning it all since their run at the turn of the millennium. The duo of Malone and Stockton disbanded after getting demolished by Michael Jordan every single year. The Coyotes, who were the Winnipeg Jets back then, have also never gotten close to the Stanley Cup. The closest they have ever been was their Division championship back in 2012.
Both squads have experienced some sort of success in the past half-decade. The Jazz have found themselves steadily crawling back into playoff contention. Meanwhile, the Coyotes crept into the postseason with a 33-win record back in 2020.
These two franchises are now bonded with an absolutely lovely fanbase because of Ryan Smith.
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