Utah: over 20,000 deposits for season tickets already made

But now that the Coyotes players will be playing in Utah (in Utah? in Utah? in Utah?), that doesn’t mean all is well in the best of all possible worlds, just like that.

Yes, on paper, the demand is there and that’s the fun of it. Seeing 20,000 deposits for season tickets since yesterday wouldn’t have been possible if the club had stayed in Arizona, that’s for sure…

But at the same time, there are challenges that come with the arrival of hockey there.

One of the first challenges will be to find a name for the club. It’s possible that the team will start without a name (like a private label product at the grocery store) to take the time to get things right.

What do these challenges mean?

It means that even if everything looks good on paper and the NHL is right to be “very happy” to see hockey come to Salt Lake City, there’s still work to be done.

This morning, on BPM Sports Radio, Renaud Lavoie mentioned that there was still a long way to go before the start of the next hockey season.

After all, aside from the name, the club still doesn’t have a locker room in its 12,000-seat arena for hockey.

There will be renovations to bring it up to 14,000 (which is still small) shortly before a new arena is built… but we all know that in Quebec City, that would have been turnkey.

Lavoie, who isn ‘t closing the door on a Nordiques comeback if the NHL goes up to 36 clubs, believes there’s still a lot of work to be done before the first game next October.

In Quebec City, your problem is solved. In Utah, it’s just beginning. – Renaud Lavoie

Using East and West to talk about Quebec City’s absence no longer makes sense. If we really had to move the Coyotes quickly, Quebec City was the most logical option because of the arena.

But we all know that’s not how it works.

In Brief

– News from the Rocket.

– Good news: he’s skating.

– Connor Ingram is looking forward to playing in SLC. [ NHL]

– Check it out.

– Four organizations in the playoffs have never tasted the Stanley Cup.