The Utah Hockey Club, if you’re curious to know, does not have the same man who headed up the Arizona Coyotes leading the team. That individual, Alex Meruelo, instead sold the franchise’s personnel to another individual who, in turn, started up an expansion franchise.
Why? Because Meruelo initially wanted to keep the Coyotes/original Winnipeg Jets history, name, colors, logos, and records for a potential new franchise. This, in and of itself, is quite different from what we saw nearly 30 years ago with the Cleveland Browns in the NFL, whose owner, Art Modell, formed his own franchise in Baltimore (the Ravens) that started play in 1996.
Instead, Meruelo sold team assets to Ryan Smith, who was already well-known in Salt Lake City, having owned the Utah Jazz of the NBA since 2020. Smith and his group also co-own Real Salt Lake of the MLS, and the NWSL’s Utah Royals, so you can say he’s a prominent sports figure in the state.
Utah Hockey Club’s owner is an up-and-comer in the pro sports world
Smith’s interest in bringing a pro hockey team to Utah is nothing new, as there have been rumblings about his interest in getting a team to the state for a while. As timing and circumstance had it, it was roughly the same time that the Coyotes were forced to set up shop in Mullett Arena, and it culminated with the team and staff heading to Utah.
With Smith in charge, it should be welcoming for Utah sports fans as someone involved with the sporting scene in the state capital means that he should ultimately become a high-profile owner. It should also imply stability, something we never saw with the Coyotes, regardless of who owned the team.
Utah, you can say, as the Coyotes “spiritual successor,” they could end up as the “Baltimore Ravens” of the NHL if they’re successful early, much like Baltimore was in their first four seasons in Maryland. If that’s the case, three decades from now, Salt Lake City could boast a young but historically good franchise, and they can thank Smith for being instrumental in taking a chance on what was left of one of the league’s most lackluster franchises.