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Utah's first game a gut-wrenching reminder of what could have been for Coyotes in Arizona

Craig Morgan Avatar
October 9, 2024
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - OCTOBER 08: The Utah Hockey Club are introduced prior to playing against the Chicago Blackhawks at Delta Center on October 08, 2024 in Salt Lake City, Utah. This game is the first for the franchise in Utah following their relocation from Arizona. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

SALT LAKE CITY — Watching the Utah Hockey Club's home opener unfold was like living in a dual reality. Those realities could not have been more dissimilar.
On the northern end of that reality, politicians from both sides of the aisle turned out to celebrate the arrival of their new team. Business leaders, community leaders and fans were in attendance when owners Ryan and Ashley Smith joined NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on stage for a celebratory news conference on the plaza outside Delta Center.
Six hundred and fifty miles to the south, Coyotes fans watched the festivities with a mixture of sadness and anger. Anger at the string of ownership groups that authored Arizona's demise. Anger at t...

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