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

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 the politicians who refused to support and fight for the franchise. Sadness at the thought of this rising team and these beloved personalities achieving success in another city.

As soon as the news conference ended at Delta Center, ESPN went live from the plaza with a GameDay-style set for the NHL’s triple-header of games with host Steve Levy and analysts Mark Messier and PK Subban.

It was a party.

There was live music. There were free games. There was UHC merchandise. There were food trucks and a beer garden. There was a flyover of jets, and there were big screens on the plaza for those who could not secure tickets to the team’s first NHL game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

“If you’re not excited to root for this team,” Ryan Smith said, “I don’t know if sports is for you.”

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In Arizona, the vibe was more like a funeral.

On the one hand, it was rejuvenating to see how much the team had ignited Salt Lake City. It was encouraging to hear how supportive the Smith ownership group has been of the team — a point underscored by GM Bill Armstrong, by coach André Tourigny, by the trainers, by the support staff and by players such Clayton Keller, Lawson Crouse, Dylan Guenther, Logan Cooley and Sean Durzi.

As one hockey ops guy put it: “We keep asking for things and so far they haven’t said ‘no.'”

On the other hand, it reminded you what might have been in Arizona had the same sort of owner come along in the past 25 years. You wondered what might have been if Richard Burke hadn’t sold the team. You wondered what might have been if Steve Ellman had stuck with Scottsdale instead of moving to Glendale to build his precious mall.

You wondered what might have been if IceArizona had been as concerned with its product as it was with its profit. You wondered what might have been if Andy Barroway had possessed anywhere close to the money that the league told us he did. You wondered what might have been if Alex Meruelo hadn’t burned every bridge in town through bullying tactics, and then short-changed the Tempe campaign when he was so close to the perfect arena set-up.

The scene inside Delta Center took me back to 1996 when the Coyotes first arrived from Winnipeg. The energy I felt on Tuesday was just like the energy I felt at America West Arena.

Utahns didn’t care about any of the shortcomings of the arena or a still developing team. They didn’t care that the team didn’t have a name, or that its jerseys didn’t have a logo. They just wanted to watch their new team. They just wanted to watch NHL hockey.

It reminded you of what sports can be when they are freed from the clutches of greed, incompetence and ego, but also from the weight of the past.

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As I checked out the Delta Center’s obstructed-view seats, it reminded me of the guy sitting in the front row of the flawed north end at AWA for the Coyotes’ first home game — back in the day when they didn’t have nets surrounding the rink to protect fans. I remember his baseball mitt and his proclamation: ‘I’m gonna catch me a puck.” I remember thinking he had no idea of the mortal danger in which he had placed himself.

I didn’t want to rain on his parade that day, and I didn’t want to rain on Utah’s parade on Tuesday. I wanted them to enjoy the game. I wanted them to enjoy their first win. I wanted them to enjoy the arrival of their new team, but as I watched, I couldn’t stop thinking about the thousands of Coyotes fans back home who were still grieving, and for whom this game undoubtedly created even more pain. 

In truth, this game was hard to witness in person. I wanted this trip to be therapeutic. I wanted to move past the pain of losing a team in which I had invested so much sweat equity, and with which I had developed so many relationships. I wanted the joy of a new fan base and the long-deserved happiness of the people on this team to be enough for me — and for all of us.

But life isn’t that simple. Neither is healing.

Until Coyotes fans get what they deserve for nearly 30 years of commitment and suffering, this story just won’t feel complete.

Until I can write them a happy ending, this story will never be right.

Top photo of players being introduced at Utah’s home opener via Getty Images

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