Darrell Davis: Typical NHL hushed reactions to Salt Lake City Coyotes

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CALGARY — Everyone in hockey is talking about the Arizona Coyotes moving to Salt Lake City.

Everyone, that is, except the Coyotes. It’s downright comical how the lowly NHL franchise has tried to censor any discussions about the franchise’s upcoming move.

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On its recent Western Canada road swing, Arizona’s players weren’t made available to the media before games in Vancouver or Edmonton and the Coyotes’ dressing room was off-limits following two road victories.

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Following a 6-5 loss to the Calgary Flames inside the Scotiabank Saddledome, a handful of reporters were kept away from the Coyotes until veteran centre Alex Kerfoot was brought outside the dressing room to do an interview for the team’s in-house telecast. Credit the interviewer for asking a situational question, with vague undertones, that Kerfoot answered honestly.

“There’s lots of stuff going around the league with every team there,” said Kerfoot. “Always distractions, always stuff that’s going on in people’s minds. So this is no different.

“Any games together, there’s no difference. Just gotta keep being professionals there, go about your business and try to be a team, to keep building.”

The interview was quickly shut down and Coyotes head coach André Tourigny was brought before the TV camera. Tourigny spoke about his team’s leadership, heading home for Wednesday’s regular-season finale against the Edmonton Oilers inside miniscule (and embarrassing), 5,000-seat Mullett Arena. Tourigny was suddenly, unexpectedly asked something different by a real reporter:

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“How do you think the organization has handled this whole situation?”

Tourigny looked at him, paused and said, “Game-only related questions.” It sounded like Tourigny also said, “Sorry.”

In Gary Bettman’s NHL they pretend something isn’t happening until it happens.

Small crowds in Winnipeg? No concerns according to the NHL commissioner, until the Jets owner finally said the team isn’t viable with its dwindling attendance.

Do NHL players gamble? Nope, until Shane Pinto missed half the Ottawa Senators season for violating the league’s wagering rules.

There was no sexual assault involving a Chicago Blackhawks player and a video coach, until a civil lawsuit was filed and the commissioner fined the franchise $2 million.

What about NHL players suffering CTE? Not a chance and let’s wait for the science to explain everything, the NHL bigwigs said repeatedly even though science has proven hockey fighters are susceptible and have suffered from brain damage.

There’s no problem keeping an NHL team in Arizona, until the franchise can’t find or build a suitable arena and gets forced to move.

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With Wednesday’s game looking to be the finale for the Arizona Coyotes, the league’s worst owner has been virtually invisible while his Tempe, Ariz.-based franchise is reportedly being sold to Ryan Smith, the well-respected owner of the NBA’s Utah Jazz. Smith plans to move the Coyotes to Salt Lake City next season.

Alex Meruelo, who took ownership in 2019 of a Coyotes franchise that had once filed for bankruptcy, finally issued a statement promising to “address these issues as soon as I am able to speak on the topics.”

Sounds like he’s being gagged, too.

Meruelo’s financial snafus have evidently forced the NHL to take unwanted action. Bettman has remained particularly loyal to having an Arizona franchise, but according to TSN insider Chris Johnston the NHL will be paying Meruelo $1 billion for the Coyotes, more than double what he paid for them, and flip them to Smith for $1.2 billion so they can play in a mid-sized arena next season in Utah.

Meruelo has reportedly been assured he can pay $1 billion for an Arizona expansion franchise in the next five years.

It’s understandable that, in the middle of a business deal, details may be sketchy. And of course the NHL wants it completed before its playoffs start this weekend, when the league craves everyone’s attention.

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But this is much more than a business story.

Besides players and coaches, the Coyotes employ people to handle everything from tickets to merchandise to medical treatment to hockey operations to community relations to office cleanup. While Johnston’s story indicated the employees could be transferred from Arizona to Utah, that doesn’t mean everyone is happy or excited about the move.

What do they think? What do the players think about becoming the Salt Lake City Coyotes? They’re not going to ruin the deal. Let them talk.

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