Who’s excited about Salt Lake City getting an NHL team? Well, not the Canadians.
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Speculation has swirled hard for the past couple of days about Salt Lake City being the new home to the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, but as ESPN reports, the move is actually imminent.
Sounds like a cause for celebration, right? Well, not if you’re living in another city that’s been lobbying for an NHL expansion team. And in particular, if that city is Canadian.
READ: Arizona Coyotes players get word they’re moving to Utah
According to a report in The Hockey News, Salt Lake’s victory is Quebec City’s heartache. You might think that Arizonans would be first in line for that heartache, but apparently the wounds run deep regarding Canadian snubs from the NHL.
“Seriously, Salt Lake City? What does that city have that Quebec City doesn’t?” stated Michael Traikos in The Hockey News. “…That’s the only reason why a picturesque city of about 204,000 residents in Utah of all places has been chosen ahead of Quebec City, which has more than double the population, as well as an NHL-sized rink and a hockey-starved fan base that used to cheer on the Nordiques.”
Putting aside the idea that the Salt Lake City metropolitan area is actually home to over 1.25 million residents, Traikos does have one point. (EDITOR’S NOTE: We choose to ignore the term “of all places.”) The last time a Canadian expansion was announced was 1992, when the Ottawa Senators were re-added to the league. (They had previously played in the NHL from 1917 to 1934.) The next seven teams to be added to the roster have all been American.
It should be pointed out that Canada did regain a team it had lost when the Winnipeg Jets moved north from Atlanta, Ga., in 2011.
Currently, the NHL has 32 teams in the U.S. and Canada. Only seven are Canadian, however.
Traikos said the last time Canada was up for a team was 2016, but the “fluctuating Canadian dollar” and a “geographical imbalance” were given as reasons that Las Vegas got a team instead of Quebec City.
Stats at QuantHockey.com show that no matter the city they’re playing in, 41% of the NHL’s players are Canadian-born, with Americans only making up 28% of players.
Of the 23 men currently listed on the Arizona Coyotes’ roster, 11 are Canadian natives.
Perhaps Salt Lake City will give Canada’s sons — and players from all nations — a great home away from home. Of all places.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.
