Multiple NHL Teams Looking At Salt Lake For AHL Affiliate

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A few years ago, Las Vegas Golden Knights majority owner Bill Foley said he wanted the Knight’s AHL affiliate to be in Salt Lake City, that want may soon come to fruition.

“Obviously, we want to put our affiliate close by where it’s convenient to get to Las Vegas,” Foley in a 2016 interview with the Las Vegas Journal Review. “There are some good options available to us, and we’re looking at what works best.”

According to the Las Vegas Journal Review, Salt Lake City, Fresno and Reno were all options for Foley. Of the options, Salt Lake has the highest population.

It makes perfect sense. The Maverik Center, where the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL play, holds over 12,000 people and averaged around 5,000 fans per game for the past several seasons.

Salt Lake is a quick flight to Vegas and, with enough notice, a player could take a morning practice in Salt Lake and be in Vegas in time for warmups.

To be continued. 😤#WeTheGrizz #GoGrizzGo 🐻🏒 pic.twitter.com/2JuUwYUXCT

— Utah Grizzlies (@UtahGrizzlies) November 4, 2019

The AHL has teams in California and Colorado currently and rumors of a team in Boise joining the league are getting hotter.

The Grizzlies were first contacted in 2016 about the possibility but a deal didn’t happen. We don’t know for sure why a deal wasn’t reached. It could be that there is a large fee to exit the ECHL (around seven figures).

It could also be that they agreed to talk about it again when the Knights had enough players to field an entire team. Right now they share the Chicago Wolves with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Through my local hockey connections, I’ve even seen some mock-up logos with a Golden Eagle looking like the Knights logo, in Knights colors.

Last year, at least one more NHL team reached out to the Grizzlies to work something out and again – no deal.

Rumor has it, these NHL teams then reached out to Vivint SmartHome Arena to get the ball (or puck) rolling on an AHL team.

Vivint proved it can host hockey with the Salt Lake Shootout, a preseason game played by the Vancouver Canucks and LA Kings, and now has improved sightlines for hockey, meaning the crowd can follow the puck and the action.

It's baaaack! The LA Kings will face-off against the @Canucks at the Salt Lake Shootout on September 21.

Get your tickets now:
🎟 https://t.co/i8PxudMmK8 pic.twitter.com/HPSSne6HBJ

— LA Kings (@LAKings) June 6, 2019

When you figure that only 4,000 to maybe 10,000 seats would be needed, sightlines shouldn’t be an issue. The issue could be a full-time locker room and work-out facility for the teams.

As I was talking to the Chief Operating Officer for one of these NHL teams, I told him of the several other options for a practice rink, with work-out facilities connected or close by. Hearing that seemed to perk his interest in Salt Lake even more.

Why is the AHL a big deal?

The benefits of having an AHL team are multifaceted and run deep into a community. Here are a few.

1- Seeing players on your home team one night and in the NHL the next weekend creates a buzz around your home team. The draft becomes more important because you know the names that get called will most likely spend a season or two in the minors, touted draft picks usually mean more ticket sales. The interest in hockey grows.

2- More tickets, more advertising and higher-paid athletes all contribute to the local economy. The interest in hockey grows.

3- NHL money trickles down to youth programs. The Utah Grizzlies do a lot for local youth hockey. Now, imagine how much would be done with more budget. The interest in hockey grows.

Salt Lake is, without a doubt, an AHL market. I think the day is coming when we once again have AAA hockey, I’m just not sure which arena they’ll play in.

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Utah Puck Report is hosted by hockey insider and former pro goalie, Jay Stevens. From interviews with NHL hall of famers to updates on Utahns in the NFL – you’ll find it all on this podcast. Subscribe wherever you find podcasts for on sports.ksl.com.