I feel like the NHL did right by us fans, as best they could. The gatekeepers were the only interested parties, imo. Now Glendale? NHL did them wrong as wrong can be. I also despised uncle Gary saying the Yotes were not sustainable in Glendale, that was the beginning of the final knell. I mean, even if they weren't sustainable there, you keep your mouth SHUT.
I can't say I'm super happy with Gary.
People will say that he gave us infinite chances, we got more leeway than any other franchise would, that if we were a small town Canadian Market we would have been moved 10 years ago and should have been moved 10 years ago.
But I find myself looking at the last time a team moved.
13 years.
What has changed since 2011?
A whole hell of a lot. Billionaires and the owners have gotten inmeasurably wealthier. There's been more of them than ever, and those already established have made more than ever. The NHL has gained far more teams than they've lost. And that includes teams that have similar climates and interest as us.
Gary has repeatedly said that the league can afford to give a lot more leeway with teams. And I would tend to agree, At the very least, even if he has been lying the entire time, teams are worth a lot more than what they were. The league measures sales in billions and not millions now. And revenue too- in 2011 the league reportedly made 3.3 billion in HRR. We're reportedly up to nearly double that.
So I look at the situation the league is in, and I go...hmm...seems like they shouldn't care much about even a few hundred million in lost revenue if it's going to be an investment in the future.
And then I look at what Gary has publicly said. He approached Meruelo and asked him to sell. Then he spent weeks convincing Meruelo to sell by...saying that it wasn't fair to the players to play in such a small arena?
He almost singlehandedly (not that Meruelo needed much help) ruined the relationship with Glendale.
Did Gary save us in the past? Maybe. We don't really know. No doubt he was an advocate for hockey in the desert. I'm starting to wonder how much of what Gary has had come out of his lips came from himself, or just came from the owners in general?
What I do know is that he's majorly responsible for Meruelo selling the team.
That doesn't sound much like someone who would give us infinite chances and wants hockey in Arizona just as much as any fan of the team and is willing to do what it takes to get it.
That sounds like someone doing the same thing Meruelo did- weighing their options and choosing the best option for themselves while they talk out of the side of their mouth about how committed they are to hockey in the desert.