Utah hopes to follow in the steps of other NHL teams that moved and found success

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah Hockey Club management insists it's an expansion team and, as far as the NHL is concerned and the way records will be kept, that's true.

But in a more practical sense, Utah is a relocated franchise.

It's mostly the same team that took the ice last season as the Arizona Coyotes with the same head coach and the same general manager.

Utah opens its first season in Salt Lake City on Tuesday night against the Chicago Blackhawks.

If previous relocated franchises are a guide, Utah also fits the definition because it could be on the verge of becoming an annual playoff contender given its core of young players. History has been kind to other teams that have changed cities, with many clubs winning right away and even capturing championships not long after arriving in their new homes.

“I think it's just been when (teams have) moved, they've generally been bought by bigger, richer organizations that can support them better than where they were,” said award-winning hockey historian Eric Zweig, who has authored several books on the NHL. "Arizona wasn't always terrible when they first got there. But they never really had stable ownership.

“There aren't many organizations in the NHL outside of the Coyotes that aren't run by wealthy companies anymore. I mean, it's almost impossible not to.”

Ryan and Ashley Smith, who head up the Smith Entertainment Group, own the UHC as well as the Utah Jazz and are power players in a downtown Salt Lake City redevelopment project.

They bought the club from Alex Meruelo, who tried and failed to find a new arena in the Phoenix area. The Coyotes played their final two seasons at Arizona State University's arena before being sold, with the NHL agreeing that Meruelo could retain the Coyotes nickname and intellectual properties in case another team is awarded to the area.

So Salt Lake got a relocated team disguised as an expansion franchise.

“It’s one of the fastest-growing markets in the country," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "It’s an affluent market. It’s a sports-centric market, particularly as it relates to winter sports. Ryan had been in touch with me for a couple years ‘selling’ — I use the word in quotes — Utah as a place that would be great for us.

"He made a lot of promises as to what he was going to get done, and everything they’ve needed to do, they’ve done and it’s been incredible. And remember: This all came about in like six weeks, including the fact that the lawyers were drafting documents that nobody had ever done before because this was kind of a hybrid transaction.”

One of the carryovers from Arizona, general manager Bill Armstrong, has been working on a slow build to make the roster not only competitive, but one that is capable of making deep runs in the postseason.

Utah might not be there yet, but Armstrong has put together a club that could at least challenge for a playoff spot. And given the often wide-open nature of the NHL postseason, Utah might be able to succeed sooner than later should it find a way into the playoffs.

No matter what happens this season, Armstrong has kept his eyes on the long term and trying to make sure any success is sustained.

Clayton Keller, the 26-year-old who last season led the Coyotes in scoring with 78 points, was named Utah's first captain. Armstrong supplemented the returning players with what should be an upgraded defense that included trading for two-time Stanley Cup champion Mikhail Sergachev, who is Keller's age.

“We're not locked into guys that are 35 years old for seven years,” Armstrong said. "We've got to let our group grow a little bit organically. There's still some stuff we have to go through before we can do that. There's going to be a point in time where you do go and add the big free agents down the stretch to kind of finish it off.

“But there's still more work with our young guys to grow.”

If Armstrong wants to use as a model other clubs that experienced significant success after changing scenery, he can look at these examples:

— After leaving Atlanta in 1980, the Flames made the playoffs 15 of their first 16 seasons in Calgary and won the Cup in 1989.

— The Minnesota North Stars became the Dallas Stars in 1993 and advanced to the playoffs in 12 of their first 14 seasons, winning the Cup in 1999.

— The Quebec Nordiques left for Denver in 1995 and were renamed the Colorado Avalanche. Thanks to trading former No. 1 overall draft pick Eric Lindros to the Philadelphia Flyers four years earlier, the Avalanche stockpiled enough talent to win the Cup in the first season in Colorado and again in 2001. Colorado made the playoffs its first 10 seasons.

— In 1997, the Harford Whalers went south to become the Carolina Hurricanes. They made the playoffs in three of their first four seasons, advanced to the Stanley Cup Final in 2002 and won it all in 2006.

Those results, of course, are not guarantees of future success and not every relocation has resulted in immediate success.

But the ex-Coyotes no longer find themselves in a college rink. They have a wealthy ownership group that already has taken steps to move the the franchise forward and a new fan base more than happy to welcome the team.

It's not a bad starting point whether it's called an expansion or relocated team.

“The players that played last year in Arizona are experiencing something — some for the first time — have never experienced in the NHL, so it’s great,” NHL Players Association executive Marty Walsh said. "The owner’s committed to making it a success, and I think it’s going to be great for the league.”

AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.

AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

FILE - Signs celebrating the awarding of a new NHL team to Utah are shown at the Delta Center Friday, April 19, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Anaheim Ducks center Mason McTavish, right, and Utah Hockey Club center Liam O'Brien, second from right, battle for the puck in front on goaltender Karel Vejmelka, left, during the first period of an NHL preseason hockey game, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Utah Hockey Club defenseman Sean Durzi (50) celebrates with Lawson Crouse, right, after scoring a goal during the second period of a pre-season NHL hockey game against the San Jose Sharks, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Utah Hockey Club general manager Bill Armstrong speaks during a interview at the new temporary practice facility, Sept. 17, 2024, in Kearns, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Utah Hockey Club general manager Bill Armstrong speaks during media day, Sept. 18, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

FILE - NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, left, and Ryan Smith, co-founder and chairman of Smith Entertainment Group, speak during a news conference Friday, April 19, 2024, in Salt Lake City about the move of the Arizona Coyotes franchise to Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

Members of the Utah Hockey Club development camp intrasquad skate during their scrimmage at the Delta Center, Friday, July 5, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Commemorations and protests unfolded across the world on Monday to mark the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, an assault that sparked a war that has devastated the Hamas-ruled Gaza strip, fueled bloodshed in other Mideast lands and stirred protests and divisions far away.

Those divisions were visible in New York, where a crowd gathered for an evening remembrance ceremony in Central Park even as pro-Palestinian protesters converged on a corner of the park less than a mile away.

Hamas militants' surprise cross-border attack last year killed about 1,200 people. Another 250 were taken hostage; around 100 remain in captivity, with many of them feared dead. The attack, on a major Jewish holiday, shattered Israelis’ sense of security and left the world facing the prospect of a major conflict in the Middle East.

“The unfathomable horrors I experienced that morning have transformed me, along with every single Israeli and every single Jew,” Natalie Sanandaji, one of the survivors from a music festival where the attackers killed hundreds, told the audience in Central Park.

Israel responded to the Oct. 7 attack by waging a war against Hamas in Gaza, where the fighting has killed over 41,000 people and displaced around 1.9 million. The conflict has spread in the region, where Israel also is fighting Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, facing escalating threats from Yemen's Houthi rebels and contending with a mounting conflict with Iran, which backs Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis.

The Hamas-Israel war also has spurred demonstrations and stirred tensions in many U.S. locales, including college campuses and major cities.

In New York, protesters spread a large Palestinian flag on a street near the New York Stock Exchange early Monday afternoon, while a smaller group of counterprotesters held an Israeli flag. The pro-Palestinian group grew to a blocks-long column as it marched through Manhattan streets, avenues and landmarks, at one point holding a banner that read “war begets war” on the steps of the New York Public Library.

Associated Press journalists saw several people being taken into police custody at various points in the march. Police said multiple arrests were made; no further information was immediately available.

While the protesters paused to conduct a Muslim evening prayer at the southwestern corner of Central Park, the parents of American-Israeli hostage Omer Neutra shared their anguish from the park's SummerStage venue.

“We would never have imagined we would still be standing here a whole year later, with no news of him," his mother, Orna Neutra, told hundreds of people at an event that drew New York’s governor, mayor, U.S. senators and other elected officials. Her son, a New York-born Israeli soldier, turns 23 next week.

At Philadelphia's Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, Ellie Solomon was among a group of high school students who viewed an exhibition about the Tribe of Nova music festival in Re’im, Israel, where over 360 were killed.

“I feel like that really could have been me there,” said Solomon, who attends The Pingry School in New Jersey. Many festival attendees were close to her age, she noted.

“It’s important for us to remember them and honor them because they didn’t deserve anything that happened to them," she added.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro also toured the exhibition. The Democratic governor said he hoped it gave visitors “an understanding of what really happened" and made people “more tolerant, a bit more understanding and more committed to finding peace in our society and peace across the globe.”

In Europe, where countries have sought to tamp down antisemitic and anti-Muslim sentiment, the German chancellery in Berlin was adorned Monday with a yellow ribbon commemorating the Israeli hostages. The names of the people killed and kidnapped were read out in front of the Brandenburg Gate.

In Hamburg, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Israelis that “we feel with you … we stand beside you" and pointed, as well, to the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.

In Italy, Premier Giorgia Meloni visited the main synagogue in Rome and reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself, while lamenting the devastation unleashed by Israeli forces in Gaza.

French President Emmanuel Macron met in Paris with relatives of hostages and of the dead. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot attended a memorial service at the site of the Nova music festival.

The Vatican took up a collection for the people of Gaza and published a letter expressing Pope Francis' solidarity.

In Poland's capital of Warsaw, the Jewish community paid tribute to Alex Dancyg, a Polish-born Holocaust educator and historian who was abducted from the Nir Oz kibbutz on Oct. 7. Israel believes he died in captivity.

In Australia, thousands of people attended vigils in Sydney and Melbourne, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joining the latter event. A day after thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators rallied across Australia's cities, hundreds gathered amid a heavy police presence at Sydney town hall to remember Palestinians killed in the conflict.

In Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, schoolchildren took part in a pro-Palestinian rally organized by the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League party.

Japanese officials demanded the immediate release of all hostages and expressed condolences to Israelis who lost relatives in the attack.

Vejpongsa reported from Philadelphia and Spike from Budapest, Hungary. Associated Press journalists Jennifer Peltz, John Minchillo and Ted Shaffrey in New York, Geir Moulson in Berlin, Diane Jeantet in Paris, Nicole Winfield in Rome, Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Vanessa Gera in Warsaw and Charlotte Graham-McLay in Wellington, New Zealand, contributed to this report.

EDS NOTE: OBSCENITY - People take part in a pro-Palestinian rally in Berlin, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Activist Greta Thunberg, left, attends a pro-Palestinian rally in Berlin, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Attendees march during a pro-Palestinian demonstration on the anniversary of a Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza, in Montreal, Canada, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

Police watch as attendees march near McGill University campus during a pro-Palestinian demonstration on the anniversary of a Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza, in Montreal, Canada, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

People take part in a pro-Palestinian rally in Berlin, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Pro-Palestinian protesters spread a Palestinian flag while demonstrating outside City Hall, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate outside City Hall, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Pro-Palestinian Orthodox Jews demonstrate during a protest, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

People cross a bridge with the date 7.10, marking the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, in Ramat Gan, Israel, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

A woman views photos of Palestinian victims who were killed during the Israel war against Hamas, at a photo exhibition, (Gaza Habibti), Gaza my love, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the war in the Gaza Strip, in Cairo, Egypt, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Thousands of Houthi supporters raise Hezbollah flags and posters of late leader Hassan Nasrallah during a rally to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the war in the Gaza Strip, in Sanaa, Yemen, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

An activist holds a picture of the hostage during a commemoration to mark the one-year anniversary of the Israel Hamas war in Madrid, Spain, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

The Brandenburg Gate is illuminated in solidarity with Israel, marking the first anniversary of the Hamas spearheaded attacks on Israel, in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

The Brandenburg Gate is illuminated in solidarity with Israel, marking the first anniversary of the Hamas spearheaded attacks on Israel, in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

The Brandenburg Gate is illuminated in solidarity with Israel, marking the first anniversary of the Hamas spearheaded attacks on Israel, in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Attendees react during a pro-Palestinian demonstration on the anniversary of a Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza in front of Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)

People hold pictures of hostages as they attend a pro-Israel vigil on the anniversary of a Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza in front of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP)

People light 1200 candles in front of the synagogue in Duesseldorf, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, marking the first anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

The Brandenburg Gate is illuminated with the flag of Israel in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, to mark the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. (Kay Nietfeld/dpa via AP)

Yuval Danzig, right, the son of a Polish-Israeli man kidnapped and killed by Hamas, helps to unveil a plaque honoring his father, Alex Dancyg, in the Jewish cemetery on the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack, in Warsaw, Poland, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Yuval Danzig, left, the son of a Polish-Israeli man kidnapped and killed by Hamas, and Poland's chief rabbi Michael Schudrich unveil a plaque honoring his father, Alex Dancyg, in the Jewish cemetery in Warsaw, Poland, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Yuval Danzig, right, the son of a Polish-Israeli man kidnapped and killed by Hamas, helps to unveil a plaque honoring his father, Alex Dancyg, in the Jewish cemetery in Warsaw, Poland, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

A wreath is brought to a plaque honoring Alex Dancyg, a Polish-Israeli man who was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and later killed, in Warsaw's Jewish cemetery on the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack, in Warsaw, Poland, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

School children take part in a rally organized by Pakistan Markazi Muslim League party, to protest against Israeli airstrikes and to show solidarity with Palestinian people living in Gaza and Lebanon, in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

School children take part in a rally organized by Pakistan Markazi Muslim League party, to protest against Israeli airstrikes and to show solidarity with Palestinian people living in Gaza and Lebanon, in Karachi, Pakistan, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

Members of the Jewish community gather at a park in Sydney, Australia, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, as mourners marked the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Members of the Jewish community wave electronic candles as they gather at a park in Sydney, Australia, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, as mourners marked the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Members of the Jewish community gather at a park in Sydney, Australia, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, as mourners marked the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Two women console each other after making a makeshift memorial as members of the Jewish community gather at a park to mark the anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack, Sydney, Australia, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Rabi Yehuda Teichtal speaks at the synagogue of the Chabad community in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Survivor Alon Gat, Rabi Yehuda Teichtal and Berlin mayor Kai Wegner, centre from left, hold a candle-lighting ceremony marking the first anniversary of the Hamas spearheaded attacks on Israel, at the synagogue of the Chabad community in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

People embrace after lightning candles at a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the Hamas spearheaded attacks on Israel, at the synagogue of the Chabad community in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

People light candles at a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the Hamas spearheaded attacks on Israel, at the synagogue of the Chabad community in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

A Yellow Ribbon displayed as the facade of the German Chancellor to show solidarity with Israel marking the first anniversary of the Hamas spearheaded attacks on Israel, in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

People attend the reading the names of the victims of the Hamas attack on Israel during a commemoration to mark the first anniversary of the attack, at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Candles and flowers are laid at the entrance of the synagogue to mark the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Candles and flowers are laid at the entrance of the synagogue to mark the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, Frankfurt, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

A man embraces a women at they attend the reading the names of the victims of the Hamas attack on Israel, during a commemoration to mark the first anniversary of the attack, at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)