Adam Proteau shares his thoughts on Cal Petersen, Jim Johannson being inducted in the USA Hockey Hall of Fame and an update on a potential arena in Tempe.
Welcome back to Screen Shots, a regular THN.com feature in which we analyze a handful of hockey topics and break each one down into smaller portions for your reading enjoyment. Let’s get straight to it:
The Tempe City Council voted unanimously (7-0) Tuesday in favor of the proposed entertainment and arena district that would serve as the long-term home for the Arizona Coyotes franchise. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly attended the vote. The result of means Tempe residents will now choose, via a special referendum on May 16 of next year, whether or not the $2.1-billion project will proceed.
The Coyotes are currently committed to playing at Arizona State University’s 5,000-seat, 4,600-capacity Mullett Arena (a much smaller rink by NHL standards) through the 2024-25 season, with an option for one more season after that.
The team was evicted from Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz., after last season concluded.
The proposed new site – currently a city dump – is a 46-acre plot of land in suburban Phoenix that would become home to 1,600 apartments, two hotels, restaurants and retail stores, a theater and a sportsbook, as well as a new, 16,000-seat arena.
Clearly, the future of the Coyotes in Arizona rides on the result of the referendum, but franchise president and CEO Xavier Gutierrez and the NHL believe the plan will move ahead.
Before the vote, Bettman told the Tempe City Council the Coyotes and their new home would get to host both an NHL draft and an NHL All-Star Game, and the franchise would operate under a no-relocation term of 30 years. The project would put an end to decades of uncertainty and unrest for the Coyotes organization.
Before the referendum is held, Tempe City Council must approve a development and disposition agreement (DDA), a general plan amendment and a zoning amendment. That doesn’t appear to be a significant hurdle for the team. And the fact the grand majority of proposal’s funding is going to come from the private sector is another reason Coyotes brass are confident a new deal will get done.
At Tuesday’s council meeting, the city presented data suggesting taxpayers would still be responsible for $209 million to $229 million in bonds to fund infrastructure improvements, including remediating the land, creating new roads, and reinforcing the banks of the nearby Salt River.
The next few months will be crucial for the project, to build support from both the public and private sectors. But if the project fails to get the green light in the referendum, there’s no guarantee the Coyotes will remain in Arizona. One way or another, change is on the horizon yet again for the Yotes.
The 2022 US Hockey Hall of Fame induction took place Wednesday night in St. Paul, Minn., with longtime NHL star goalie Ryan Miller and iconic women’s hockey sisters Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando headlining the honorees. But perhaps the most beloved figure in hockey circles is 2022 USHHOF honoree, the late Jim Johannson, who died from heart disease in January 2018 at the far-too-young age of 53.
Miller and the Lamoureux sisters may have been more recognizable to the average hockey fan, but Johansson was serving as assistant executive director of hockey operations for USA Hockey when he died, and he was renowned in hockey circles for his passion for, and dedication to, the sport he loved dearly.
His legacy as a builder and promoter of the game will last in America, and the hockey world, for many years to come.
Finally, after putting together a story on the roller-coaster existence that comes with being an NHL goaltender, news broke that the Los Angeles Kings placed veteran netminder Cal Petersen on waivers. The 28-year-old, who comprises half of L.A.’s goalie tandem with Jonathan Quick, has been having a terrible season so far, posting a 3.75 goals-against average and .868 save percentage in 10 appearances.
The last straw for Kings management before putting Petersen on waivers came Tuesday night when he allowed four goals on 16 shots after replacing Quick early in the second period of what eventually was a 9-8 Seattle Kraken win. But he’d been struggling well before that: in seven games this year, Petersen had an SP of .897 or worse, and in five games, he had an SP of .875 or worse.
He’s in the first year of a three-year, $15-million contract extension he signed in September 2021, and his individual numbers were simply unacceptable at the NHL level.
As per Cap Friendly, Petersen has a modified no-trade clause that allows him to submit a list of 10 teams he would not accept a trade to, but with his tough start, there aren’t going to be many, if any, suitors for his services.
The Kings rightfully envision themselves as a playoff team, but the way Petersen is performing, he’d be on the bench in favor of Quick (who, frankly, hasn’t been much better) come the post-season. Los Angeles doesn’t have the luxury of allowing Petersen to rediscover his game, so he’ll have to use his practice time to try and regain the confidence of Kings management.