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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith hasn't been shy about desire to bring in another sport to the state.
Last August, the Smith Entertainment Group — the parent company of the Jazz, and which also holds ownership stakes in RSL, the Utah Royals, and Vivint Arena — added Arctos Sports Partner, a private equity firm, as a minority investor with the explicit intent on acquiring a new sports franchise.
And the wheels might just be turning on Smith's next venture.
According to Elliotte Freedman of Canada's SportsNet, Smith had dinner this week with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman following an NBA Board of Governors meeting in New York.
Could a potential partnership be brewing?
Freedman said that Smith was rumored as a potential buyer when the Pittsburgh Penguins were for sale in 2021. That franchise eventually was bought by Fenway, but that didn't signal the end of Smith's interest in the league.
"I was told to keep his name on my radar, because he's interested in the NHL — and the NHL is very interested in him," Freedman wrote.
However, Bettman said a couple weeks ago the league wasn't currently looking at expansion.
"We're not in an expansion mode right now," said Bettman after the league's annual general manager meetings. "There continues to be a number of people, entities and cities expressing interest in having an NHL franchise where they don't have one, places like Atlanta, like Houston, like Quebec City. But it's not really something, at least right now, that's anywhere close to the front burner for us."
The Ottawa Senators are for sale, but it appears there are investors interested who would keep the team in Canada.
The Columbus Blue Jackets, Arizona Coyotes, and Florida Panthers have all dealt with recent financial hardships and have been linked to relocation rumors.
While it's definitely noteworthy that Bettman is meeting with Smith, it's not like Utah is NHL-ready at the moment. Vivint Arena was not built for hockey, and SEG sources told KSL.com last fall that it would make more sense to build a new arena for a potential NHL team than to renovate the Jazz's home arena.
Freedman pointed out that if Salt Lake CIty did win the bid to host the Winter Olympics again in the next decade then a new stadium might follow.
And that may just set the stage for the NHL, as well.
