With the Arizona Coyotes moving to Salt Lake City — and the Smith family making personnel decisions for their new team — I would like to state the case for broadcasters Bob Heethuis, Matt McConnell and Tyson Nash to continue broadcasting for this group of players whom they have known so well and with whom they have grown quite accustomed down in Arizona.
I can’t tell you how crucial that is for fans when it comes to being “in the know” while tuning in or listening to a hockey broadcast. You do not want somebody getting a “sheet” and looking at it with “virgin eyes” when broadcasting that first game. There is a tone, rhythm and overall feel from the broadcast’s opening segment all the way until the on-air light goes dim. These three understand this. I have tuned in to their broadcasts and have heard their peaks and valleys, which are so incredibly essential.
There is a flow to hockey. It is the greatest sport on earth, and Salt Lake City has the potential of having the greatest fans. They need versed storytellers. This isn’t an expansion team with a clean slate. This is a team that has twice been relocated in its 45-year existence. Broadcasting for a perennial playoff team where the arena is packed on a nightly basis and doing so to a half-empty arena for a team that has never reached the Stanley Cup final in its 45-year existence are two completely different beasts.
These broadcasters have spent their time in the trenches broadcasting in the minors. They deserve to not have to hit the reset button. They deserve to be on the air opening night. Make it happen.
Kirk McKnight, Wickenburg, Arizona