It's not very often that "The Great One" visits Utah, but Wayne Gretzky is expected to be at the E Center in West Valley City on Thursday.
At 2 p.m. the Utah Grizzlies are announcing their new NHL affiliation for the 2004-05 season and probably beyond.
There is no official word yet that the affiliation will be with Gretzky's Phoenix Coyotes, but Grizzly owner David Elmore has been visiting with the Coyotes since last October, and there's little secret now that that's the team with whom the Grizz will partner.
The Grizzlies have announced only that they will have a news conference Thursday to introduce their new parent team, but they have invited some 400 corporate and season ticketholders and are inviting the general public as well to the get-together.
Word has leaked out that Gretzky will be there to meet Utahns. Gretzky is managing partner and alternate governor of the Coyotes.
That was one of the things about which Elmore spent so long negotiating — he wanted Gretzky to be involved with Utah fans. The Grizzlies had hoped to make their affiliation announcement several weeks ago but apparently had to wait until Gretzky was available.
The Coyotes had sponsored the AHL team in Springfield, Mass., for eight years, but in February the Falcons signed an agreement with the Tampa Bay Lightning for next season, leaving Phoenix looking. The Grizzlies had been seeking a new partner since last fall to replace the Dallas Stars.
Springfield actually finished two points behind the Grizzlies in the final AHL standings with a 26-43-9-2 record and 63 points. Utah was 27-42-6-5 with 65 points. The Falcons won just eight road games. Their MVPs were goalies Jean-Marc Pelletier and David LeNeveu. The leading scorer was right wing Peter Ferraro with 50 points.
Defenseman Jeremiah McCarthy was named the Falcons' winner of the American Specialty/AHL Man of the Year award for contributions to the city.
The Coyotes are coming off their poorest season since they moved to Phoenix from Winnipeg in 1996, finishing 22-36-18-6 for 68 points.
Former Salt Lake Golden Eagle Rick Bowness is the Coyotes' coach after replacing former Eagle Bob Francis at mid-season, and former Eagle Charlie Simmer is a member of the broadcast team. In another connection with Utah hockey, Cliff Fletcher is senior executive vice president of hockey operations for the Coyotes. Fletcher is the longtime general manager of the Calgary Flames, who were affiliated with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles during the late 1980s and early 1990s
E-mail: lham@desnews.com