Inside the Coyotes' stunning move from Arizona to Utah

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Ryan Smith considers Utah the capital for winter sports.

"It's hard to think about that without hockey, right?" said Smith, a tech billionaire with a growing portfolio of sports franchises that includes the NBA's Utah Jazz.

Smith began his pursuit of an NHL team a few years ago, formally expressing his interest in an expansion franchise to commissioner Gary Bettman. Smith believed the league had experienced "a rising," from the quality of play to the value of television contracts. His wife, Ashley, is from Las Vegas, which is five hours away from Salt Lake City. "It's impossible not to see the success that's happened there," he said.

The message Smith conveyed to…