Matt Smith

@DougTammaro Scott’s 55 was the new 65…

Never have I replied “no” to something faster than this.

@Coach_KD9 Yes sir! We have a direction and we are gonna get there. Copa good is pretty damn good. #CopaKidsBelongInCopa

@Smitty1915 Yes, and as those players show their willingness, they will receive the support and platform to shine in the program.

I was talking to the team about this…”once we know what you’re willing to do, then we know what kind of player you can be in the program.”

The NFL Draft process is very long. Don't get bored with great players.

Every year I watch Bijan Robinson and Jamyr Gibbs change games...and then some fans talk themselves out of an elite talent like Love and convince themselves "we've got Bill". (and I like Bill)

I remember just the other day when a fan noted Cole Hutson could have assisted on this milestone and was mocked for saying “1,000 goals” because other fan was an idiot and thought he needed to show it. So much fun!

@McJohnson922 It’s way more nuanced than X allows. Like the Tempe vote- the leading former council member ran the opposition to it. Why? Because Alex Muruelo was an ass and not trustworthy - guess she was right.

@Smitty1915 Look, I get it a lot. I think some people assume if one's not fervently pro-Sunbelt hockey then one's totally against it, and that's just not a fair way to look at it. Like with most things in life, it's complicated & case-by-case.

Atlanta Houston Phoenix Noleans

@sxicidewaves @McJohnson922 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic People really believe we were Bettman’s golden child and he kept us afloat but he made 2-3 crucial decisions that also hurt us

@Smitty1915 @McJohnson922 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic Hopefully they're able to find competent ownership and can actually build an arena because I do love the Phoenix area. But it will definitely be awhile before we see any progress and I don't think Bettman retiring will help at all.

@McJohnson922 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic It’s the worst string of owners and even when we had a decent one, the crappy ones won out. But despite it all, we built a community that people don’t realize. Even looking at at those attendance numbers- we need an extra 4k to be solid. Those people are here.

@McJohnson922 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic A victim? No offense but you haven’t spent a minute in your life talking to me. You haven’t spent decided who I am because of where I live. And I will admit my last comment did that right back to you- so for that I apologize. I’m not a victim of anything but circumstances

@McJohnson922 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic Apologies for the question- lumped you with other experiences- not fair to you

@Smitty1915 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic But to answer your dishonest question, no: Tampa, Dallas, LA & Nashville have all succeeded unquestionably IMO; and Vegas, Ft. Lauderdale & Raleigh all arguably have (call me when their attendance is good when the team isn't).

@McJohnson922 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic Jerry Colangelo asked Bettman when he took over as America West was being built about planning for hockey.

@Smitty1915 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic Bettman wasn't in charge yet, it was John Ziegler who said that, having presided over the Atlanta Flames failure a decade prior.

@sxicidewaves @McJohnson922 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic Definitely the problem. That’s the point I have

@Smitty1915 @McJohnson922 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic The problem is that there is clearly no one willing to step up and try owning the team

@McJohnson922 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic Look I get you get a certain amount of the story but there is more to it. That’s my point. But people love the narrative that a city in the desert shouldn’t have hockey.

@Smitty1915 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic And anyone willing to still try anyways would have learned the hard way how hopeless it was & cut their losses within a year or two... which of course is what had already happened a few times.

@McJohnson922 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic Ah… I now see the point. We are sun belt and not Canadian. Let me guess, we don’t “deserve hockey”

@Smitty1915 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic Now I will give you this: of the four Sunbelt cities mentioned in the original post, I think Phoenix is the *least* bad of the four, in that people there have shown *some* enthusiasm about having a team again.

@McJohnson922 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic What are you talking about back stabbing? What facts have I ignored

@Smitty1915 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic Could tell you the same thing; you seem willing to just ignore any fact that goes against the narrative of back-stabbing you've built for yourself.

@McJohnson922 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic Ok- you understand a lot of it, but it goes back farther than that. We had bs from the NHL before we even got the team. America West Arena was going to be built for hockey also, but Bettman told Jerry Colangelo that we would not get hockey. Then called him when Minny backed out

@Smitty1915 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic And then even when an owner did show up, he hot-potato'd the team to someone else within what, 2-3 years? And so on and so forth.

@McJohnson922 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic I sat in Glendale city council meetings… I lived the bankruptcy. I could write the wiki article.

@Smitty1915 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic Like, I followed the bankruptcy shitshow. The league (rightfully, IMO) refused to let them move to Hamilton, but then got stuck holding the franchise for 3 seasons because *nobody* viable wanted them; just a couple of weird fraudsters. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_C…

@McJohnson922 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic It’s decades of people telling me narratives from their perspective rather than maybe believing there is more to the story.

@McJohnson922 @lessabler4 @JazzePinkman @BuckPanic When I say ownership, it’s 30 years. It’s bad decision after bad decisions. Perhaps I would like you to not tell a 27 year season ticket holder who lives here and is in the hockey community that you know better what has happened and can happen here. It’s nothing personal.