Almost 28 years since arriving in the desert, the Arizona Coyotes will be no more.
Friday night, it was reported that the Coyotes would be sold to Utah Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith and relocated to Salt Lake City. General manager Bill Armstrong reportedly met with players and staff before the team took on the Oilers but only after Armstrong had to fly up to Edmonton to deliver the news when players started to demand answers amid the rumors.
As it stands right now, the Coyotes are slated to move to Salt Lake City as soon as next season with players and staff being invited to check out the new facilities and the city after the regular season finale next week. Additionally, the team will reportedly play at the 14,000-seat Delta Center, also home to the Utah Jazz.
However, regarding the new venue, the NHL informed Ryan and Ashley Smith that if the Coyotes are to remain in Salt Lake for the long term, hockey-specific upgrades would need to be made to the Delta Center. The City of Salt Lake could one-up those demands after Utah Governor Spencer Cox approved a bill passed in the state senate to fund a renovated entertainment district downtown for a potential NHL team. Still, whatever the Salt Lake has to offer at this point is a step above what the Coyotes are currently dealing with in Arizona playing in the 4,000-seat Mullett Arena.
Hockey has always been an uphill challenge in a place like Arizona for obvious reasons. In fact, there may not be a bigger instance of a state simply not wanting a professional sports franchise than what we’ve seen over the past few years with Arizona and the Coyotes. The contempt seemingly only worsened when the NHL continued to force the issue with the Coyotes trying to make the best of a bad situation they created for themselves. Moreover, it all came to a head in 2021 when Glendale terminated the team’s lease for Gila River Arena ultimately forcing the team to move to the Mullett Arena seemingly sealing their fate in Arizona.
If you’re disappointed though, fear not, the NHL is leaving the door open for a return to Arizona, that is if current owner Alex Meruelo can somehow convince a state government and population that resides in a desert that they need to spend the money on a professional hockey team.
