In one week, everything has changed. The Arizona Coyotes will no longer be staying in Phoenix with the hopes of building a permanent home after winning a land auction, they’ll instead be sold by Alex Meruelo to the NHL, then to the Smith Group, moved to Utah, and will one day, hopefully, be back.
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29 Comments
There will be a team in Arizona again with expansion in a few years.
This puts a team in Utah right now, and stops the playing in a college arena nonsense.
Alex Meruelo fooled a lot of people for a lot of years. Sometimes, being a pessimist pays off.
how is the NHL forcing guy to sell for one price and then turn around and immediately sell it for more? that seems crooked.
To be fair it was kinda written in stone. Arizona is getting kicked in the nuts from droughts. Its so bad they cancelled international farming contracts. They have also been talking about building a 2000 mile pipeline to bring water to them. I know sports is supposed to be an escape but its frustrating to see an entire sport just ignore reality. Putting a new stadium in a desert is irresponsible on every level.
Please talk about “The A’s” situation
VGK nation will happily open the doors for all coyotes fans to join us in cheering on the Golden Knights
3 months ago, Friedman told us that the time has come for the coyotes. That was months ago
One negative impact of this relocation may be on youth hockey here in the valley. This could really stunt the growth of the game in the market. Perhaps in the 5 year second chance window the franchise or ownership could assist with building more rinks suitable for all aspects of on ice play and dry land development. Simply, put more overall funding towards youth hockey and spread it across all associations. Create a foundation for something special that could foster an array of tier 1 programs like a Chicago, Detroit, etc. as well as strong house programs.
Sorry JB, that did not age well. At least you were not an employee of the Yotes, whom was lied too and treated so disrespectfully….
Honestly Utah isn't that big of a market. It's slightly bigger than Vegas and that isn't big. The fact they're still keeping Arizona via expansion if they can buy that land, but not relocate the current team to a better market is mind boggling. Bettman sucks, they really should have just put them in Quebec not SLC and do the expansion in Arizona. SLC is just not a good spot.
They start the Arizona coyotes with a rink that holds, 5,000 people ??? WTF were they thinking, isn't that like asking for an egg when you don't have a chicken.
You've gotta be the only YouTuber who's admitted he was wrong about the Coyotes.
This will do wonders for youth hockey in the Utah/Idaho region
The "return" clause for Murelo will have so many conditions that he won't fufil it. A new owner may get an expansion team and use the Glendale arena.
To hell with it being an 'inactive franchise'. If the NHL can just choose who gets the history of a franchise, then give the Winnipeg portion of the franchise's history back to Winnipeg.
The Coyotes have been on life support for the past 20+ years and are now playing in a shoe box. Of course they are moving. If you want to believe he couldnt find land in the desert… you have been suckered. Arizona media does not care about hockey and barely cover the team.
To allow him a 5 year window to resurrect the franchise is ridiculous…it puts them right back in the same market that hasn't worked with the 2 different arenas and several owners AND if they do it, it forces expansion which the league should not be doing right now.
Check the comments
I've been saying it for weeks…
Love the show.
Show me SOME LOVE FOR PREDICTING THE DANG FUTURE
It’s definitely a sad day for hockey in Arizona. I feel like this franchise just never got the chance to succeed because the upper management.
Not just propaganda from the TEAM
But also major YouTubers like Jesse Blake, Shannon the Hockey Guy, and Arizona Coyotes "reporters"like PHNX Sports and Craig Morgan also all spread disinformation.
I mean I could see through it…why couldn't the hockey reporters? 🤨
Land shmand, Coyotes are NO MORE…LOL, na na na nah, na na na nah, hey hey hey, good bye, na na na nah, na na na nah, hey hey hey, good bye.
The auction is still going to happen and Meruelo may well win it but it probably won’t matter. He’s in a long line of incompetent Coyotes ownership and I don’t blame Yotes fans for no longer trusting the family.
The Fish And Wildlife Service has announced that the Arizona Coyote will be extinct as of 10pm on April 17th, 2024!
Fans in Arizona put their faith in many charlatans, even when the rest of the world was screaming at them "THESE PEOPLE ARE CHARLATANS!" But…..what choice did they have? When the charlatan is the only one propping up your dream, you talk yourself into the lie and hope it will eventually become the truth.
The sad things are…
1— Merulo isn't even the worst owner this franchise has ever had. He might not even be second worst.
2– The closest thing this franchise got to a good owner in Arizona was Jerry freakin' Reisdorf…before fate intervened. That's not a great history.
Worst franchise ever in any sport…ever.…
Worst ownership since 1678
Glad that disaster is moving. We’d all prefer that it was moving to a Canadian market first but I’ll take this. Just to never see that garbage logo or jersey again brings me joy. It should also never get a second chance at getting a team. NO more expansion in the NHL. 32 teams is enough. Fullstop.
im a canadian who moved to utah 1.5 yrs ago and its so exciting. I'm from Calgary originally so I'm a flames fan first, but I'm so pumped to support a second team. people are buzzing in UT. tons of hockey fans and it's gonna be so amazing to see them come here.
I live in Utah. Roughly 45 minutes from the Delta Center. I want to say what I'm about to say by saying that first.
I feel bad for Arizona Coyotes fans. I don't like the idea that this is what it has come down to. Like you said, Alex Meruelo is a terrible owner and a snake oil salesman, but that doesn't make this suck any less for you guys. I do hope the NHL returns to Arizona someday. But it can't be with Meruelo as the owner. This guy is about as clueless as Donald Sterling was with the Clippers, only without the racism.