The Arizona Coyotes reportedly informed their players ahead of Friday night’s game in Edmonton that the franchise will be moving to Salt Lake City, Utah, next season.
Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports was the first to report the news on X (formerly Twitter) and Emily Kaplan of ESPN confirmed Morgan’s report.
General manager Bill Armstrong met with players to confirm the rumors that had spread throughout the week. He also reportedly told them that the NHL is facilitating the sale of the franchise to Ryan and Ashley Smith, owners of the NBA‘s Utah Jazz.
Sources told ESPN that an announcement is expected next week and could be as soon as April 17, the date of the Coyotes final game at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona.
“We’ve just tried to focus on hockey,” said Coyotes forward Clayton Keller after Friday’s morning skate. “Since I’ve played in Arizona, there’s always been a lot of rumors and stuff like that so I think we’ve tried to do the best we can to focus on hockey.
“Throughout this whole time, there hasn’t been a ton of discussion on what’s going on.”
Coyotes players and staff are expected to visit Utah in the coming weeks, most likely after the season finale to check out the city and facilities.
The current plan is to have them play at the newly renovated Delta Center, which is owned by Smith and is also home to the Jazz. However, the NHL has reportedly told Smith that the arena needs NHL-specific upgrades to be considered a permanent home for the franchise.
Per multiple sources, the Coyotes have been informed that relocation to Salt Lake City is real.Now hearing it could actually be announced on April 17; the date of the Coyotes’ final game at home vs. Edmonton.It’s going to be quite an atmosphere that night at Mullett Arena.
— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) April 13, 2024
The NHL isn’t completely shutting the door on the Phoenix market either and the door is being left open for owner Alex Meruelo to own a team in the future with the Coyotes brand.
Mereulo has been on a quest to find a permanent home for his team which has been playing on the campus of Arizona State. He has been eyeing a plot in the Phoenix area and intends to win a state-run land auction for it on June 27.
Previous reports said the new arena wouldn’t be ready until 2027 and according to ESPN’s sources, the NHL grew skeptical of the timeline and decided it needed a better solution for next season which has led the franchise to Utah.
Meruelo bought the team in July 2019 for $425 million, and it was valued recently by Sportico at $675 million, by far the lowest of the NHL’s current 32 teams.
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