5 cities the NHL must consider relocating the Arizona Coyotes to in the near future

The Arizona Coyotes are yet again in a rut, this time with potential resistance coming from those running Scottsdale as the reason that could play a role in preventing the team from buying land just outside the city and building an arena to keep them in town.

Clearly, playing in a college arena that only seats a few thousand spectators isn’t a good look for a top-tier professional sports league like the NHL, so there is a good chance that this team won’t continue playing in the desert much longer. 

If that’s the case, it may open the door for several cities to try and lure the franchise to town with the hopes of it turning into a powerhouse. Sources like ESPN’s Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshnyski have reported Salt Lake City, Utah, as the frontrunner and the move would make sense geographically since the Coyotes play in the Central Division, and it wouldn’t force yet another realignment. 

But with this being so early in the process and the possibility that any potential deal to move the team to Salt Lake City could always fall through, why not get speculative and talk about five other cities the NHL should also consider? 

Several cities deserve a chance to lure the Coyotes to town

Atlanta, Georgia, is another area that has been in the news lately about a potential NHL return, and they would already have a sound nickname and color scheme that the Winnipeg Jets left behind. Bringing back the Thrashers would be great, but does the NHL really want to return to Atlanta after losing not one but two franchises to different cities?

If you’ve been an NHL fan for a while, you may remember when the Atlanta Flames took the ice before they moved to Calgary. And if you’re younger, you may have memories of the Thrashers prior to them moving to Winnipeg and resurrecting the Jets, who, as irony would have it, replaced the franchise that moved to Arizona. 

So, the cities listed in the following slides are not named Salt Lake City or Atlanta, as they would be too obvious. But let’s talk about two towns that formerly held NHL franchises and should at least be in consideration to get one back, plus three others that could be deserving. 

Quebec City

One of the best uniforms and color schemes in NHL history, bringing back the Quebec Nordiques in the 2020s via relocation would work. There were plenty of reasons the NHL could no longer sustain a team in Quebec City in the 1990s, one of which was market size. For the times, an ultra-small market made for limited visibility. But in this era, that wouldn’t be anywhere near as much of an issue. 

Plus, it would create a second team in Quebec, and renewing a memorable rivalry with the nearby Canadiens would just add to the fervor. When you look at where the Coyotes and Canadiens are from an organizational standpoint, these two teams are growing together, which means memorable matchups. 

But the downside is obvious: Not only do small markets still get lesser coverage, albeit to a lesser extent, but moving the Coyotes to Quebec City would require realignment. The Nordiques (assuming that would be the nickname) must play in the Atlantic Division, meaning the Detroit Red Wings would likely need to move back to the Western Conference. 

Hartford

It’s been refreshing at times in recent seasons when the Carolina Hurricanes played a few home games as the Hartford Whalers, but wouldn't it be exciting to see the Whalers back on a full-time basis? Like the Nordiques, the Whalers (again, assuming we’re sticking with the classic name) had an outstanding color scheme, nickname, and logo. Also like the Nordiques, there would be a rivalry renewed, this one with the Boston Bruins. 

While Hartford, like Quebec City, is a small market, it’s been less than a year since the state of Connecticut’s governor, Ned Lamont, expressed interest in bringing a team back to town. 

While the fans in Quebec City had to witness the Colorado Avalanche win a Stanley Cup shortly after the move to Denver, it wasn’t long before fans in Hartford had to endure the same thing when the Hurricanes won it all in 2006. 

Like Quebec City, seeing the NHL return to Hartford would be a feel-good story, and it would immediately spur fan interest in a hockey town. But once again, the downside is obvious: We would be looking at another realignment because you can’t put the Whalers in a division other than the Atlantic so they could renew that rivalry with Boston. 

As with the Nordiques, the Red Wings would be the most likely team to switch conferences, given their proximity to Central Division teams. 

Green Bay

Hey, why not? To my knowledge, Green Bay is on no one’s radar, and with it being the smallest market in professional sports by a significant margin, it’s easy to understand why, even in today’s world, where you can stream almost any game that you want. But could you name a better sports town to receive an NHL team via relocation than Titletown, USA?

Green Bay may be the smallest city on this list, but it’s ironically up there with the best of them in terms of overall fanbases, at least as far as the Packers go, but they should welcome an NHL team. Further, it would keep the Coyotes in the Central Division, and there would be an immediate rivalry with the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild. 

Imagine a team like the Coyotes adopting a green and gold color scheme to match the Packers and come up with a nickname synonymous with hockey in Green Bay - something like the Green Bay Bobcats would work perfectly. This would also connect them to the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers, thanks to the bobcat present in the latter’s current logo. 

Overall, it would be tough to see the Coyotes making Green Bay their home, but intense rivalries with Chicago and Minnesota, plus one of the most incredible fanbases in pro sports, would make it an attractive option. 

Sacramento

With the Oakland A’s heading to Sacramento for a few seasons, it seems as though the state capital of California is on the rise in the sports world. While not in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area, Sacramento is still close enough to adopt the old Seals nickname. Of course, that team also used the name Golden Seals, but that probably wouldn’t sit well with the Vegas Golden Knights, so we’re going with Seals as a nickname here. 

This would give the team formerly known as the Coyotes in this scenario a geographic rival with the nearby San Jose Sharks, which would also balance out the number of teams in the state of California - the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings being the other two. 

One drawback in bringing back the Seals (or if they went by another name, that would work, too) would once again involve potential realignment. For a legitimate rivalry with the Sharks, they must move to the Pacific Division. But geographically, it would make sense to put the Golden Knights into the Central, where they could have intense rivalries with the Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars, among others. 

Overall, the move would mostly make geographic sense, and with the city of Sacramento trending north in the sports world, this would be a sound, under-the-radar move.