Nobody thought that it would happen but it did. The Arizona Coyotes are done. They are sold and sent to Salt Lake City.
Their building situation has been an issue for a long time now and it has now been resolved. This is sad news as an entire fanbase is being left behind. From a business standpoint, it is great but that doesn't heal the folks losing their team.
The NHL Board of Governors had a meeting on Thursday afternoon to decide on the sale and it was voted yes.
The Arizona Coyotes have been sold and are headed to Salt Lake City next season
The sale of the Coyotes to Utah has been approved
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 18, 2024
Board of Governors call has just wrapped up. Sources say it was a yes vote on Coyotes sale and re-location to Salt Lake City.@TSNHockey @TheAthletic
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) April 18, 2024
Sources say #NHL Board of Governors has formally approved #Yotes sale and relocation to Salt Lake City, Utah.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) April 18, 2024
The team and its staff are expected to meet with new owners soon. That is going to be a hard transition for a lot of these guys but most of them have no choice but to move with the team.
Arizona wasn't good for most of its history. Their fans sat through a lot and now they have to watch their team leave.
The Coyotes were just starting to get too. They have stars already in the lineup like Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, and Sean Durzi.
There are a few prospects ready to make a big jump soon too like Josh Doan, Daniil But, Conor Geekie, and Dmitri Simashev amongst others.
If this team keeps building, they will be very good very soon. Down the stretch this season, they showed how strong they can be and there is more help on the way.
Their new ownership in Ryan and Ashley Smith (Smith Entertainment Group) should provide the resources needed to turn this franchise into a winner. They already do a great job with the Utah Jazz and should continue that with their NHL franchise.
Although St. Lake City will be a great place to host an NHL franchise, they will be missed in Arizona. The league believes they will return to Arizona but owner Alex Meruelo better have his stuff together by the time they revisit the market. If he doesn't, there will be more of the same in Arizona.
The last time the NHL relocated a team was when the Atlanta Thrashers moved to become the (new) Winnipeg Jets. Now, the league is set to do that again.
Hopefully, Arizona gets a better (more set up) team in the future and Utah gets this promising group to the promised land. If that happens, everybody is better in the long run.