End of the line for Arizona Coyotes as NHL approve franchise sale and relocation

The curtain has come down on top flight ice hockey in Phoenix following the NHL game against the Edmonton Oilers at the Mullett Arena on 17 April. 28 years after ice hockey first moved to Arizona, the Coyotes are on the move with the NHL board confirming the move to Utah.

The deal sees all Coyotes’ players, draft picks and hockey operations department transferred to Utah with the new team expected to play in Salt Lake City and as yet unnamed. The Coyotes franchise is now officially inactive but the deal does give former owner Alex Meruelo the right to establish a new expansion team if he builds a new arena deemed fit for an NHL franchise within a period of five years.

Meruelo received $1 billion for selling the team, according to reports, with the other $200 million split among the NHL teams with new the owners bering the current Utah Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith.

The NHL confirmed the deal in a brief social media post stating: “The stage is set for #NHLinUtah!” with an accompanying highlight video during which commissioner Gary Bettman says, “The NHL is thrilled to be coming to Utah.”

The former Phoenix and later Arizona Coyotes have been based in Arizona since 1996, when the franchise was relocated there from Winnipeg.

The new Salt Lake City team will play their debut season in the 2024-25 season with the move boosting Salt Lake City’s bid to host the 2034 Winter Olympics with an NHL franchise showing a strong association to winter Sports.