It seems all but official that the Arizona Coyotes will be sold and relocated from the Phoenix area to Salt Lake City and become Utah's NHL franchise. And with the confirmation of the sale and relocation likely only a few days from confirmation, NHL Elliotte Friedman is reporting that soon-to-be Coyotes owner Ryan Smith will try to be a major player this offseason.
“Friedman on 32TP says he expects the new Utah team to be very aggressive in free agency and trades, expects new owner Ryan Smith to spend money,” NHL Watcher tweeted. “They got a good cap situation, they are loaded with picks and prospects as well.”
Friedman on 32TP says he expects the new Utah team to be very aggressive in free agency and trades, expects new owner Ryan Smith to spend money. They got a good cap situation, they are loaded with picks and prospects as well.
— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) April 12, 2024
Why are the Coyotes being sold and relocated to Utah?
In less than four years, Ryan Smith has become one of, if not the most important man in Utah professional sports. Before his involvement in the Coyotes saga, Smith was most notably known as the owner of the NBA's Utah Jazz and co-owner of MLS' Real Salt Lake, having taken over the teams in 2020 and 2022, respectively.
Over the past two years, Smith has privately and publicly angled for Salt Lake City to receive an NHL franchise by either relocation or expansion. The Coyotes' extended battle to receive public funding for a hockey arena in Arizona gave Smith the perfect opportunity to bring an NHL team to Utah.
After years of negotiations and failed bids for arenas, Coyotes players were told Friday that the team would be moving to Utah starting next season, according to PHNX Sports. Unlike Phoenix, the state of Utah has already passed a bill supplying funding for renovations to Salt Lake City's arena district in anticipation of an NHL team's arrival.
Once in Utah, the Coyotes, or whatever Smith decides to name the team, will be able to start anew but with a strong prospect pipeline as well. The team owns 13 draft picks in 2024, nearly 10 in 2025, and another 10 in 2026.
Unfortunately for Arizona fans, the franchise has largely been a mess, at least in terms of ownership and front-office stability, for nearly its entire existence. After the Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix in 1996, the Coyotes made the playoffs in five of their first six seasons but lost in the first round each time. After a five-game defeat against the San Jose Sharks in 2002, it took the Coyotes another eight years before another postseason berth.
The team qualified for the playoffs for three consecutive years from 2010 to 2012 and managed to win its first playoff series since moving to Arizona in 2012 during a run to the Western Conference Finals. Since then, however, the Coyotes have only been to the playoffs once and have not won a single non-qualifying round.
While the product on the ice was not particularly impressive, the inner workings of the franchise was much, much worse. Steven Gluckstern and Richard Burke initially bought the Jets in 1995 with plans to move the team to Minnesota. Those plans fell through, which ultimately led to the team landing in Phoenix. Gluckstern sold his shares of the team to Burke shortly after the move, and Burke sold the team to Steve Ellman and Wayne Gretzky in 2001. Four years later, Ellman sold the team to Jerry Moyes, then a part-owner of MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.
Under Moyes, the Coyotes experienced severe financial issues. Moyes was ousted after putting the team into bankruptcy, which led to the NHL taking ownership of the team until 2013, when it sold the team to Renaissance Sports and Entertainment. The ownership issues would not be resolved, though, and after organizational shuffling, the team was sold to Alex Meruelo in 2019. With Meruelo at the helm, the Coyotes moved to Tempe's Mullett Arena from Gila River Arena in Glendale after failing to pay $1.3 million in taxes.
Now, Meruelo appears set to be selling the team, the Coyotes' final ownership change, with Smith taking over.
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