The National Hockey League has had an interesting story ongoing for several years now. The Arizona Coyotes, formerly the Winnipeg Jets until their relocation in 1996, are now facing relocation again.
It is no secret that the Arizona Coyotes should have been moved long ago; they’ve had 26 years to figure it out and become competitive. Gary Bettman’s adventure to keep a team in Arizona might soon be over.
While the Coyotes maintain they are looking at several arena options, they confirmed last week that they had applied to buy “state trust land” in north Phoenix as a potential site for a new facility. The catch? There are zero guarantees that the team owner, Alex Meruelo, can facilitate a new arena in time to satisfy the NHL.
The Arizona State Land Department controls the process. The Board of Appeals meets on Thursday, February 8. The agenda is posted online and is final. Nothing on this document indicates anything to do with the Coyotes. The next meeting is in March, which is long considering the NHL is growing more impatient with the Arizona Coyotes arena situation. If the bid is granted to the Coyotes owner, everyone involved has to be asking what the timeline is like and will the team win? There is so much uncertainty surrounding this NHL team right now, and it’s certainly not the way to run a business.
NHLPA Executive Director Marty Walsh is holding everyone accountable in this case. Throwing gas onto the fire and making sure every party involved feels the pressure. There are only a few ways this could end.
Possible Scenarios
Scenario one: Bettman details a way for the Coyotes franchise to continue, outlining strict deadlines they must meet to remain as the Arizona Coyotes.
Scenario two: Bettman relocates the current Arizona Coyotes but promises to give Arizona a new expansion franchise once an arena is built and satisfies the NHL protocols.
Scenario three: Bettman relocates the Arizona Coyotes and remains hopeful that a franchise can be returned to Arizona.
Scenario four: Ownership switches hands, and the league sets strict guidelines for the new owners.
Scenario five: The Arizona Coyotes franchise folds, followed by every player becoming an unrestricted free agent. Draft picks belonging to other teams are returned to the team before Arizona acquired the pick. **This scenario is the most unlikely out of all six
Scenario six: The National Hockey League buys the Arizona Coyotes from the current owners temporarily and plans to sell to new owners immediately following the plan to get an arena built.
Whether or not, the Arizona Coyotes are in quite a spicy situation. The team needs a new arena to call home, and they need a plan to do something sooner rather than later. The deadlines for the Coyotes have been quite flexible, and we cannot imagine how tough this has to be on the players, staff, and families wondering about their futures.
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