Arizona Coyotes: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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The '''Arizona Coyotes''' ~~were~~are aan inactive professional [[ice hockey]] team based in the [[Phoenix metropolitan area]], which competed in the [[National Hockey League]] (NHL) as a member of the [[Central Division (NHL)|Central Division]] (1996–1998, 2021–2024) ~~and~~, the [[Pacific Division (NHL)|Pacific Division]] (1998–2020) in the [[Western Conference (NHL)|Western Conference]], and the [[West Division (NHL)|West Division]] (2020–2021). They played at America West Arena (now [[Footprint Center]]) in [[downtown Phoenix]] from 1996 to 2003, at [[Glendale, Arizona|Glendale]]'s Gila River Arena (now [[Desert Diamond Arena]]) from 2003 to 2022, and at [[Mullett Arena]] in [[Tempe, Arizona|Tempe]] from 2022 to 2024.

The organization was established on December 27, 1971, as the [[Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996)|Winnipeg Jets]], a charter franchise of the [[World Hockey Association]] (WHA). After seven WHA seasons they were one of four organizations [[1979 NHL expansion|enfranchised by the NHL]] on June 22, 1979, when the WHA ceased operations. Due to financial troubles, the Jets were sold to American owners who moved the team to Phoenix on July 1, 1996, where they were renamed the '''Phoenix Coyotes'''. The franchise was renamed the Arizona Coyotes on June 27, 2014. [[Alex Meruelo]] became the majority owner on July 29, 2019, later becoming the franchise's sole owner following the arrest of minority owner [[Andrew Barroway]].

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The team failed to gain long-term stability despite the relocation to the state of Arizona, enduring multiple changes in ownership and struggling for a profitable arena for home games. The NHL took over the Phoenix Coyotes franchise in 2009 when then-owner [[Jerry Moyes]] gave up the team after [[Phoenix Coyotes bankruptcy and sale|filing for bankruptcy]]. The NHL maintained control of the franchise until 2013 when they found new ownership willing to keep it in Arizona. Despite a difficult working relationship with the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, the Coyotes were able to secure a year-to-year arrangement to play in the facility up until the end of the 2021–22 season. Negotiations with the city deteriorated, and the team subsequently signed an agreement to play their games at Mullett Arena on the campus of [[Arizona State University]], starting with the 2022–23 season. The arrangement was intended to be brief, lasting only until a [[New Tempe Arena|new arena]] was built in Tempe, but the arena proposal was rejected by the city's residents in May 2023.

Amid growing pressure to resolve the arena situation and to find an alternative to a college arena considered too small even for temporary usage, the Coyotes suspended hockey operations following the conclusion of the [[2023–24 NHL season|2023–24 season]]. In a deal brokered by the NHL, the Coyotes were essentially split in half. The team's hockey assets (players, staff and draft picks) were transferred to ~~the~~ the [[Utah Hockey Club]], an [[expansion franchise]] awarded at the same time to [[Ryan Smith (businessman)|Ryan Smith]] and based in [[Salt Lake City]]. The Coyotes' name, history and other intellectual property were initially retained by Meruelo, who had intended build a new arena in Arizona by 2029.

~~The Coyotes' name, history and other intellectual property were initially retained by Meruelo, who had intended build a new arena in Arizona by 2029.~~ Meruelo hoped to win a parcel of land at an auction in June 2024. When this auction was canceled, Meruelo left the franchise and abandoned his efforts to revive the Coyotes.

==Franchise history==

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Another key addition to the squad was veteran forward [[Mike Gartner]], who had joined from the [[Toronto Maple Leafs]]. Despite his experience and scoring [[List of NHL players with 700 goals|his 700th career goal]] on December 15, 1997, Gartner battled injuries in the latter half of the 1997–98 season. The Coyotes did not renew his contract and he retired at the end of the season. After arriving in Phoenix, the team posted six consecutive .500 or better seasons, making the playoffs in every year but one. The one time they did not make the playoffs, in [[2000–01 NHL season|2000–01]], they became the first team to earn 90 points and miss the playoffs.

The Coyotes' original home, [[America West Arena]], was suboptimal for hockey. Although considered a state-of-the-art arena when built for the Phoenix Suns, it was designed specifically as a basketball venue, with sight lines optimized for the smaller playing surface of that sport, and not with hockey in mind. The floor was just barely large enough to fit a standard NHL rink, forcing the Coyotes to hastily re-engineer it to accommodate the 200-foot ~~NHL-regulation playing surface~~rink. The configuration left a portion of one end of the upper deck hanging ''over'' the boards and ice, obscuring almost a third of the rink and one goal from several sections. As a result, listed capacity had to be cut down from over 18,000 seats to just over 16,000 – the second-smallest in the league at the time – after the first season.

Burke bought out Gluckstern in 1998 but was unable to attract more investors to alleviate the team's financial woes. In 2001, Burke sold the team to Phoenix-area developer Steve Ellman, with [[Wayne Gretzky]] as a part-owner and head of hockey operations.

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It subsequently emerged that the Utah club was considered an expansion team, not a relocated Coyotes team. In a deal that effectively split the Coyotes franchise in half, Smith acquired the Coyotes' player contracts, hockey operations staff and draft picks while the Coyotes went "dormant" pending a permanent arena. This move was similar to the [[Cleveland Browns relocation controversy|Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens]] of the [[National Football League]] (NFL), with the Coyotes continuing minor business operations, mostly focused on finding a new arena. Meruelo remained on the NHL Board of Governors as an observer, retaining the rights to the Coyotes brand and history (including the history and records of the 1972–1996 Winnipeg Jets), with a five-year window to build or otherwise locate a new arena for his team, before "reactivating" the Coyotes through an expansion draft. Conversely, if Meruelo were to fail to come up with a suitable arena by end of that five-year window, he would be required to permanently halt franchise operations and cede the franchise back to the NHL.<ref>{{cite web |last=Wyshynski |first=Greg |url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/39940303/nhl-arizona-coyotes-move-utah-new-name-schedule-players-coaches |title=Everything we know about the Arizona Coyotes moving to Utah – How is the transaction going to work? |website=ESPN.com |date=April 15, 2024 |access-date=April 15, 2024 |quote=It's expected that the final transaction will include a clause that allows Meruelo to "reactivate" the franchise as an expansion team—paying what's expected to be a $1 billion expansion fee if that happens—between now and 2029 if his arena project is completed. All of the team's intellectual property—including those iconic Kachina jerseys—would remain with Meruelo. It's an agreement that evokes the deal made with the city of Cleveland when the Browns moved to Baltimore in 1995.}}</ref> The sale was finalized on April 18, after the NHL Board of Governors voted to grant a new Utah franchise to Smith, effectively expanding the NHL to a total of 33 or 34 clubs, depending on potential further expansion plans, should the Coyotes have succeeded in building a new team arena.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cotsonika |first1=Nicholas |title='Utah's ready for a team,' new owner says |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/utah-is-ready-for-an-nhl-hockey-team-jazz-owner-ryan-smith-says |website=NHL.com |access-date=April 18, 2024}}</ref>

On June 21, 2024, the Arizona State Land Department canceled a land auction for a 110-acre parcel of land in north Phoenix which Meruelo intended to purchase as a site for a new arena.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/40403806/coyotes-slam-cancellation-june-27-arizona-land-auction |publisher=[[ESPN]] |date=2024-06-25 |~~accessdate~~access-date=2024-06-25 |title=Coyotes slam cancellation of June 27 Arizona land auction |first=Greg |last=Wyshynski |department=NHL}}</ref> Three days later, it was reported that Meruelo had told staff he had no plans to pursue further arena options for the team.<ref>{{Cite news |newspaper=[[Arizona Republic]] |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/coyotes/2024/06/24/arizona-coyotes-owner-alex-meruelo-giving-up-pursuit-of-nhl-arena-report-says/74201793007/ |title=Arizona Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo giving up pursuit of NHL arena, report says |via=[[USA Today]] |publisher=[[Gannett]] |date=2024-06-25 |~~accessdate~~access-date=2024-06-25 |department=Coyotes}}</ref> At the Board of Governors’ meeting on June 26, Meruelo informed Bettman that he was not pursuing the franchise reactivation.<ref name="defunct?">{{cite web|url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/bettman-confirms-meruelo-will-not-be-re-activating-coyotes-franchise/ |title=Bettman confirms Meruelo will not be re-activating Coyotes franchise |website=Sportsnet.ca |date=June 25, 2024 |access-date=June 25, 2024}}</ref> Meruelo formally relinquished his rights to the franchise on July 10.<ref name="relinquish">{{Cite web |date=2024-07-10 |title=Report: Alex Meruelo officially relinquishes rights to Coyotes |url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/report-alex-meruelo-officially-relinquishes-rights-to-coyotes/ |access-date=2024-07-12 |website=[[Sportsnet.ca]]}}</ref> The league has not yet indicated whether the Coyotes will fold outright or whether its history, records and intellectual property will be transferred to the Utah Hockey Club or be split between Utah and the current [[Winnipeg Jets]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Embattled Meruelo leaving Coyotes ownership after failed land auction |url=https://apnews.com/article/arizona-coyotes-utah-nhl-8fe43ee05915109c35d2c1ca4136af7c |website=Associated Press |date=June 25, 2024 |~~accessdate~~access-date=June 25, 2024}}</ref><ref name="defunct?" /> If the team does fold, it will be the first to do so in a major North American professional league since the NHL's [[Cleveland Barons (NHL)|Cleveland Barons]] folded after the 1977–78 season.

==Team information==

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===Logos and jerseys===

[[File:Dedicated Coyotes jersey.jpg|thumb|alt=A signed Coyotes jersey|Coyotes jersey with the [[kachina]]-inspired logo used from 1996 to 2003.]]

Upon their arrival in Phoenix in 1996, the team adopted a look with a traditional Southwestern design. The primary logo was a Southwest Native American-styled hockey stick-wielding coyote in a [[kachina]]-inspired style. The jerseys featured pointed green shoulders with brick red trim over a white (home) or black (road) body, and non-traditional striping patterns. These uniforms remained in place until 2003. A third jersey, primarily green with a nighttime desert landscape wrapped around the bottom and the cuffs of the sleeves, was introduced in 1998 and was retired in 2003 when the team redesigned the uniforms.

As the NHL switched home and road jerseys beginning in the 2003–04 season and coinciding with the team's move from America West Arena to the newly completed Glendale Arena, the Coyotes redesigned their look completely, adopting a howling coyote head logo while dropping several colors from the team's palette. Sedona red and white became the primary colors, with desert sand and black remaining as logo trim colors. A variation of these colors was later used for the [[Major League Baseball]] team [[Arizona Diamondbacks]]~~. The uniform's simplified two-color scheme with three stripes on each sleeve and the tail bears some resemblance to later versions of the [[Montreal Maroons]] jerseys~~. The team also changed its shoulder patch, taking the form of the outline of the state of Arizona, with an homage to the [[Flag of Arizona|state flag]] and the abbreviation "PHX". This logo was worn only on the right shoulder leaving the left shoulder bare.

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!scope="col"| Date retired

!scope="row"| 19{{Efn|Shane Doan's #19 was officially retired on February 24, 2019, making his number the first to be officially retired by the Arizona franchise, with a banner originally hanging in the [[Desert Diamond Arena|Gila River Arena]] until the Coyotes left the arena and moved to the [[Mullett Arena]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Robinson|first=Alan|title=Coyotes roll out red carpet for Doan during retirement ceremony|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/shane-doan-number-19-retired-by-arizona-coyotes/c-305186300|website=NHL.com|date=February 25, 2019|access-date=September 4, 2019}}</ref> The banner would later be given to Shane Doan himself after the team's final game played.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/one-final-insult-for-shane-doan-from-the-arizona-coyotes |title=One final insult for Shane Doan from the Arizona Coyotes|date=April 30, 2024|~~accessdate~~access-date=September 11, 2024}}</ref>}}

|[[Shane Doan]] || [[Winger (ice hockey)|RW]] || 1996–2017 || February 24, 2019

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* Most penalty minutes in a season: 324, [[Daniel Carcillo]] ([[2007–08 NHL season|2007–08]])

* Most goals in a season, defenseman: 23, [[Oliver Ekman-Larsson]] ([[2014–15 NHL season|2014–15]])

* Most points in a season, defenseman: 59, [[Keith Yandle]] ([[2010–11 NHL season|2010–11]])

* Most points in a season, rookie: 65, [[Clayton Keller]] ([[2017–18 NHL season|2017–18]])

* Most wins in a season: 42, [[Ilya Bryzgalov]] ([[2009–10 NHL season|2009–10]])