A Farewell to the Arizona Coyotes………For Now

As you may know by now but the Arizona Coyotes aka the Desert Dogs will be heading to the soaking capital of the world and that is the State of Utah.

Prior to the 4/12 game in Edmonton the league let the players and staff know the team will be heading to Salt Lake City and they can come and check out the facilities after their last home game maybe ever against Edmonton in Mullett.

Yes this is an extremely shitty situation that is happening to a great fanbase that the rest of the NHL refuses to acknowledge, but being a Capital’s fan who has been to many Coyote’s games when the team is exciting the fans are loud and in bunches.

However, hope isn’t completely lost for hockey in Arizona, because when “Meruelo agreed to sell the team after he secured a contractual right to reactivate the franchise within 5 years of the date of the agreement and trigger an expansion draft if an arena is built- this would require him to pay back the $1 billion that he is getting from the sale,” via Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro.

It sounds like an easy solution but their still is a bunch of roadblocks when it comes to bringing the Coyotes back to Arizona, because the team that is heading to Utah will no longer be the Coyotes, Meruelo will retain the name image and likeness of all things Coyotes hockey.

This means that Meruelo wins the bid for the land on June 27th for the construction of the new arena that would house the new look Arizona Coyotes which would be created under the new NHL expansion team rules similar to how Vegas and Seattle were created which means the Coyotes would be setup for success right away and possibly bring back some of the old fan favorite Coyote’s players and now to mention Auston Matthews’ contract will be up and possibly a return to his home state in a brand new arena? What a pipe dream that could be.

Also, currently the Coyote’s last home game Wednesday night tickets are currently going for $900+ if that doesn’t show a dedicated fanbase I don’t know what does, because if they didn’t have any fans like the rest of the league thinks no one would show up Wednesday or even care that they are leaving AZ.

I reached out to some Coyote’s fans on how they are feeling about the situation and was able to get some great stories:

Kyle Smith: My son began playing because of the first Coyotes game we took him to. I didn’t play growing up but taught him how to skate. It was 100% his passion after that one game. He has been playing 5 years now and I wouldn’t change that for the world! I feel really bad, especially for the young fans like my son.

Mike Collins: Here’s what I sent to the AHL Board this morning. Feel free to add it to your blog. Hello, I am a Tucson Roadrunners season ticket member since our inaugural season in 2016. Over the past eight years we have watched our Roadrunners grow from a brand new team to one that produces NHL quality players that are mainstays in the NHL and multiple top level European hockey clubs. We have watched these kids grow up here in Tucson, get promoted to the NHL and Kick @$$ wherever they go. We have witnessed our very first captain, Craig Cunningham, suffer a cardiac event on the ice in the first season. We have endured the pain of watching our team miss the Calder Cup playoffs by a single point in the final game of the season in 2019. We have heartily and loudly supported the Roadrunners for eight years and run a dedicated FB group for fans. We buy, decorate, and distribute cowbells to kids in the stands to help them to enjoy the games even more. Thousands of dollars of authentic game worn and autographed jerseys fill up half of our closets and 50+ autographed pucks and sticks decorate our little Roadrunners/Coyotes room. With the news of the Coyotes potential relocation to SLC the question becomes ‘what will happen to our Roadrunners ?’ The expressed options that are being thrown about are … 1. Relocate the team to Tempe/Mullet Arena. 2. Relocate the team to Reno when the proposed new arena becomes available. 3. Relocate the team to the SLC area to be closer to wherever the Coyotes play. 4. Leave the team here in Tucson for at least the remainder of their lease through the 2026/27 season. As it stands right now current ownership and the NHL are already completely shredding the hearts of the Coyotes fan base with this proposed relocation. If the AHL board votes to relocate the Tucson Roadrunners along with the Coyotes in May, then the AHL will effectively sever the heart strings of a fan base in the second largest city in Arizona. The pain of losing the Coyotes is tangible here in Tucson, NOBODY is ok right now. The thought of losing the Roadrunners makes it even worse. It is therefore, with our greatest respect, that we request that the AHL board vote to NOT relocate the Tucson Roadrunners and to keep them here in Tucson.