Utah gets its NHL team
Coyotes officially leaving Arizona for Salt Lake City following approval of sale
The Arizona Coyotes are officially headed to Salt Lake City.
The NHL Board of Governors voted unanimously Thursday to approve a $1.2 billion sale from Alex Meruelo to Utah Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith, clearing the way for the franchise’s move to Utah next season.
The deal includes a provision for Arizona to get an expansion team if a new arena is built within the next five years. The deal will be facilitated through the NHL, with $200 million going to league owners as a relocation fee.
“We expressed our interest publicly with the NHL,” Ryan Smith said. “It’s probably been two years where we’ve said, ‘Hey, look, we really believe
Utah can be an incredible hockey town.’ You look at all the demographics, we were just talking about the Olympics and you think about the Olympics coming back. It all kind of made sense.”
Smith will take over the franchise’s hockey operations and Meruelo will maintain his business operations in Arizona in an effort to secure and develop a tract of land for a new arena in north Phoenix.
Meruelo also retains ownership of the Tucson Roadrunners, the franchise’s AHL affiliate, and hopes to move them to Mullett Arena, the Coyotes’ temporary home shared with Arizona State University the past two seasons. He plans to pay back the $1 billion once an expansion team is approved.
“The NHL’S belief in Arizona has never wavered,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “We thank Alex Meruelo for his commitment to the franchise and Arizona, and we fully support his ongoing efforts to secure a new home in the desert for the Coyotes. We also want to acknowledge the loyal hockey fans of Arizona, who have supported their team with dedication for nearly three decades while growing the game.”
Meruelo will retain the Coyotes’ name, logo and trademark, so Smith’s group will have to rename the team.
DEVILS LOOKING FOR A COACH
General manager Tom Fitzgerald is looking for a new coach for the New Jersey Devils and interim skipper Travis Green remains in the running for the job.
Speaking three days after the Devils ended a disappointing season by missing the playoffs, Fitzgerald said he hopes to have a full-time coach in place for the NHL draft in late June.
“Travis is well aware of my intentions,” Fitzgerald said Thursday. “I owe it to the organization to make sure I was following the coaching world with who I believe would be the perfect coach for this group moving forward for what’s available out there.”
Fitzgerald wants his coach to be a person who can communicate with his players while holding them accountable.
Green checks many of those boxes, including being a no-nonsense coach, Fitzgerald said. He said there are other coaches to be considered and others may become available, possibly after the first round of the postseason.
CANUCKS LOCK UP PODKOLZIN
The Vancouver Canucks have signed former first-round draft pick Vasily Podkolzin to a two-year extension.
The 22-year-old Russian winger split the 2023-24 season between the NHL team and its American Hockey League affiliate, the Abbotsford Canucks.
Podkolzin was called up to the
NHL club in early March and has played a depth role, registering two assists and six penalty minutes in 18 games.