SPONGEBOB TITLE CARD: *Ten months later*

Gretzky as coach: Just keep in your mind a constant running visualization of where all 11 other players are on the ice, predicting their every move and effect on one another. Coyotes: ... ... wat

Basically, the takeaway messages: 1. Make sure there is an owner with a couple hundred million a year in loose change (who isn't a Lalo Salamanca type as well) 2. Make sure there is a suitable building located somewhere downtown near a public transit stop.

As an Islanders fan I absolutely sympathize with the Coyotes fans having gone through decades of our own arena trials and tribulations and arena moves. But we have been fortunate to finally have it resolved. I feel so bad for the Coyotes fans that their story looks unlikely to have the same happy ending.

Man I feel terrible for their fans no one deserves to lose their favorite team

It's crazy how there are so many problems with this franchise before it even became a team. It's not even mentioned in the video as it's not necessarily relevant, but 2006 Coyotes coch, Rick Tocchet, was also involved in a scandal, accused of organizing bets on games that involved players in the NHL.

Long time Winnipeg Jets fan here since the 80s. I remember when we lost the team the first time, got them back one last year, and then they were really gone. I went to the "funeral" in the old barn. To a young man and a young fan this was devastating and left a mark for years on the soul of the province. I know there are Coyotes fans who would have the same reaction if the worst happens and I sympathize with them. We have our Jets back now, and while that has been exhilarating, we count ourselves very lucky. To the Coyotes fans, we are pulling for you, we know what it is to lose your team, and would not wish that on anyone.

I've been watching Shannon for years now. And he's always very optimistic about the Yotes. So to see him say that it is looking like it could be the end of the road for this team...I know Arizona is in deep deep trouble.

As a former Coyotes season ticket holder, I’d love to say thank you - THANK YOU - For your fair and accurate assessment of everything that happened. A lot of people want to pretend that the market was given everything and still failed when the fans received sporadic playoff success along with decades of instability. A far-flung corner of Glendale that borders Peoria isn’t the answer. If they can’t get a new arena downtown with the Suns or a suitable arena in either Mesa or South Scottsdale, then the best thing to do is to just move the team.

You can put a basketball court in a hockey arena. You can't put a hockey rink in a basketball arena.

As an Arizona native this situation is incredibly sad. I know numbers don’t show it but the years that they made the playoffs (yes the bubble year included) all of greater Phoenix and or the whole State was rooting for them, especially when they made that deep run back in 2012. I understand from a financial standpoint that the NHL might want to finally pull the plug but I think the Coyotes have never had a real chance to succeed in terms of having a stable home and having stable ownership/front office. If they relocate, it will definitely be a big blow to the state as most most of the AZ teams we currently have seem to be on the decline and seeing a Coyotes group grow and have that potential to contend in 2026 (if they had a new building) would’ve been a sight to see. But at the same time, being voted NO by over a 10% margin just shows that at this point the state and it’s legislatures don’t care for hockey here. And there are other locations they could try like the Old Coliseum downtown but again, that’d be resources that I don’t think the state wants to allocate.

This is why you are my #1 source for NHL related stuff. Excellent video.

The Footprint Center (formerly America West) was renovated several years back and literally couldn't even fit a NHL rink anymore. So that is out. Every bridge that can be burned in the Glendale situation has been burned. It is hard to imagine that is even possible. Any brand new arena would be AT LEAST 5 years out before a place could be found then the building planned and financed and then actually constructed. So they are stuck in Mullett for the foreseeable future and that is just impossible. Other owners are not going to accept the loss in revenue, players are not going to sign there unless they have no other options, and fans are probably going to trickle away since the prospects are so bleak. The Coyotes have said they are staying. I suppose they can hang on next season while settling new ownership and picking a location, but I have to think it is over.

I'm a new-ish NHL fan (8 years now) and don't know much of the history, especially teams outside my home team. I was trying to explain this to my husband and he was asking all these questions about the history that I didn't know so this is MUCH APPRECIATED!

An expansion team, brought into the market with 2-3 years advance notice and reviving the legacy branding of the "Phoenix Roadrunners?" Would work. But from even before the Jets were relocated the NHL's sojourn into Arizona has been done on the fly, with nothing planned in concrete. Jerry Colangelo was seen as a pillar of stability that'd make the team work, only to see him get into a bind with the Diamondbacks that forced him to put the Coyotes essentially to the back burner. It's been downhill since. Let them move. If the NHL really wants to, they can get an arena deal in place and then expand again, a la Seattle/Vegas.

Im really sorry Yotes fans, i hope this is resolved and your insane prospect pool blossoms in a couple years. Gotta be the toughest fanbase in the league at this point.

Who’s here after the Utah relocation?

You make a good point about players desire to sign with uncertainty looming. Not only could free agents be difficult to sway, but what's a guy like Logan Cooley thinking when he can just wait out his college eligibility like so many others before him have? Tough situation for sure, feel for the diehard Yotes fans

I was a Coyotes fan right before the Bankruptcy. It has been a long rough road. These last two years have had the best feelings of turning the team around, then Tempe. The only thing the Coyotes need right now is an Arena in a good location. If they don’t have a proposal by the end of the summer then the next year will be the last. And that is sad because Phoenix is a good market, it just never had a good arena.

To me there are a few things that make Phoenix a tricky pro sports market. 1. Many people who live in the southern half of Arizona are transplants from other states and they root for the teams from those other states. 2. Arizona has two big colleges in Tempe and Tucson and people are fans of college teams more than pro. 3. The coyotes didn't come up with a plan for a new building after America West Arena didn't work as an NHL arena.

I’m a Bruin fan in LA area. I loved going to see them in Glendale, I liked the arena and I could get a ticket for cheap. I went to the game in Mullett arena and that was fun to see so close up but man was it expensive. Hope they stay but not holding out much hope

Jerry Colangelo asked Gary Bettman before building America West Arena now Foot Print Center if there was any plans for the NHL to come to Phoenix. Bettman had at the time said no. The other location I feel an arena could be built although the old building would have to be torn down is The Veterans Memorial Coliseum at 19th Ave and McDowell in Phoenix.

One thing that often gets conveniently forgotten about the Coyotes is the City of Glendale paying $25 million to cover the team's losses and keep them in Arizona back in 2011. It bought them enough time to avoid getting moved to Winnipeg (goodbye Thrashers as a result) and has kept this soap opera going for another decade. So whenever I listen to Alex Meruelo or anyone else from the Coyotes complain about Glendale, it's just amazing to me because without that vote 12 years ago, this team may very well have ended up in Winnipeg. I have to imagine that they have exhausted all their options in the Phoenix metro at this point and that relocation is the only option now

I must say it has been tough and rough watching the Coyotes go through all this chaos. I've been a fan since 96' and even played hockey in AZ because of them. Whatever the outcome is, I'll still cherish and root for them to the end. If Salt Lake City is an option for a move, I'll be okay with it. I live in Idaho and am surrounded by Golden Knights & Kraken & Avalanche fans. Yes, Coyote fans are real, lol!

Wow such a great video Shannon, you are encyclopedic on these things

Another nice job by The Man to keep us informed

Great video. Sad for Yotes fans ❤ Shane Doan must be devastated too he dedicated his career to the Yotes and Arizona his home. I feel bad for the fans, the employees and for the kids who love Hockey. Sad all around❤

I was the FedEx dispatcher from 2003 to 2014 for the area that covers the Gila Bend Arena area in Glendale and the rest of the valley heading further west from there .The timing of the Coyotes move to Glendale could not have been worse .The Great Recession started to hit in that area before anywhere .In 2005 and early 2006 there were plans to build a few hundred thousand more new homes in the western valley ,In western Glendale,Avondale,Sun City West ,Surprise and even all the way out in Wickenburg .I was able to see some of the blueprints of the projects because we were going to need to add numerous routes to cover these areas which were already exploding in population since the early 2000s. Then 2007 came and so did the cancellations of all the new construction and we all know what happened in 2008 and 2009 everywhere else around the State , Country and the World .Arizona and the Las Vegas were probably the two areas hardest hit in the Country at that time, possibly Florida also .The western valley here would of added another million people to the population of Arizona by today easily .Maybe its a good thing looking back that it stopped the growth when it did , but there was a lot of pain inflicted to so many people of which the majority did things correctly by saving their money to purchase a new home with normal fixed rate mortgages that were not subprime junk ,many of them also had their home values cut 70,80 and even 90 percent and almost immediately ..from there the snowball of problems only continued to grow with sketchy owners dealing with sketchy city governments .Their only true chance would of been a state of the art hockey arena in Phoenix from the get go in the late 1990s that held 17 thousand or more with corporate suites ..Its a shame this state and its fans get the bad rap that they do .the fans in AZ are fine ,most of them are transplants from the Mid West ,East Coast and also Canada and know the game inside and out ..I came from Queens myself and have been a Islanders fan since day one in 1972 and we went through many of the same problems with governments ,owners and arenas, but fortunately the Isles are in a great place now and will be fine for decades to come ,but they were very close to the same outcome as what the Coyotes now are looking at ,personally i think a move to Utah would work ,even better would be Quebec of which ive always had a soft spot for since the Nordiques left ..either way the end is just about here now in Arizona which is sad , because we now have a solid base being built for youth hockey and a few players are making a very nice impact in the NHL ..but life goes on as they say and this is still a wonderful State to live in .

True hockey fans would never place the blame on the Arizona fans, which are some of the most loyal in the league. The blame would have to be on the owners and the NHL. If the team does get moved, it'll be a sad day. I honestly believe that if the arena project (not the whole entertainment district) was 100% privately funded it would have passed. The whole entertainment district could come later with a smaller hit to tax payer's wallets if tax money was used for that. People need to see results for the money they pay in taxes and not just money in billionaires pockets which is the perception.

I am devastated by the entire situation. I really don’t want to lose my team.

I just came back from the Phoenix/Tempe/Mesa area while on vacation and it just happened to be the week of the vote. The most I heard about the Coyotes was on the news and radio was that the team might finally be done here in Arizona with an emphasis on the finally, as in they are sick of the fiasco and consider the team a sideshow to the other Phoenix area teams like the Suns, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, and college teams. The most advertising I saw for the team was at the Phoenix Zoo where the team had apparently funded the Coyote habitat. A couple of faded logos on the floor and wall and a standee of the mascot that was being overgrown by bushes was all that consisted of. When I called the team to see if they had a team store I could visit they told me all they had was a small kiosk they'd roll out for games, and I would be better served going to a sporting goods store. So much for the sporting goods stores. A visit to Big 5 Sports, Dick's, and Just Sports and all they had was just a handful of discounted youth jerseys, a way overpriced replica "medium" jersey, and just the usual tshirts. There were more stuff in stock for visiting teams than the Coyotes! Apart from the very few die hards that actually do go to games that I deeply sympathize with, the area just seems to have general apathy or outright disgust for the team based entirely on it's revolving door of ownership which seem to be an endless parade of cheapos, crooks, and entitled fools that can't or won't pay the bills who see NHL ownership as a stepping stool to better business opportunity connections because former major league team owner looks great on a resume. At least two and half hours south in Tucson the Roadrunners are trying to make a name for themselves. Even though the season was over you still could find ads and places with souvenirs around town. Even then they don't seem to be drawing all that well with attendance in the low 3,000s. At least it looks like they are trying. Part of me wonders if the attendance issues are because the hockey season is actually played during Arizona's "nice" time of the year? Right now the temperature is in the mid 90s and in the summer it's going up to the 110s to 120s. While the Coyotes are playing the temperature is in the mid 80s, that's when everyone seems to want to be out and about rather than cooped up indoors.

Shannon the bottom line honestly is Arizona never had a fair shake. We havent had an Ownership group that put money into the team or just used them as a tax write off. Theres no city in North America that could stand this mess. I dont care how "Diehard" you are a fan. I grew up in St Louis where Hockey is a staple and had the benefit of 50 yrs of history. Most haters come from fanbases 50 - 70 years old. With I might ad where cups were won. That endears you to a team the Coyotes other than the first eight years was a failure. Tickets arent cheap for a team thats never even whiffed a cup but one season. Most haters that keep screaming move arebwhat I call NHL snobs mostly Canadian. Im glad you did this video Thank You Shannon and Thank You for being fair and not hating Arizona . Also the Tempe issue was idiotic a Liberal college town was never going to vote their way. Not to mention outside forces including unions came put against the team.

Great video thank you

Our weather is only 5-7 degrees lower than Phoenix where we live here Shannon. Good time for you to be talking Phoenix so much :)

Towards the end of the video you asked "How far can this go." "Houston." was my response.

Nobody can say that the NHL hasn't gone above and beyond in trying to keep a team in Arizona. BUT, enough is enough. Houston is the 4th largest city (population) in the USA. It's time!

As always I think you nailed it.

I went and saw the islanders play in Brooklyn.. such a weird setup for a hockey rink

It all started to go downhill when Gretzky was coaching with Tochett and Tochett was running a gambling ring and taking bets placed by Gretzkys wife. The credibility of the organization was ruined. And now Gretzky is doing commercials to promote betting on sports and Tochett is coaching in Vancouver 🤔

Saw a Coyotes game when they played in the Suns' basketball arena - lots of obstructed-view seats.

It seems to me that all those years of instability and lies, even if the current owners weren't involved then, is what really sunk the Coyotes. I feel bad for the fan base, especially the ones that have been diehard since the expansion(I know you're out there)

Thank goodness I'm still a kid, I still have time. Thanks again man!

Yup, 2 tickets were $500 (USD) a piece this past year, which made it $1400 Canadian

THG: "...There was a Simple Plan." Bettman: "I"D DO ANY THIIIIIIING"

It will be great for who ever buys this team, because they will get something that's up and coming.

The way you map this out Shannon...man, what a sad saga...there's "blood" on the NHL's/Bettman's hands...

Thanks for doing this. Overall I don't think an NHL team is ever going to work in Arizona. There's too much baggage and negativity surrounding the history of the team in that state. How many 100's of millions has been pissed into the wind so far already? A new arena is a billion dollars minimum.

Dang, I will miss those beautiful kachina jerseys though. Best jersey in the league.

When it takes over 27 years to find out if it's going to work, then it's not going to work.

Elliotte Friedman basically saying that owners are big mad about the Coyotes situation is fun. This just gets juicier and juicier!

Arizona is that old dog you have that is clearly suffering but you don't have the heart to put it down.

And Trials and Tribble-ations was a great DS9 episode!

Thanks for the insight, and putting it in a timeline for better context. I understand the Glendale county council being salty for getting had all these years. They probably bought into that this would be one of the driving forces to grow the area substantially, and it's sad that the synergies haven't panned out. Potentially, it could've been what Arlington or even Fort Worth have become for Dallas, thus helping the Phoenix-metro area grow as a whole, and not put all the strain on just one city when it comes to population density and housing costs. Bytw, great choice to put the front of the arena displaying the most über-douchy kind of event with the duplicitous message, in this instance to the Glendale legislature and voters: only you will ultimately be held accountable for greenlighting all this mess.

This video is basically a prelude and prediction for everything happening now. I feel so bad for all coyotes fans rn!

And that’s a wrap

When Ed Jovanoski says pull the plug. I'd say that's good advice. Houston is a bigger TV market. They got better support than The NBA with the Vancouver Grizzlies.

Imagine moving a franchise to a place where after 27 years you still don't have a proper place to play.

You could do the same video on the hartford whalers

I watched the Sabres play in Arizona on TV in 2021-202season I believe, and there was an enthusiastic happy crowd watching. As a Sabres fan since the 70's I noticed it right away. I feel sorry for the hockey fans in Arizona.

The Arizona Cardinals (who haven’t been great either) are located very close to Gila River Arena and they’ve been able to draw. The failure of the Coyotes has been ownership instability up until now. And they had pissed off their home city before they got a legitimate owner to invest in them.

Remember former Sharks president Greg Jamison? He was supposed to buy the Coyotes when they were under league ownership. All the Coyotes fans looked at him as a savior, and he spoke to the media like he already owned the team. Bettman finally imposed Jamison a deadline to buy the Coyotes, only to find out that Jamison didn't have any money! The NHL dodged a bullet, or should I say, dodged a John Spano.

As i recall scottsdale wanted the parking revenue at the los arcos site and was terminated. On that site is skysong a mixed use innovation center partnered with ASU housing 50+ companies and is today a major investment engine

Thank you for this video. This is such a depressing time to be a Yotes fan. Will we even have a team after a year?

I remember in the 1960’s the Victoria Maple Leafs of the western league when the moved to Phoenix and that didn’t last long.

There also was a tweet from Keller's dad too.

Whatever city gets the formally known as team is getting a pretty stacked prospect pool and a few established players. Better than an expansion team

If a team needs an absolutely perfect setup to basically break even after almost 30 years they were never gonna work in the first place

Katie Strang's article in 2021 is really interesting to read to know how the organisation works now.

Man the 2012 playoffs was crazy, the building was packed over 100% easily with the whiteouts

ive been watching your boards for years now but wow... this one is... vg

After leaving Winnipeg, America West Arena (now the Footprint Center) wasn't built with hockey in mind, Gila River Arena (now Desert Diamond Arena) is all the way across the Valley from where the hockey fans and money reside and while Mullet Arena is in the right location, it's too small to be a long-term option, especially with revenue sharing and hockey-related revenue likely causing the ticket prices to be higher than usual. I hope they can get a building anywhere from Phoenix to the East Valley so they can be stable in the Valley.

Honestly Hamilton is a $ maker idea. It has its own small market similar to Winnipeg and Quebec, but it also has the giant bleed over market with Toronto. Big GTA sales will happen since they can't get enough of the Leafs. It would even help Buffalo a bit with fans going to watch them play against Buffalo. Both Leafs and Sabres may not WANT Hamilton in, but it would make the league pretty good $. If the league ever goes beyond 32 teams and grows to 36 for the future, then you will likely see Hamilton and possibly Quebec added in the East.

Nice job. I would add this too. The NHL had sanctioned the Arizona Coyotes for violating the NHL's Combine Testing Policy during the 2019-20 season, directing the forfeiture of the Club's 2nd-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and 1st-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.... The Mitchell Miller selection, players wanting out and the buying of LTIR contracts almost 30 million in dead money. Expect the unexpected were the ways of the Coyotes, always something going on there.

Moved to AZ when they started. Moved around since then yet they’re still my team.

Come on San Antonio Yotes!!

I think going to SLC is the best move for the franchise and then doing expansion in Quebec City and Houston

The Tempe stuff came across the news here around KC. Patrick Mahomes stated that he wants the Coyotes here in KC. We have the T-Mobile center which was built initially for NHL/NBA teams.

It can still work!

Shannon, could you do a video of which teams reside in ownership owned buildings and which ones lease/rent a building that's used for concerts, conventions and what have you?

The Hockey Guy should relocate to Vancouver, WA

My thoughts on the Yotes: 1. Move the team to either Houston or Kansas City 2. The next round of NHL Expansion sees Quebec and the city that didn’t get the Coyotes get a team. 3. Current Coyote owner sells Team to facilitate move, with the understanding he needs to secure a building for when the NHL expands from 34 to 36 teams. 4. NHL second expansion sees Arizona return to the NHL alongside a second Greater Toronto Area team.

I had actually forgot how messed up the Coyotes have been for such a long time. And since you didn't mention it during the last phase I had completely forgotten about the extremely bad pr of a hostile work environment and not paying bills etc. That's the current owner. Of course people would have serious doubts about them even making good on their promises due to their very recent bad press. Sadly I think it has soured the market in Arizona considerably.

It’d be a shame if they left Arizona, Matthews was up next year

Hockey news: -You have ESPN, a behemoth in the media industry with billions of dollars to throw around -Shannon, a guy with a white board and a lot of hockey jerseys David crushes Goliath

Given how Reinsdorf runs the Bulls and White Sox, I'm not sure it would have turned out differently if he was owner.

The best and most stable ownership the Coyotes have had was the NHL. They made the playoffs three straight years and reached WCF in 2012.

This is going to be a quabec/ colorado type of relocation. Once they move they make a cup run a lot of young stars on the team and in the system

The ownership changing hand so many times probably didn't help either. No stability of ownership and not paying bills made it easy for Tempe residents to at least be hesitant of the arena.

Going to Glendale was a massive mistake and helped kill the Coyotes. Geographically it's a PIA to get there from Mesa, Scottsdale and Gilbert, where your most likely hockey fans are. Sure people drive out there for the Cardinals but you can't compare any sport to football.

At America West, they wanted to remodel so it there would no longer be ‘obstructed view’ seats. The Suns - Jerry Colangelo was ok with that but would not let them in on the Arena’s ad and concession revenue.

As an az resident I’m sad. Az sports needs some love

excellent summation shannon as usual,it has been a 26 year money losing pipe dream compliments of gary bettman! any buziness man in his right mind would stay away from this club send them to hamilton or quebec we have lots of fans up here and we have ice and snow not a sandy desert!

Oh!!

I feel it may have made more sense once we find out after what happens

Anyone else look at the paw when he said have some pause?

Whoa never knew jerry reisndorf tried to buy em

I know it's a fair way out of Phoenix but I'm just throwing stuff out there. Would Tucson work? It still baffles me that Glendale was too far out of downtown Phoenix. It's still in the Phoenix metro area.

Tire fire from day 1......time to go

I think if the coyotes don’t have a concrete plan to have an arena by the all-star break this next season, the NHL is going to move them. They will have one year left on their mullet deal so they will have time to figure out where to move and then actually do so. I think the owners have had enough of trying to make it work in Phoenix.

The talk surrounding hockey in Arizona is kind of frustrating for me to listen to. I'm not a Coyotes fan, I'm a Red Wings fan. But I feel almost like I'm judged with all other Arizonans when I hear people talk about the lack of fans or simply ridicule the idea of hockey in the desert. The idea of a "traditional market" doesn't make much sense to me. I get where it comes from. Obviously in a hotter climate, hockey probably won't be as popular. But a major sport is a major sport. People will pay to see it if it's entertaining. The arena was full when they were in the playoffs. Anyone who thinks the team couldn't make money probably doesn't understand how big Phoenix is. Glendale and Tempe are part of Phoenix. It's all one massive city. It could support this team if things just went right for a little while. And all of the fans of other teams, who are diehard hockey fans like in any other city, would be able to go to those games too.