After a long and tumultuous period in the franchise's history, the Arizona Coyotes finally succumbed to the looming threat of relocation, resulting in the team temporarily titled the Utah Hockey Club. But why the relocation?
The Arizona Coyotes have had a rough history both on and off the ice. Historically, the team has faced years of poor results, having not made the playoffs for nine seasons and until their relocation, they were the longest-running club to have not made a Stanley Cup final.
But even more damning is their mismanagement over the last few years which was the nail in the coffin.
Gila River Arena in Glendale, the team's home venue, recently threatened to lock the team and all of its employees out of the building due to a dispute over $1.3 million in unpaid taxes and outstanding invoices. This ultimatum highlighted the dire financial situation facing the team, which has struggled with declining attendance and revenues, further complicating its viability in Arizona.
The team scurried to find themselves a new stadium and landed on what was branded as a temporary relocation to Mullet Arena, a small venue on the campus of Arizona State University that sat only roughly 5000 people.
There were hopes a new arena would be built in Tempe when a $2.1 billion U.S dollar bid was put in, but the plans fell through when the bid was rejected. This only reinforced the NHL's growing distrust in the viability of the franchise and was seen as the defining moment in the team's future.
While the walls seemed to be falling down around the Coyotes, Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith was very vocal about brining a team to Utah whether that be in the form of a relocation or an expansion.
Lo and behold the NHL approved the relocation of the Coyotes to Utah who will now temporarily play under the Utah Hockey Club name. Along with their colours of blue and white which will also be temporary, the home of the new team (which will also serve NBA franchise Utah Jazz) will be seeing major renovations to see the arena fit for hockey.
The Utah Hockey Club faced the Chicago Blackhawks in their inaugural match as a new NHL franchise and notched a 5-2 win over the visiting side.