The Silver Shield, Vol. 19: The Coyotes’ conundrum

“The Silver Shield” is a column by Kasey Kazliner about the National Hockey League.

The Desert Dogs’ daring decision

For the Arizona Coyotes, the quest for a new home has been a rocky road filled with rejection and turmoil. From getting ousted from Glendale’s Gila River Arena to having their Tempe arena plan denied by public voters to being ridiculed for sharing a 4,600-seat venue with Arizona State, the Yotes are still yet to find a concrete solution for their future long-term residency.

Recently, the team released renderings and a plan to build a privately funded, 17,000-seat arena in northern Phoenix, complemented by an entertainment district, restaurants, retail options, housing and more. The Coyotes are set to bid on a 95-acre strip of state-owned land on June 27, which yields an asking price of $68.5 million. Although the auction’s outcome could very well ultimately decide the fate of the franchise, the path to securing the land could potentially be interrupted by a sale and relocation of the team to Utah.

Coyotes President Xavier Gutierrez and company remain clear that “Hockey Belongs in Arizona” (featured in the team’s X bio) and Gutierrez said that the franchise will “not [be] asking for taxpayer money.” Different from other relocation sagas, it’s not that the Coyotes necessarily want out of Arizona. But the ownership’s ineptitude in conjunction with the tall task of building a multi-use facility in a congested area has made the team’s demise a nightmare for loyal Yotes fans.

Obtaining the prized plot and constructing a new arena on it might not be feasible given the recent momentum brewing in Salt Lake City and Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega’s voiced concerns. Since the proposed arena district sits on the border between Phoenix and Scottsdale, Ortega outwardly opposed any possibility of the team building there, adding that Scottsdale wouldn’t provide any water assets to the project and that the plan was “glitzy,” a “fantasy,” lacking adequate infrastructure and posing traffic risks.

One might ask why the mayor of an entirely separate city should have the right to barge in on a privately built project, and it’s a valid question; Ortega technically shouldn’t. His opposing views certainly don’t help the cause, since his comments could possibly influence the conditions of winning the land auction, which could throw roadblocks in the way of the arena plan.

Meanwhile, Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith, who has been longing for an NHL team for quite some time, has eyed the Coyotes as a prospect to relocate to Salt Lake City. While the Coyotes aim to bid on the Phoenix land in June, a plan involving Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo selling the team to Smith for $1.3 billion could occur much sooner than the auction date. The sale would imminently move the Coyotes out of Arizona — the site of the team since 1996 — and over to Utah under a brand new name and identity, effectively killing off the iconic Kachina look.

The NHL would act as the middleman in the deal, buying the franchise from Meruelo and selling it at a more expensive price to Smith, dividing the extra money ($300 million) among the other team owners.

However, the death of the Arizona Coyotes could possibly give heartbroken fans a new team to look forward to. Commissioner Gary Bettman has previously expressed that Arizona is a viable hockey market, so allowing the current ownership group to revive the Coyotes in the form of an expansion franchise isn’t out of the question. But Bettman has also stated that the league doesn’t plan to expand anytime soon, and if it did, Arizona would have to compete with the likes of Houston and Atlanta, who also fiend for NHL teams.

However, Arizona could be seen as a unique case since the NHL would ultimately be facilitating the Coyotes’ move to Salt Lake City and sees the Phoenix market as a dependable one; so rebirthing the team in the region could come sooner rather than later. But in any league, expansion is an expensive, lengthy process, so there would be no guarantee whatsoever.

If the Coyotes do wind up in Utah, they would share the existing Delta Center with the Jazz until they would both eventually move into a brand new facility.

The Coyotes’ potential move to Salt Lake City wouldn’t be their first in franchise history. The original Winnipeg Jets, who were founded in the World Hockey Association in 1972 before joining the NHL in 1979, are the reason for the dawn of hockey in Arizona. The Jets became the Coyotes in 1996 in the wake of financial issues that resulted in the team’s relocation to the desert.

The Coyotes have had a colorful history since the mid-1990s, literally and figuratively. The team’s unique brand identity that pays homage to the Pueblo people features splashes of purple, green, orange, red, black and cream, all working together to form a retro stick-holding Kachina Coyote logo.

On the ice, the team has never reached the Stanley Cup Finals and has seen its fair share of controversies over the years. Team ownership even filed for bankruptcy in 2009, forcing a sale of the franchise to the NHL, which it operated until 2013.

This season could be the last year of the Arizona Coyotes as we know them. Through 79 games played, the squad has been eliminated from playoff consideration at just 73 points. Smith has already asked his X followers for suggestions on a team name, should it land one in the Beehive State.

The Coyotes would be the first NHL team to relocate since 2011 when the Atlanta Thrashers trotted up north to become the second iteration of the Winnipeg Jets.

“The Silver Shield” runs every Thursday.