Insider reveals NHL's plans to relocate Arizona Coyotes very soon

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Noel Drolet
March 25, 2024 (9:49)

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As the season continues on, a dark cloud of uncertainty seems to always be following the Arizona Coyotes. The team is currently playing in Mullett Arena in the city of Tempe, which has a capacity of only 5,000 people. For an NHL arena, 5,000 people for capacity is an absolute joke.

The league is looking at working with Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo to either get an arena set somewhere for the team to stay in Arizona, or sell the team and relocate it somewhere else. On Daily Faceoff, Frank Seravalli discussed possible end scenarios and what the uncertain future could look like for the team.

Seravalli states that the NHL seems to be nowhere near as persistent about keeping the team in Arizona as they once were. The league has not made any statements about the team coming back to Mullett or any future plans for a new arena, which is definitely not a vote of confidence for Arizona fans.

Seravalli also says that the Coyotes have a land auction set for June to find a new arena to play in for next year, but if they can't secure a place by June it'll be too close to the next season to be able to relocate the franchise in time. That puts the league in an awkward spot where they need to ensure that the team has an arena to play in next season and at this point the safest bet may be to just relocate the franchise early.

It's interesting to keep an eye on what happens with the team as decisions need to be made before next season and the league is going to take security over anything else. The longer this progresses, the more it seems like the Coyotes' future may be in jeopardy and they may end up somewhere else next season.