The Arizona Coyotes will remain in the state of Arizona for the 2023-24 NHL season. Beyond that, however, the future looks grim for NHL commissioner Gary Bettman's White Whale.
It's become a bit of a meme at this point with how hard Bettman has fought to keep the Coyotes in Arizona. Despite numerous ownership changes and even bankruptcy, the NHL commissioner has fought hard against relocating the team.
And to an extent, it makes sense. Hockey has flourished in non-traditional markets, especially in the Western United States. Go back and watch highlights of the 2012 and 2014 Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup runs. Watch any Vegas Golden Knights game.
The market in Arizona, on paper, is much more promising than the market the Yotes left behind. Bettman oversaw the sale of the original Winnipeg Jets in 1996 and their subsequent move to the desert.
However, after Tuesday's failed arena deal in Tempe, time is running out. Perhaps Bettman and the NHL have one more trick up their sleeve. It doesn't look promising, though.
You certainly have to feel for Coyotes fans, who are undoubtedly being hurt more than anyone in this situation. With that said, though, it is time to acknowledge a harsh reality: relocation feels inevitable. And here are three potential markets for the NHL to explore in that regard.
3) Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City certainly isn't an ideal scenario. Then again, none of this is exactly “ideal.” However, Salt Lake City has an NHL-ready arena, and Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith is interested in bringing the NHL to the city.
If sharing an arena long-term is something the NHL wishes to avoid, they can. Salt Lake City wants to host the 2030 Winter Olympics and would build a hockey arena to help facilitate that. Perhaps the Coyotes share an arena with the Jazz until the new building is complete.
It is also a fit geographically. Salt Lake City is a city in the Western US and fits within the landscape of the other Central Division teams. That avoids the headache of realigning the divisions.
It's not perfect by any means. Salt Lake City is a rather small market, with only two teams in the NHL playing in smaller markets. However, there is a lot going for Salt Lake City that would be hard for the NHL to ignore.
2) Kansas City
Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes has thrown his support behind bringing the Coyotes to KC. They also have an arena without a main tenant, something Mahomes also pointed out on Wednesday.
Kansas City actually briefly had an NHL team in the 1970s. The Kansas City Scouts played two seasons in the NHL before relocating to Denver to become the Colorado Rockies. The Rockies eventually became the New Jersey Devils.
Kansas City nearly returned to the league back in the mid-2000s. Representatives of the Pittsburgh Penguins visited the city and the team nearly made a move to the Midwest before an 11th-hour deal kept the team in Pittsburgh.
The arena in question is the T-Mobile Center, home of the Big 12 Men's Basketball Tournament since 2010. The tournament shouldn't clash too much with the NHL schedule and it allows the Coyotes to be free of the pains of being a tenant to another team.
One drawback is a lack of a clearly interested ownership group. Clark Hunt, owner of the Chiefs, previously expressed interest in owning an NHL team. However, Hunt is no longer entertaining that possibility.
While there are drawbacks, Kansas City wants another sports team in the city. Perhaps Mahomes can convince Chiefs ownership to give the NHL another chance and go after the Coyotes.
1) Houston
Perhaps the most talked about option in all of this is Houston, Texas. Houston Rockets owner Tillman Fertitta has expressed an interest in bringing the NHL to the city in the past. And it makes a lot of sense for the league.
Houston is a large TV market, among the top 10 in the United States. Its metropolitan population is over seven million strong. And hockey has a history in the city, much like Kansas City.
The World Hockey Association granted Houston a franchise in 1974 after a desired move to Dayton, Ohio became unsustainable. The Houston Aeros became one of the more successful franchises in the WHA before the league merged with the NHL in 1979.
Houston missed out on joining the NHL through that 1979 agreement and didn't receive a team again until 1994. The Aeros returned as a minor league hockey team. Houston supported the Aeros until they were relocated to Des Moines, Iowa following the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs.
Once again, the fit for the Coyotes is not perfect. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman mentioned on his 32 Thoughts podcast the league feels the passion for hockey in Houston isn't quite what the league hoped for.
Furthermore, any team playing in Houston would need to work out a lease agreement with Fertitta for the Toyota Center. There is no obvious temporary home the Coyotes could play in while a new arena is built, either.
Despite the drawbacks, Houston is likely to get an NHL team at some point in the future. The NHL wants to explore that market, and the market can sustain a team. Only time will tell if the Coyotes are that team.