In Their Hour Of Need, Arizona Coyotes Fans Deserve More Sympathy
Compassion is the name of the game when it comes to the sorry situation unfolding in Phoenix...
No sooner had the news filtered through, then mass speculation had already started to spread across social media like wild fire that couldn’t be contained.
Mere moments had passed since the Arizona Coyotes were dealt yet another crippling body blow, yet that didn’t stop media site after media site, not to mention a slew of blogs, from sharpening the knife and relentlessly and ruthlessly twisting it into a freshly inflicted wound.
Yes, as the death march for the Arizona Coyotes officially began on Tuesday in the wake of voters in Tempe emphatically rejecting a plan to build a $2.3 million entertainment district that would have included a brand new arena for the Yotes, so too did the ‘where next’ articles on the internet.
Hit up the Arizona Coyotes in a Google search right now and you’ll be overwhelmed by a plethora of pieces detailing where the NHL could move the Coyotes.
Houston appears to be the early favorite, Quebec City is the dream scenario that won’t go away, and Salt Lake City is an attractive option for the league. A return to Atlanta could also be on the cards for the NHL.
Heck, even Patrick Mahomes couldn’t resist getting in on the act, with the star quarterback taking to Twitter to express his opinion that the Coyotes would be welcome in Kansas City.
Mahomes is already a part owner of the Kansas City Royals, so maybe he’s looking to cement his status as King of Kansas by investing in another sports franchise in the area.
However, this all seems rather disrespectful to say the least. The Coyotes aren’t even dead yet, but that hasn’t stopped anybody from already writing their obituary and planning for a better future. It’s like dreaming of a blissful new life with a new wife while you’re still married.
It leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
Plus, it isn’t over until it is over. The Coyotes have already confirmed that they will play at Mullett Arena for the 2023-24 season - that name will never get old by the way - and the organization is already working on other alternatives to remain in the Valley.
One intriguing last-ditch swing of the bat could rest with Mat Ishbia, the new owner of the Phoenix Suns in the NBA and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury. This is the insight NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman had on the latest edition of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast:
“I would be surprised if Gary Bettman and the NHL, if they haven’t already, meet with him to gauge his interest in supporting the idea of turning the Suns’ current rink into a facility that could also support the Coyotes,” Friedman said. “That would take some work, it might take two summers, it’ll take a couple hundred million dollars, but I don’t think the NHL wants to abandon the Arizona market unless it absolutely has to.”
Friedman is right. To transform the Suns’ arena into one that is suitable for hockey would be a mammoth undertaking. You are looking at nearly 5,000 obstructed view seats and the Suns have already spent a whopping $230 million on arena renovations as recently as 2020. Whether there would be an appetite to shell out more dollars in order to make Footprint Center hockey friendly remains to be seen.
However, Ishbia has already shown he’s not afraid of a fight having tangled with the formidable, the intimidating and the slightly scary Nikola Jokic during a recent Suns - Denver Nuggets NBA Playoff game. Plus, with an estimated worth of around $6.3 billion dollars, Ishbia has the means to help support the Coyotes and he could be tempted to play the role of savior in order to further endear himself to the locals.
Other options to remain in Arizona include the Fiesta Mall site in Mesa, AZ. Located just off Highway 60, the Fiesta Mall has been vacated since 2018 and could be a feasible option, although a vote would be required to build an arena in the area according to reports. And, in the wake of what happened on Tuesday, that could be a huge stumbling block for the Coyotes.
Of course, at this stage, even the most optimistic person in Arizona would have to admit that it will take the most perfectly executed Hail Mary to save hockey in the desert. And even that may not be enough.
With very few options remaining in Arizona due to strained relationships with labour unions and a myriad of other factors, coupled with the fact that the current deal with Mullett Arena - a 5,000 seat college hockey arena - will expire after the 2024-25 season, the smart money would be on the Coyotes playing in another city come the 2025-26 season.
But, whether they remain in Arizona or are ultimately relocated elsewhere, the point remains that the Coyotes and its fans deserve better. They deserve a hell of a lot better.
I’m a die-hard sports fan, and I’d wager good money that whoever is reading this is in that same camp too. Just imagine if your favorite team got dragged out of its home by its ass tomorrow. How would that make you feel? You’d be crushed. Heartbroken. We’re not just married to the teams we support, our very souls are intwined and finely woven into the fabric of those organizations. The teams we follow, the teams we love, the teams we cheer for through thick and thin are a part of us. Period.
Sports teams are also embedded into the very hearts of their communities. They can be the driving force for good, a beacon of hope when everything else on the horizon is clouded in darkness. They uplift, they support, they help to heal, they provide joy and comfort. They are simply everything to so many.
Therefore, the idea of any city losing a team is gut-wrenching. We’re seeing it play out with the Oakland A’s in baseball right now too and it is painful to see that passionate fanbase go through so much suffering. Coyotes fans deserve our full support, our full understanding and every ounce of compassion we can muster up. That’s all they need right now, not constant reminders of what ugliness could be lurking in the dark looming shadows.
There’s also the aspect of kicking someone when they are already down at this point. Given everything they’ve been through, it does come as a huge surprise that the Coyotes are still standing. They’ve absorbed more brutal, bone-crushing body blows than Rocky did against Drago. Even more than Adonis Creed suffered through in what seemed like every single fight he ever took on. The Yotes are currently on their knees in the middle of the ring, bloodied and broken, clutching on to the last shreds of hope they have while attempting to conjure up enough strength for one more brave fight.
And, if anyone can survive this latest spirit-breaking setback, it is the Arizona Coyotes. After all, they’ve flipped through more lives than a cat and, just like that persistent son of a bitch Michael Myers in the Halloween films, the Yotes refuse to die no matter how many stabs through the heart and slashes to the throat they’ve suffered through.
To add some much-needed context, here’s a taste of the myriad of struggles the Coyotes have had to deal with and bounce back from since the team relocated from Winnipeg in 1996:
Cycled through several owners, survived bankruptcy in 2009 and was ran by the NHL for four seasons.
Avoided attempted relocations to Hamilton and Seattle.
After enduring a seven-year postseason drought, good times appeared to be on the horizon when a new ownership group arrived on the scene in 2013. HOWEVER, the city of Glendale backed out of a long-term, multimillion-dollar lease agreement in 2015.
As a result, the Coyotes were eventually evicted from their arena and were forced to play at Mullett Arena - a college hockey arena - with a limited capacity of 5,000, thus becoming the laughing stock of the NHL yet again.
Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, the Yotes have also consistently put a garbage product out on the ice too. They’ve missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 10 of the past 11 seasons.
They deserve better. The Coyotes deserve better. Arizona deserves better. And it would be such a freaking shame if hockey were to depart the desert. Believe it or not, youth hockey is thriving in Phoenix and Arizona boasted 9,232 registered players in 2021-22. That impressive footprint is showing no signs of slowing down either.
Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews, raised in Scottsdale, sparked the surge of interest in hockey in Arizona and it has been experiencing a sweet, sweet boon ever since. Kids throughout the area have laced up their skates in the hope that they will one day follow in the footsteps of Matthews, and we’re starting to see the results of that right now.
Matthew Knies, born and raised in Phoenix, emerged as a potential impact player of the future for the Maple Leafs this year, putting up four points (1 G, 3 A) in seven postseason games. Josh Doan, son of Coyotes legend Shane (who currently serves as the franchise’s Chief Hockey Development Officer) tallied three goals and three assists for six points for the Tucson Roadrunners in the AHL after signing his entry-level contract with the Coyotes on March 16.
On a sidenote, it would be a real kick in the cubes if we’re robbed of the opportunity to watch Josh follow in his famous Dad’s footsteps by attempting to carve out his own legacy in Arizona.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the hotbed of elite young talent in the game in Arizona. There’s a slew of players with ties to the area littered throughout the game, and that number should only continue to grow too.
Then there’s the Coyotes themselves. It is somewhat ironic that, on the cusp of being outed from their home, the Yotes are seemingly putting together something quite special. Clayton Keller is the cornerstone of that very franchise, while Logan Cooley, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, is a prospect with a lot of upside that could morph into a vital building block for the future.
Building through the draft the way they are, the Yotes could have something to really buy into within the next couple of years, and there’s always been a distant but tangible hope that Matthews would bolt Toronto and return home and attempt to win a Stanley Cup with the team he grew up idolizing.
That would be some freaking story.
However, sadly, that appears to be more of a pipe dream than ever before. And, while the Arizona Coyotes have found a way to cheat death time and time again before, their luck appears to have finally run out. While you can’t ever truly rule out the Coyotes from mirroring The Undertaker and rising from the dead yet again, there just appears to be too many stumbling blocks, too many hurdles to overcome this time.
Whatever happens though, stay or go, the Arizona Coyotes and their fans deserve and need our sympathy right now, and our full support. Maybe that way, with a little love and backing, the Yotes can somehow find a way to salvage this and fight to live another day yet again.
Because the Coyotes staying put in a big media market like Arizona would truly be the best case scenario for everyone involved.
