CXLIX - FINAL thoughts on the Arizona Coyotes

[TheLegend]

The NHL has decided it was ok with 2 years of transition with the Delta Center where they won't have NHL-standard capacity. So if you assume thats the standard that means the if the NHL would be willing to put a team back in Phoenix in 2035 if a deal is in place for new arena to open in 2037 (which is when the lease expires and Footprint will be 45 years old). That is assuming there is no way to expand Footprint.

It will probably be the same condition as Meruelo had. They’ll need arena at least 50% complete.

 

[aqib]

It will probably be the same condition as Meruelo had. They’ll need arena at least 50% complete.

I think there was a lack of trust in Meruelo specifically to get the deal done. Also it was he needed to be 50% complete to fix the date for reactivation. So if there was a situation where the Suns were getting a new arena that was hockey ready of they had a plan to make Footprint hockey ready it would be different assuming there was a group the NHL thought was legit.

 

[StreetHawk]

I think there was a lack of trust in Meruelo specifically to get the deal done. Also it was he needed to be 50% complete to fix the date for reactivation. So if there was a situation where the Suns were getting a new arena that was hockey ready of they had a plan to make Footprint hockey ready it would be different assuming there was a group the NHL thought was legit.

NHL would award AZ a team to time it for either a completion of a Footprint renovation or the completion of a new arena. So, if it was going to be ready for the 34/35 season, they could award them a team sometime in late 2032 or first half of 2033. Looking at 18-24 months before they drop the puck to award the team. Allows them to setup their staff and get an AHL affiliation.

 

[TheLegend]

I think there was a lack of trust in Meruelo specifically to get the deal done. Also it was he needed to be 50% complete to fix the date for reactivation. So if there was a situation where the Suns were getting a new arena that was hockey ready of they had a plan to make Footprint hockey ready it would be different assuming there was a group the NHL thought was legit.

Bottom line is…. The arena situation must be resolved in some way.

New arena…. remodeled arena…. doesn’t matter.

 

[razor ray]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1820969905132585384

Also, the entire Loge section is sold out for the season and the suites only have a few left for some of the more random games. Since ASU has added hockey it has been a revenue sport, the arena has been a revenue generator for the Athletic Department, and ticket sales will hit a record for revenue this year.

Since ASU has added hockey it has been a money making machine.

 

[aqib]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1820969905132585384

Also, the entire Loge section is sold out for the season and the suites only have a few left for some of the more random games. Since ASU has added hockey it has been a revenue sport, the arena has been a revenue generator for the Athletic Department, and ticket sales will hit a record for revenue this year.

Since ASU has added hockey it has been a money making machine.

Just curious. Why did ASU choose ACHA instead of NCAA for its hockey program. NYU (my alma mater) picked ACHA because the NCAA wouldn't let them be Division I for hockey when they were Division III for anyone else, but since ASU is already Division I in other sports why didn't they to NCAA?

 

[TheLegend]

Just curious. Why did ASU choose ACHA instead of NCAA for its hockey program. NYU (my alma mater) picked ACHA because the NCAA wouldn't let them be Division I for hockey when they were Division III for anyone else, but since ASU is already Division I in other sports why didn't they to NCAA?

Better opponents. ASU is now in the NCHC which is what they were aiming for.

 

[Big Z Man 1990]

Better opponents. ASU is now in the NCHC which is what they were aiming for.

ASU should be in the Big Ten for hockey it is also a strong conference plus it's a P4 league and ASU is in the AAU which is important to the Big Ten.

 

[Shwan]

One of the bigger indicators of Meruelo's true intentions was absolutely never considering building a training facility in the NE Valley where the players live.

This is was a pain point for Glendale. Lots of Coyotes always point to the "41 games" thing when talking about them getting kicked out but never seemed to pencil on all the practices that had to be done at the arena.

One of Smith's very first questions to these players when they come to meet him was "what do you want in a training facility."

Now he's already got those plans rolling.

Plan For Reviving Shopping Mall Is A Winner For Relocating NHL Team

Tech billionaires needed a place where their newly acquired NHL team could practice and train. A shopping mall revived with maximum flexibility for other uses won.

www.forbes.com

 

[Voight]

One of the bigger indicators of Meruelo's true intentions was absolutely never considering building a training facility in the NE Valley where the players live.

This is was a pain point for Glendale. Lots of Coyotes always point to the "41 games" thing when talking about them getting kicked out but never seemed to pencil on all the practices that had to be done at the arena.

One of Smith's very first questions to these players when they come to meet him was "what do you want in a training facility."

Now he's already got those plans rolling.

Plan For Reviving Shopping Mall Is A Winner For Relocating NHL Team

Tech billionaires needed a place where their newly acquired NHL team could practice and train. A shopping mall revived with maximum flexibility for other uses won.

www.forbes.com

Makes you chuckle at all the defenders he had on here that said Katie Strang was wrong, Rick Westhead was wrong, Mereulo is going to be great for the Coyotes etc

 

[awfulwaffle]

One of the bigger indicators of Meruelo's true intentions was absolutely never considering building a training facility in the NE Valley where the players live.

This is was a pain point for Glendale. Lots of Coyotes always point to the "41 games" thing when talking about them getting kicked out but never seemed to pencil on all the practices that had to be done at the arena.

One of Smith's very first questions to these players when they come to meet him was "what do you want in a training facility."

Now he's already got those plans rolling.

Plan For Reviving Shopping Mall Is A Winner For Relocating NHL Team

Tech billionaires needed a place where their newly acquired NHL team could practice and train. A shopping mall revived with maximum flexibility for other uses won.

www.forbes.com

I was under the assumption that they practiced at the ice den in Scottsdale.

 

[Shwan]

I was under the assumption that they practiced at the ice den in Scottsdale.

While they would do a lot of off-season activities at Ice Den in the past, They transitioned there permanently when they moved to Mullett. The team also relocated their corporate offices across the street from the ICE den so players would have to be moved back and forth for practices. With the benefit of hindsight you can read Xavier's sweet nothings he offered to to Craig Morgan that he willingly regurgitated without questioning.

We’re actually buying a location in that office complex that surrounds the Ice Den. It’s just west of it. We’re closing on that purchase and beginning design/reconstruction, so when I tell you that our commitment is significant, consider now that we are going out to buy a space that we’re going to convert for weight rooms, for showers, for therapy, for the hockey operations offices — all as part of a temporary solution. Our focus has and will always be to provide our players with the experience they deserve as NHL players. (Owner) Alex Meruelo has made a commitment to ensure that the players feel treated incredibly well, and we will never sacrificed NHL standards as we build a world-class organization.

We are talking with the Ice Den folks about using the APEX rink, which is the furthest one south that we utilized for the rookie camp. That will be ours to use, and we think this will be a significant upgrade to the practice routine for the club. There will be some locker room spaces there, but then there will also be locker room space in the buildout.

We had looked at other options. They didn’t work for us. They didn’t offer what we thought were the NHL standards that we want to have, and the experience we wanted our players to enjoy. We wanted this to be a space that players feel very comfortable in. It’s a good location for the players in terms of where they live. It gives them a stable rink location where they can skate. In addition, we’re making additional investments for where they’re going to have their weight room, their workouts and such. It’s about a 50-yard walk across the parking lot from the Ice Den. We may also look at Coyotes wrapped golf carts for the players to also accommodate them.

I really hope people understand (owner) Alex Meruelo’s commitment is significant, and to any potential questioning about having the resources and being willing to commit them, I think this entire exercise, again for a temporary solution, hopefully dispels any of these questions.

 

[TheLegend]

I was under the assumption that they practiced at the ice den in Scottsdale.

They did after leaving Glendale

But when Meruelo originally took over the franchise they were using the arena in Glendale (it’s noted in the billing list AGM provided to the media)

Both TED and his plan for NE Phoenix included a practice facility as part of the plan.

What Smith is doing isn’t unusual and if you see what the Suns did (move the practice facility out from the basement at Footprint to a remote location) you can see it’s becoming a trend.

It is a bit ironic though that Scottsdale Ice Den was originally built to be the Coyotes practice facility when they first came to Arizona.

 

[Chet Manley]

Why did Meruelo give up on getting another team so soon? Did the NHL not give him a few years on the exclusivity deal? Just something I've been wondering since he packed it in within only a few months.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

Why did Meruelo give up on getting another team so soon? Did the NHL not give him a few years on the exclusivity deal? Just something I've been wondering since he packed it in within only a few months.

NHL Likely wasn't thrilled w/ the idea of Mullett as the long-term solution rather than as a temporary option as it was when that deal was originally designed... also, keep in mind, it's Arizona and the delays around getting an arena solution, whether you believed AM or at worst, the benefit that he could've pulled it off, or not, as compared to previous steward holders.... remember, Mullett had to be retrofitted to meet minimum NHL Standards as well, even though it's ASU's arena and what they've done to start /sustain a D1 Hockey program

 

[Chet Manley]

NHL Likely wasn't thrilled w/ the idea of Mullett as the long-term solution rather than as a temporary option as it was when that deal was originally designed... also, keep in mind, it's Arizona and the delays around getting an arena solution, whether you believed AM or at worst, the benefit that he could've pulled it off, or not, as compared to previous steward holders.... remember, Mullett had to be retrofitted to meet minimum NHL Standards as well, even though it's ASU's arena and what they've done to start /sustain a D1 Hockey program

I probably didn't explain what I was asking very well. Was more curious about the reports that Meruelo was given some sort of concession for exclusivity on a future Arizona team as part of the deal to move the team to Utah. You would think that kind of privilege would extend over years but didn't he announce he was done trying? I could have a lot of this wrong.

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

I probably didn't explain what I was asking very well. Was more curious about the reports that Meruelo was given some sort of concession for exclusivity on a future Arizona team as part of the deal to move the team to Utah. You would think that kind of privilege would extend over years but didn't he announce he was done trying? I could have a lot of this wrong.

HE DIDN'T...all SEG did was buy the hockey operations of the Coyotes.... the contingency was to keep the Coyotes inactive/dormant depending on an arena.....then the NHL would reactivate the franchise had those conditions of the transfer been met... when the announcement was made that the Coyotes on ice product was transferred to SEG... AM still operates the UHC AHL Affiliate Tucson Roadrunners through 2027-28, but the affiliation piece can be renegotiated after the coming season....the NHL owns all of the Coyotes intellectual property just as they do w/ any dormant or past market (HFD/QUE,) etc....

 

[takimaki]

What's the future of hockey in Arizona now? A lot of the talk is still about the NHL, but I think people who care about the game in AZ should shift to longer term thinking. They have the Sun Devils, thankfully, or they'd have virtually nothing to build on.

So what is the next step? The state is poised to lose their only remaining pro team. If the Roadrunners can't be saved, then what?

Try to get a D1 program going at U of A and/or NAU? Try for another AHL team?

 

[CHRDANHUTCH]

What's the future of hockey in Arizona now? A lot of the talk is still about the NHL, but I think people who care about the game in AZ should shift to longer term thinking. They have the Sun Devils, thankfully, or they'd have virtually nothing to build on.

So what is the next step? The state is poised to lose their only remaining pro team. If the Roadrunners can't be saved, then what?

Try to get a D1 program going at U of A and/or NAU? Try for another AHL team?

Tucson's not going anywhere if the TCC arena operators (OVG) didn't extend the agreement an extra year.... posters are forgetting that the Roadrunners weren't included in the Coyotes hockey transfer to SEG.... there's also no consensus at the present time that Reno is the destination by 2027/28.... now will the RR's be the affiliate past the upcoming season as UHC/SEG inherited THAT PDC when SEG bought the hockey operations.... that's why per AHL Bylaws, Tucson is the affiliate of UHC until otherwise notified by AM's intent to relocate or UHC/SEG signs another franchise as its affiliate... because there's the lease clause w/ OVG should AM vacate Tucson

 

[LPHabsFan]

I felt the same way when I saw they were trending today.

Ya gotta laugh......

 

[dj4aces]

I felt the same way when I saw they were trending today.

Ya gotta laugh......

It's really not often that US politics and the NHL cross paths, so it's hard for me to blame a political reporter -- self-identifying or otherwise -- for not knowing the Coyotes no longer exist. What we can blame him for is paying for Twitter yet not editing his post.

 

[TheLegend]

Why did Meruelo give up on getting another team so soon? Did the NHL not give him a few years on the exclusivity deal? Just something I've been wondering since he packed it in within only a few months.

Meruelo's attempt to buy the state land was going to blow up on him. He knew the city had certain requirements and he ignored them, more than likely due to the fact he realized the city was not going to give him any tax relief.

The NHL knew this could happen and didn't want it dragging out any further.

 

[TheLegend]

I felt the same way when I saw they were trending today.

Ya gotta laugh......

Oh Lord...... I could break so many site rules sharing my thoughts on that tweet.

Wasn't just that guy either. Several social media "journalists" got so many things wrong.

 

[LPHabsFan]

Oh Lord...... I could break so many site rules sharing my thoughts on that tweet.

Wasn't just that guy either. Several social media "journalists" got so many things wrong.

I feel ya.

It's really not often that US politics and the NHL cross paths, so it's hard for me to blame a political reporter -- self-identifying or otherwise -- for not knowing the Coyotes no longer exist. What we can blame him for is paying for Twitter yet not editing his post.

Not knowing they no longer exist is one thing, especially since they barely existed when they existed, and they only officially haven't existed for a few months, but they haven't been in that arena the last couple of years.....

 

[LT]

I'd expect them, as journalists, to do a quick google search to verify something like that.

Or just not include it at all.