NHL OK’s Coyotes sale, move to Salt Lake City
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Emily Kaplan, ESPN
The NHL is moving the team now formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes to Utah to begin play as a new franchise next season, the league announced Thursday.
Ryan and Ashley Smith of Smith Entertainment Group bought the team and its existing hockey assets for $1.2 billion from Alex Meruelo, sources told ESPN. Meruelo had owned the Coyotes since buying the franchise for $300 million in 2019, but the league lost patience in his ability to find a long-term arena solution in Arizona and facilitated a sale.
The Smiths, who also own the NBA’s Utah Jazz, initially built a relationship with commissioner Gary Bettman because they wanted an expansion franchise. However, over the past several months, the conversation changed and Bettman approached the Smiths about becoming a solution for the Coyotes instead.
According to Ryan Smith, things pivoted fast.
“I mean, if you would’ve told me at the beginning of the year that this is where we’d be, I’d say you were crazy,” he told ESPN. “It was more of: ‘Can you guys pull this off? Can you really pull it off?’ It looks like [the Coyotes’] situation’s going to be a little longer than everyone anticipated, and [the NHL] kind of had an issue. So our response is very much like, we want to be part of the league. We think we bring a lot. We think we can add a lot. We think we can give back more than we take and help grow the sport.
“It’s unprecedented. This is a different process. I don’t think anyone’s ever done it or seen it. But we’re in. We’re all-in. And I have a lot of faith in the people in Utah and how they show up for things.”
The sale was approved at a virtual NHL board of governors meeting Thursday afternoon.
“As everyone knows, Utah is a vibrant and thriving state, and we are thrilled to be a part of it,” Bettman said in a statement Thursday. “We are also delighted to welcome Ashley and Ryan Smith to the NHL family and know they will be great stewards of the game in Utah. We thank them for working so collaboratively with the league to resolve a complex situation in this unprecedented and beneficial way.”
The Coyotes’ final home game at Mullett Arena on Wednesday night was emotional, with players and staff members pouring onto the ice for photos after a win against the Edmonton Oilers.
“It’s been a hard 20 to 25 years, not knowing where home is going to be,” said Coyotes rookie Josh Doan, son of franchise legend Shane Doan.
Players were largely kept in the dark on relocation until last Friday, when general manager Bill Armstrong met the team on the road in Edmonton. Players and coaches demanded answers in a team meeting, according to sources, and left that night understanding that the move was imminent.
The Coyotes’ players, draft picks and hockey operations department will relocate to Utah, playing for a new yet-to-be-named franchise. Smith said there’s a chance the team will play with a temporary name and logo for next season. SEG is using a branding agency and is canvassing the community for suggestions.
“It’s OK if we take the full process and don’t rush it, because we’re going to have it forever,” Smith told ESPN. “And look, it’s not ideal for me. I would love to come in and have it all picked out and ready to go.”
The Utah team will play at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, a facility the Smiths own and which is also home to the Jazz. SEG said it will work on improvements over the summer to outfit the arena for hockey, including building a hockey-specific locker room. According to Smith, the Delta Center will have 12,000 unobstructed seats for hockey games next season and SEG will work to expand after that.
“First of all, [the NHL] wanted to know if the arena can fit 17,000-plus, and that’s what we’ve been able to confirm,” Smith told ESPN. “We’ve got some internal work to obviously do with our city and state, too. I mean, we got a lot more people coming in now, and so we need to build the infrastructure also up and around the arena. That’s a really big focus of ours — so the entrance of the arena just isn’t that front door; it’s the entertainment around it and that kind of a thing.”
The stage is set for #NHLinUtah! pic.twitter.com/bPBdSyW7q9
— NHL (@NHL) April 18, 2024
Smith already has government support from Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. A bill was passed in the Utah state Senate to help fund a renovated entertainment district downtown in anticipation of an NHL franchise.
Meruelo, meanwhile, received $1 billion in the sale, according to sources, and will maintain the name, intellectual property and historical records of the Coyotes — which will now be considered an inactive franchise. Meruelo will have a five-year window in which he can try to build an arena and bring a team to Arizona, for an expected price tag of $1 billion.
The extra $200 million in this week’s sale will be split among NHL teams.
“I agree with Commissioner Gary Bettman and the National Hockey League, that it is simply unfair to continue to have our players, coaches, hockey front office, and the NHL teams they compete against, spend several more years playing in an arena that is not suited for NHL hockey,” Meruelo said in a statement released Thursday.
“This is not the end for NHL hockey in Arizona. I have negotiated the right to reactivate the team within the next five years, and have retained ownership of the beloved Coyotes name, brand and logo. I remain committed to this community and to building a first-class sports arena and entertainment district without seeking financial support from the public.”
The Coyotes had been playing at 5,000-seat Mullett Arena on Arizona State University’s campus since the beginning of last season as Meruelo continued his quest to find a permanent home in Arizona. Meruelo has eyed a plot in the Phoenix area and intends to win a state-run land auction for it June 27. However, according to sources, the NHL grew skeptical of the timeline and decided it needed a better solution for next season. The league also convinced Meruelo that it wasn’t fair to the players to continue playing at Mullett Arena for the foreseeable future.
“The NHL’s belief in Arizona has never wavered,” Bettman said in his statement. “We thank Alex Meruelo for his commitment to the franchise and Arizona, and we fully support his ongoing efforts to secure a new home in the desert for the Coyotes. We also want to acknowledge the loyal hockey fans of Arizona, who have supported their team with dedication for nearly three decades while growing the game.”
When NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh was hired in 2023, finding a solution for the Coyotes was among his top priorities. The players’ union, like the league, became frustrated when Meruelo blew by artificial deadlines to break ground on a new arena. While the league was losing money on the Coyotes, the players were too, as the two sides have a 50-50 split on hockey-related revenue.
Smith said he was conscious of how difficult the situation has been for players but is planning a warm welcome, including inviting players to get acclimated.
“We’re here for them,” Smith told ESPN. “We have an incredible Utah Jazz organization who are all onboard. I’ve got Lauri Markkanen, our All-Star, who literally sent me a picture today with him with skates on. I’ve got Will Hardy, our head coach, saying, ‘Whatever you need.’ I got [team CEO] Danny Ainge saying, ‘Hey, do you want me to come down and help you?’
“I mean, that’s the organization that they’re being a part of. We have this saying called ‘One Utah,’ and they’re really going to feel that.”
SEWELL, N.J. — A few days after brothers John and Matthew Gaudreau died when they were struck by a driver while riding bicycles on the eve of their sister Katie’s wedding, family friends were visiting parents Guy and Jane at their home during a rainstorm. Looking outside after the skies cleared, they saw a double rainbow that brought them some momentary peace.
Since then, Jane Gaudreau had not gotten any signs she attributed to her sons, so she sat in their room Friday and asked them for some divine intervention to clear out bad weather in time for an event to honor their legacies. After a brief scare of a tornado watch the night before, a rainbow appeared Saturday morning about an hour before the sun came out for the inaugural Gaudreau Family 5K Walk/Run and Family Day.
“I was so relieved,” Jane said. “I was like, ‘Well, there’s my sign.'”
Thousands attended the event at Washington Lake Park in southern New Jersey, a place John and Matthew went hundreds of times as kids and around the corner from Hollydell Ice Arena, where they started playing hockey. Roughly 1,100 people took part in a walk or run in person, along with more than 1,300 virtually in the U.S., Canada and around the world.
“I think it speaks to them as a family, how close they were and how everybody loved being around them,” said Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, one of a handful of NHL players who were close to the Gaudreaus and made a point to be there. “You just see the support from this community and from other players as well that are here and traveled in. It just says a lot about Johnny, Matty, their legacy and this family as a whole, how much support they have because they’re such amazing people.”
Along with honoring the NHL star known as “Johnny Hockey” and his younger brother who family and friends called Matty, the goal of the event was to raise money for an accessible playground at Archbishop Damiano School where Jane and her daughter Kristen work. It was a cause John and Matthew had begun to champion in honor of their grandmother Marie, who spent 44 years at the school and died in 2023.
It became their mother’s project after their deaths.
“Jane works every day with children with disabilities, and she knew how important it was for the playground to be built,” said family friend Deb Vasutoro, who came up with the idea for a 5K. “The playground has been a project for, I think, four or five years, and there just never was enough funding. When the boys passed and Jane needed a purpose, she thought, ‘Let’s build the playground.’ It was the perfect marriage of doing something good to honor the boys and seeing children laugh and smile.”
The Rev. Allain Caparas from Gloucester Catholic High School, which the brothers attended and played hockey for while growing up in Carneys Point, said raising funds for the playground is an extension of the impact they had on the community.
“They’re continuing to make a difference in the lives of so many others,” Caparas said. “Johnny and Matthew lived their lives with purpose, and now we’re celebrating that.”
Social media filled with mentions from folks in Columbus and Calgary, the NHL cities in which John Gaudreau played, and as far away as Ireland and Sweden. Paul O’Connor, who has been tight with the Gaudreau family from son Dalton being childhood best friends with Matthew, couldn’t empty out his inbox because he kept getting notifications about signups and donations.
“It just keeps growing,” O’Connor said. “And people that couldn’t be here, they’re doing a virtual [5K]. If they can’t do either, they’re just throwing money at the cause.”
Tears welled up in the eyes of Guy and Jane as they talked about the event. His speech to the crowd was brief and poignant at the same time.
“I’d like to thank everybody for coming,” Guy said after running the 5K. “It really means a lot to Jane and the girls and the family. We miss the boys, and it really means a lot for us to have you here to honor my boys. Thank you.”
The sea of people first in the rain and then the sunshine included folks in gear from all across hockey. Tkachuk wore a “Johnny Hockey” hoodie with Gaudreau’s name and No. 13 on the back.
He handed sticks, collected from various vigils in late August and early September, to race winners along with fellow players Erik Gudbranson, Zach Aston-Reese, Tony DeAngelo and Buddy Robinson.
“Our family wouldn’t have missed this,” Gudbranson said after flying in Friday night following a trip to Walt Disney World. “Hockey’s a very tight community. It’s still a tragedy. We miss the boys.”
The aim is to hold the event annually moving forward, potentially in Calgary and Columbus.
“We thought this was such a good thing to honor the boys we want to keep it up,” Jane said. “I just think each year it’ll just get better and better.”
Florida Panthers forwards Eetu Luostarinen and Anton Lundell will be ready for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night in Edmonton, coach Paul Maurice said Saturday.
Both players were injured in Wednesday’s series-clinching Game 5 win against the Carolina Hurricanes.
Panthers forward A.J. Greer‘s status for the series opener against the Oilers remains uncertain. He missed Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals and was on the ice for only 4:22 in Game 5 due to a lower-body injury.
All three players did not participate in Saturday’s practice, the first team skate since the defending champions booked their spot in the Final rematch.
“I think the only question mark is Greer,” Maurice said. “We will list him as day to day. The other guys are fine. They will be back on the ice tomorrow when we do a little bit of an optional.”
Luostarinen, 26, recorded 24 points (9 goals, 15 assists) in 80 games during the regular season and 13 points (4 goals, 9 assists) in 17 games this postseason.
Lundell, 23, tallied 45 points (17 goals, 28 assists) in 79 games in the regular season and 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) in 17 playoff games.
Greer, 28, posted 17 points (6 goals, 11 assists) in 81 games in the regular season and three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in 12 playoff contests.
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