NHL Board of Governors approves relocation of Arizona Coyotes to Salt Lake City, Utah

The NHL’s Board of Governors formally rubber stamped the sale and relocation of the Arizona Coyotes franchise to Salt Lake City, Utah, in an unscheduled meeting conducted virtually on Thursday, sources confirmed to Daily Faceoff.

Sources say #NHL Board of Governors has formally approved #Yotes sale and relocation to Salt Lake City, Utah.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) April 18, 2024

The Coyotes franchise, which will be re-branded and re-named, will begin play in Salt Lake City’s Delta Center in October and remain a member of the Central Division. As part of the deal, the Coyotes franchise has been deemed inactive. It can be reactivated if Meruelo has “fully constructed a new, state-of-the-art facility appropriate for an NHL team within five years.”

All players, including contracted and those on the reserve list, will transfer over, as will its hockey operations department.

“As everyone knows, Utah is a vibrant and thriving state, and we are thrilled to be a part of it,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a league statement. “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 NHL’s belief in Arizona has never wavered. 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.”

Thursday’s approval marks the end of a nearly two decade-long drama with the Coyotes wandering the desert, a saga that included multiple futile ownership changes, bankruptcy receivership, courtroom drama, a resounding referendum defeat, unpaid bills and a two-season stay in a college arena – all without any meaningful success on the ice.

The deal unfolded in multiple transactions. With the back of the Board of Governors’ smaller Executive Committee, the NHL purchased the Coyotes franchise from Meruelo for $1 billion. On the same day, the NHL then sold the franchise to Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith, of Smith Entertainment Group, for $1.2 billion. The net spread on those transactions – $200 million – will be distributed to the league’s 29 owners (except Vegas and Seattle) as proceeds from a relocation fee.

“This is a transformative day for our state and our fans,” Smith said in the NHL’s statement. “Our intention had always been to pursue an expansion team. Commissioner Bettman conceived and proposed an ingenious plan that would allow us to acquire an NHL franchise while also helping to address and remedy an immediate need of the NHL. When he approached us and asked us for help resolving this situation, we made the bold decision to introduce a new franchise in Utah, fully understanding that we are stepping up to do something in a time frame and way that has never been done before in professional sports under these circumstances.”

While Wednesday night at Mullett Arena might have meant the departure of the current iteration of the Coyotes, it will almost certainly not mean the end of NHL hockey in Arizona. As part of the agreement, sources indicated Meruelo retained the option to ‘reactivate’ the Coyotes franchise as an expansion club over the next five-year period for $1 billion, provided that he meets all of the terms and conditions set forth by the NHL, and builds a new arena as promised. The next step in that process would be securing land via the Arizona State Land Trust auction as scheduled on June 27.

The Coyotes closed out its tenure in Arizona with a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday evening.