Should the deal get across the finish line, it will allow the NHL to move passed a Coyotes chapter that included a battle in bankruptcy court, multiple different ownership groups and several failed arena projectsGetty Images
Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo and potential Salt Lake City franchise owners Ryan and Ashley Smith "haven’t been in direct contact during negotiations" over the
possible sale and relocation of the team, with the NHL "brokering the entire deal," according to Chris Johnston of THE ATHLETIC. However, sources said that "obstacles remain coming out of the weekend." Among them was the "precise language around what conditions Meruelo would have to satisfy and on what timeline to be granted the contractual rights to a future expansion franchise in Arizona." What is known is that he "won’t be able to sell or transfer those rights" -- they will be "his to exercise alone." Should the deal get across the finish line, it will allow the NHL to "sever ties with a complicated and difficult Coyotes chapter that included a battle in bankruptcy court, multiple different ownership groups and several failed arena projects." About a month ago, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and his deputy Bill Daly paid a visit to Meruelo to "broach the subject of relocation." A league source said that the "initial reception wasn’t warm." Meruelo was "focused on winning a land auction in north Phoenix to solve its long-standing arena problem." But Meruelo was "asked a question that ultimately set the wheels in motion on a deal that is expected to see the Coyotes players and hockey operations staff moved to Salt Lake City by the end of this week: Can you say with any certainty when a permanent arena will be completed to replace the temporary facilities at Mullett Arena?" Meruelo "couldn’t" (
THE ATHLETIC, 4/15).
WHO'S TO BLAME? In Phoenix, Greg Moore wrote the Coyotes are "leaving and there are plenty of reasons why, but none are bigger than this: No one cares." The NHL "hasn’t connected with the casual sports fan or penetrated popular culture in any meaningful way as compared to the NFL or NBA." That is "not to say hockey can’t return." It "can, and it should." With the "right people, team and marketing plan, it can work." Losing this team can be a "blessing in disguise for hockey fans, if enough people approach it the right way." But there "just aren’t that many diehard fans of hockey, or anything else for that matter, to make a massive investment make financial sense" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 4/15). However, in Arizona, Dan Bickley wrote this "failure is not ours." This is "on the overextended owners who always gave us a diluted, diminished product, failing to provide the kind of playoff hockey that grows a fan base and sells itself." This is "on the politicians who have sabotaged their efforts every step of the way." The "shame is that we are a very good hockey town" (ARIZONA SPORTS, 4/13).
STILL HOLDING ON: In Montreal, Jack Todd wrote Bettman’s "deal in the desert now has the NHL simultaneously holding and folding in Arizona." After almost 30 years of "failure in Arizona, the move isn’t a surprise." What is "shocking is that the deal will apparently include a provision guaranteeing Alex Meruelo an expansion team if a new arena is built within five years." Given his "determination to make hockey work in the Arizona desert, it isn’t surprising that Bettman would leave the door open for a return to Phoenix." What is "surprising is that the NHL would commit to Meruelo, an owner who is (by all accounts) about as popular with Arizona fans as a scorpion in your cowboy boots" (MONTREAL GAZETTE, 4/15).
