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108-476: The Thunder made a strong showing in their first season, finishing with the best record in the league: 115 points and a 52–18–11 record. They topped that performance in 1995–1996 when they again finished with the league's best record (122 points, 57–17–8). The Thunder lost in the conference finals that season. Throughout the team's history they garnered player development deals with the Phoenix Coyotes of

216-544: A merger when the financially struggling WHA folded in 1979. However, the club was never able to translate its WHA success into the NHL after the merger. The merger's terms allowed the established NHL teams to reclaim most of the players that had jumped to the upstart league, and the Jets lost most of their best players in the ensuing reclamation draft. As a result, they finished last in the NHL during their first two seasons, including

324-668: A "quarter-million-dollar scheme". By October, IceArizona entered a deal to sell a 51% controlling interest in the Coyotes to Philadelphia -based hedge fund manager Andrew Barroway , who had recently failed in his attempt to purchase the New York Islanders . The deal was approved by the NHL Board of Governors on December 31, 2014. During the 2014–15 season , the team finished last in the Pacific Division with

432-559: A deal to purchase the Coyotes from the NHL along with a lease agreement with Glendale. However, the Hulsizer deal collapsed in late June 2011 at least in part because of a threatened suit by the Goldwater Institute over the legality of payments that Glendale was to make to Hulsizer before the consortium bought the team. The threat of the suit may have prevented the sale of bonds to finance the payments. The team only stayed in

540-577: A home-ice advantage in the first round for the first time since 1985. Their first round opponent in the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs were the Detroit Red Wings . Game 1 of the series was the first NHL playoff game to be played in Gila River Arena. However, an injury to Shane Doan sidelined him for most of the series, and the defending conference champion Red Wings defeated the Coyotes in seven games. The Coyotes again faced Detroit in

648-490: A later date, after which viewers must subscribe to the Bleacher Report Sports add-on. This season's Heritage Classic instead aired on TBS due to TNT's soccer coverage of U.S. women's national soccer team . TruTV also began airing simulcasted/alternative broadcasts of selected TNT games, TruTV also televised a youth-oriented alternate broadcast, using the NHL's player and puck tracking system to render

756-482: A learning disability, during high school in 2016. Soon thereafter, they renounced his draft rights. For the COVID-19 pandemic -shortened 2020–21 season the Coyotes were placed in the reformed West Division and played a division-only 56-game schedule. They finished in fifth place with 54 points, outside of the playoffs. After the season, the team and coach Rick Tocchet mutually agreed to part ways. Andre Tourigny

864-667: A live animated version of the Colorado Avalanche–Vegas Golden Knights game on April 14, 2024, portrayed by WBD characters featured in the MultiVersus video game. NHL Network continued to also nationally televise selected regular season games, including Saturday and Sunday afternoon games as part of the NHL Network Showcase series. The Washington Capitals ' broadcaster NBC Sports Washington rebranded as Monumental Sports Network before

972-615: A name-the-team contest yielded the official name " Coyotes ". At the time, the name was largely seen as play on the Looney Tunes character Wile E. Coyote of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner since Phoenix was home to several minor league teams and one short-lived WHA team called the Phoenix Roadrunners , including an International Hockey League (IHL) team that was playing there in 1996. However, "Coyotes"

1080-517: A new arena, upon which they would have been reactivated as an expansion team with all previous team history, records, and uniforms being maintained. However, in June, the auction was cancelled, and Alex Meruelo left the ownership, leading the team to cease operations. The Coyotes became the first team to suspend operations since the Brooklyn Americans in 1942 . The 2023 NHL Entry Draft

1188-635: A new television agreement with the E. W. Scripps Company 's sports division Scripps Sports , under which it carried games on a subchannel of its Phoenix broadcast station and ABC affiliate KNXV-TV , and syndicate them to sister stations in the team's broadcast territory, including KGUN-TV in Tucson, Arizona , and KUPX-TV and KSTU-DT2 in Salt Lake City . The Coyotes aired non-game programs on KNXV and sister The CW affiliate KASW . With Bally Sports Arizona already previously losing airing rights to

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1296-403: A nine-win season in 1980–81 that is still the worst in franchise history. However, they recovered fairly quickly, making the playoffs 11 times in the next 15 seasons. But the Jets only won two playoff series, largely because they were in the same division as the powerful Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames . Because of the way the playoffs were structured for much of their Winnipeg run, the team

1404-602: A part-owner and head of hockey operations. The closest that they came to advancing past the first round during their first decade in Arizona was during the 1999 playoffs . After building a 3–1 series lead, the Coyotes fell in overtime of game 7 on a goal by Pierre Turgeon of the St. Louis Blues . In 2002 , the Coyotes posted 95 points, one point behind their best total as an NHL team while in Winnipeg, but went down rather meekly to

1512-531: A primary analyst on the Flyers' television broadcasts. The Chicago Blackhawks hired Darren Pang to be their lead TV color commentator. Pang, who spent 14 years in the same role with the St. Louis Blues and is also a color commentator on TNT, replaces both Colby Cohen , whose contract with the team was not renewed and Patrick Sharp , who left to also join the Flyers front office, along with Keith Jones. The Blues replaced Pang with Jamie Rivers , who had been

1620-590: A resolution. On July 24, 2015, the Coyotes announced the City Council had reached a two-year deal. At the conclusion of the 2015–16 season , general manager Don Maloney , who had won General Manager of the Year award in 2010, was fired from his position after eight seasons. The Coyotes replaced Maloney with John Chayka , who, at 26 years of age, became the youngest NHL GM of all time, being promoted from his position as assistant general manager/analytics within

1728-481: A restructuring agreement after receiving a $ 115 million investment from Amazon . The restructuring agreement would supersede the prior agreement with the NHL, so rights for the NHL would no longer expire following the 2023–24 season. In February 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery announced it was winding down its AT&T SportsNet regional sports network business, affecting the Pittsburgh Penguins and

1836-733: A series of bad luck: the Coyotes were planning to host the 2006 NHL All-Star Game , but the event was canceled because of the 2006 Winter Olympics . The team returned to Winnipeg on September 17, 2006, to play a preseason game against the Edmonton Oilers, but were shut-out 5–0 before a sellout crowd of 15,015. On April 11, 2007, CEO Jeff Shumway announced that General Manager Michael Barnett (Gretzky's agent for over 20 years), senior executive vice president of hockey operations Cliff Fletcher and San Antonio Rampage 's general manager and Coyotes' assistant general manager Laurence Gilman "have been relieved of their duties". The Coyotes finished

1944-487: A shutout in his Coyotes debut against the Los Angeles Kings . Bryzgalov was soon given a three-year contract extension because of his high level of play. Despite predictions of another disastrous season, the Coyotes played competitive hockey for most of the season. However, they finished eight points short of the last playoff spot, with 83 points. On September 24, 2009, Dave Tippett took over coaching duties of

2052-688: A special advisor in the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL). She continues to work on select ESPN broadcasts in the U.S. on a smaller role. This was the third season of the league's seven-year U.S. national broadcast rights deals with the ESPN family of networks and TNT Sports . Regular season games were aired exclusively on ESPN on selected Tuesdays, Thursdays, and weekends; and ABC on selected Saturdays between mid-January and mid-April. ESPN+ and Hulu exclusively streamed games primarily on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and weekends throughout

2160-432: A third of the rink and one goal from several sections. As a result, listed capacity had to be cut down from over 18,000 seats to just over 16,000 – the second-smallest in the league at the time – after the first season. Burke bought out Gluckstern in 1998 but was unable to attract more investors to alleviate the team's financial woes. In 2001, Burke sold the team to Phoenix-area developer Steve Ellman, with Wayne Gretzky as

2268-890: A youth-oriented alternate broadcast, using the NHL's player and puck tracking system to render a live animated version of the March 9, 2024, Pittsburgh Penguins–Boston Bruins game, portrayed by characters from the animated series Big City Greens . WBD's regular season coverage was primarily on TNT , with games on Wednesday nights throughout the season, the Thanksgiving Showdown on November 24, Winter Classic, and selected Sunday games between late February and April. Not all of TNT's regular season games were exclusive broadcasts and were thus subject to blackout in local markets. WBD invoked its over-the-top streaming rights for Max , adding live sports telecasts from WBD channels; these broadcasts were available at no additional charge until

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2376-620: Is operated by NESN —the regional broadcaster of the Boston Bruins—which is majority-owned by the Penguins' parent company Fenway Sports Group . ESPN/ABC studio analyst Chris Chelios , who served in the role for two seasons, left the network as part of its June 2023 cost-cutting measures. Chelios later made appearances on TNT during the season. In October, studio analyst Barry Melrose resigned after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease . TNT ice-level analyst Keith Jones left

2484-551: The 2022–23 season . On April 29, 2022, the Coyotes played their final home game at the Gila River Arena against the Nashville Predators , with a 5–4 comeback win. On October 28, 2022, the Coyotes would make their debut in the Mullett Arena , which sold out to a crowd of 4,600 people that day, in a 3–2 overtime loss to the current Winnipeg Jets franchise, with Christian Fischer scoring the first two goals of

2592-510: The Colorado Avalanche . In addition, the club's home arena, Winnipeg Arena , was one of the smallest in the league; seating just under 15,400 people. It was over 40 years old and had no luxury suites. Despite strong fan support, owner Barry Shenkarow was forced to put the team on the market. Several attempts to keep the team in Winnipeg fell through. In October 1995, Minnesota businessmen Steven Gluckstern and Richard Burke purchased

2700-625: The Florida Panthers defeating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games, winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. This was the final season for the Arizona Coyotes before they suspended operations. It followed the sale of the team's hockey assets to Utah businessman Ryan Smith , who was awarded an expansion team in Salt Lake City to begin play in the 2024–25 season . The Coyotes had until 2029 to construct

2808-664: The Hockey Day in Canada games on January 20, and All-Star Weekend. Games were be streamed on Sportsnet+ , with national games available on the Standard level, out-of-market games on the Premium tier, and via authenticated streaming on participating teams. Regular season games on CBC were also simulcast on CBC Gem , which replaced CBCSports.ca. Longtime commentator John Garrett retired from Vancouver Canucks broadcasts before

2916-653: The NHL , the ECHL's Knoxville Cherokees and Mississippi Sea Wolves and Russian side Lokomotiv Yaroslavl . The Thunder's main rivals included the Denver/Utah Grizzlies , Los Angeles/Long Beach Ice Dogs , San Diego Gulls , and Phoenix Roadrunners . These rivalries later saw a rebirth in the ECHL with the Las Vegas Wranglers . The team's mascot was "Boom-Boom", a polar bear. The franchise

3024-774: The Ottawa Senators faced each other on November 16. The Red Wings then played the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 17. The Minnesota Wild took on the Senators on November 18. Finally, the Wild played the Maple Leafs on November 19. The following outdoor games took place: The 2024 All-Star Game took place on February 3, 2024, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto , the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs . For

3132-616: The Phoenix Suns to Gray Television and the Arizona Diamondbacks to the MLB itself earlier in the year, they decided to wind down services for the rest of the month before concluding on October 21, 2023. On December 20, 2023, Diamond Sports and the NHL reached an agreement that resulted in the contracts for teams airing on Diamond expiring after the 2023–24 NHL season. However, on January 17, 2024, Diamond Sports announced

3240-940: The Phoenix metropolitan area , which competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024), the Pacific Division (1998–2020) in the Western Conference , and the West Division (2020–2021). They played at America West Arena (now Footprint Center ) in downtown Phoenix from 1996 to 2003, at Glendale 's Gila River Arena (now Desert Diamond Arena ) from 2003 to 2022, and at Mullett Arena in Tempe from 2022 to 2024. The organization

3348-704: The Presidents' Trophy are announced at the end of the regular season. The Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe Trophy are presented at the end of the Stanley Cup Finals . The Calder Memorial Trophy , Hart Memorial Trophy , Ted Lindsay Award , James Norris Memorial Trophy , and Vezina Trophy were presented during the annual NHL awards show on June 27 at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas . The other awards were announced during

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3456-482: The San Jose Sharks in five games. From then until the 2007–08 season, the Coyotes were barely competitive and managed to break the 80-point barrier only once during that time. Attendance levels dropped considerably, worrying many NHL executives. In addition, an unfavorable arena lease at city-owned America West Arena had the team suffering massive financial losses (as much as $ 40 million a year at one point);

3564-585: The Vegas Golden Knights ' broadcasters, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh and AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain , respectively. The Seattle Kraken 's deal with Root Sports Northwest was not affected because Warner Bros. Discovery only held minority control of that network. On May 4, 2023, the Golden Knights signed a multi-year agreement with Scripps Sports to start airing games on Scripps' Las Vegas broadcast station KMCC , and syndicate

3672-405: The 2006–07 season 31–46–5, their worst record since relocating to Phoenix. On May 29, Jeff Shumway announced Don Maloney had agreed to a multi-year contract to become general manager of the Coyotes. As per club policy, the terms of the contract were not disclosed. However, as had been the case with all general managers since 2001, Maloney served in an advisory role to Gretzky. The 2007–08 season

3780-513: The 2019–20 season. On July 29, 2019, Barroway sold controlling interest in the Coyotes to billionaire Alex Meruelo , with Barroway remaining as a minority owner until his arrest, which left Meruelo the sole owner of the franchise. During the 2020 NHL entry draft , the Coyotes received widespread backlash and criticism for drafting Mitchell Miller in the fourth round (111th pick overall), after allegations surfaced that he had bullied and discriminated against an African-American classmate having

3888-539: The Canadian group were Executive Chairman & Governor George Gosbee; President, CEO & Alternate Governor Anthony LeBlanc; Alternate Governor Craig Stewart; and Directors Gary J. Drummond, W. David Duckett, William "Bill" Dutton, Robert Gwin, Scott Saxberg and Richard Walter. RSE partnered with Global Spectrum (owners of the Philadelphia Flyers ) for help in managing Gila River Arena. The agreement had

3996-536: The Chicago Blackhawks in six games, the franchise's first playoff series win since 1987. The first five games went to overtime, tying a record when the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs did it in the 1951 Stanley Cup Finals . They faced the Nashville Predators in the second round, winning the first two games and the series 4–1. However, in the conference finals, the Coyotes fell to

4104-468: The City of Glendale giving RSE US$ 15 million per year for management fees. There was a clause stipulating RSE could relocate the team after five years if it accrued US$ 50 million in losses. On January 29, 2014, the new ownership group announced that the team would change its name to the "Arizona Coyotes" for the 2014–15 season. According to Coyotes club president Anthony LeBlanc, the change was made to reflect

4212-409: The City of Glendale. The team paid the bills the next day, citing "unfortunate human error" as the cause of the issue. In late January 2022, the Coyotes were in talks with Arizona State University (ASU) to use their new 5,000-seat arena as a temporary home arena for the next few years. On February 10, 2022, the Coyotes signed a three-year agreement to play their games at Mullett Arena , starting with

4320-595: The Coyotes beyond the 2021–22 season, as the team's lease had been renewed each year since 2016. The franchise entered negotiations with Tempe to develop a new arena on an old solid waste compost yard, but the terrain had problems regarding environmental remediation . On September 3, they submitted a proposal to build a new arena in Tempe. On December 8, 2021, the Coyotes were informed that they would be locked out of Gila River Arena on December 20, 2021, if they did not pay $ 1.3 million owed in taxes, including $ 250,000 to

4428-589: The Coyotes have yet to recover from the resulting financial problems. Ellman put forward numerous proposals to improve the hockey sightlines in America West Arena in hopes of boosting capacity back over the 17,000 mark. However, none of these got beyond the planning stages, leading Ellman to commit to building a new arena. After nearly three years of proposals to build an arena on the former Los Arcos Mall in Scottsdale and having difficulty financing

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4536-484: The Coyotes should a deal with the city for a new lease and new ownership not be decided by July 2, 2013. The plan was to move the franchise to a new city, likely Seattle . On July 2, 2013, by a vote of 4–3, the Glendale City Council approved a 15-year lease agreement with Renaissance Sports and Entertainment (RSE), which purchased the team from the NHL for US$ 225 million by August 5, 2013. The members of

4644-406: The Coyotes staff. In August 2016, Dawn Braid was hired as the Coyotes' skating coach, making her the first female full-time coach in the NHL. On November 14, 2016, the Coyotes announced plans to build a new arena in Tempe, Arizona , which was scheduled to be completed for the 2019–20 NHL season. The project would have included an adjoining 4,000-seat arena to be used for Coyotes practices and as

4752-504: The Coyotes, the National Lacrosse League 's Arizona Sting and the lease to Gila River Arena to trucking magnate Jerry Moyes , who was also a part-owner of Major League Baseball 's Arizona Diamondbacks . On August 6, 2005, Brett Hull , son of former Jet Bobby Hull , was signed and promptly assigned the elder Hull's retired number 9. Two days later, Gretzky named himself head coach, replacing Rick Bowness , despite

4860-653: The Coyotes. The team began play as the Winnipeg Jets , one of the founding franchises in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Jets were the most successful team in the short-lived WHA, winning the Avco World Trophy , the league's championship trophy, three times and making the finals five out of the WHA's seven seasons. It then became one of the four teams admitted to the NHL as part of

4968-516: The Los Angeles Kings (who eventually went on to win the Cup that year) in game five of a 4–1 series. In December 2008, the media became aware the Coyotes were suffering massive losses and that the NHL was paying the team's bills. The media reports were minimized by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and vice-president Bill Daly. However, Moyes had secretly given operational control of the team to

5076-625: The NHL's permission, the Coyotes were making efforts to relocate to Salt Lake City, Utah , following concerns about an indefinite timeframe for finding a new arena and the effects of continued play at Mullett Arena, in the interim. This led to the NHL buying the franchise then reselling it to Ryan Smith , owner of the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA), for a reported $ 1.2 billion. Of that payment, $ 1 billion went to Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo for

5184-485: The NHL, while Reinsdorf had won the approval of the City of Glendale. On May 7, 2010, ESPN.com reported the Reinsdorf bid had fallen apart and that the City of Glendale was working with Ice Edge to purchase the team in a last-ditch effort to keep them in Arizona. The National Post criticized both bids, as they were conditional on municipal taxpayers covering any losses the Coyotes might incur, and suggested that keeping

5292-528: The Oilers in the division finals. The franchise did not win another playoff series for 25 years. The Jets ran into financial trouble when player salaries began spiralling up in the 1990s; this hit the Canadian teams particularly hard. Winnipeg was the second-smallest market in the NHL for most of the Jets' existence and became the smallest after the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver in 1995 to become

5400-484: The Phoenix Coyotes after Wayne Gretzky stepped down hours before. In just 61 games, Tippett led the Coyotes to more wins in their 2009–10 regular season (37) than their previous season (36), en route to the first 50-win season in the franchise's NHL history. On March 27, 2010, the Coyotes clinched a playoff spot, their first playoff spot since the 2001–02 season, and in the process, reached the 100-point mark for

5508-456: The Phoenix Coyotes franchise in 2009 when then-owner Jerry Moyes gave up the team after filing for bankruptcy . The NHL maintained control of the franchise until 2013 when they found new ownership willing to keep it in Arizona. Despite a difficult working relationship with the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, the Coyotes were able to secure a year-to-year arrangement to play in the facility up until

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5616-494: The Phoenix Suns, it was designed specifically as a basketball venue, with sight lines optimized for the smaller playing surface of that sport, and not with hockey in mind. The floor was just barely large enough to fit a standard NHL rink, forcing the Coyotes to hastily re-engineer it to accommodate the 200-foot rink. The configuration left a portion of one end of the upper deck hanging over the boards and ice, obscuring almost

5724-481: The Phoenix area for the 2011–12 season after another $ 25 million payment by the City of Glendale. Also in 2011, former Coyotes bidders True North Sports and Entertainment purchased the Atlanta Thrashers and moved them to Winnipeg, thus ending any possibility that the Coyotes would return to Manitoba. As part of the transaction, the NHL agreed to transfer the Jets' name, logos, and related trademarks from

5832-415: The arena situation and to find an alternative to a college arena considered too small even for temporary usage, the Coyotes suspended hockey operations following the conclusion of the 2023–24 season . In a deal brokered by the NHL, the Coyotes were essentially split in half. The team's hockey assets (players, staff and draft picks) were transferred to the Utah Hockey Club , an expansion franchise awarded at

5940-438: The arena was not designed for ice hockey, the league built a temporary rink akin to other NHL outdoor games , though the arena's retractable roof was closed for the games. (*) Indicates interim (*) Indicates interim The regular season began on October 10, 2023, and ended on April 18, 2024. The league held four regular season games on four consecutive days at Avicii Arena in Stockholm , Sweden. The Detroit Red Wings and

6048-478: The backup color commentator whenever Pang worked for TNT before the announcement. The Los Angeles Kings started using TV/radio simulcasts, keeping radio announcers Nick Nickson and Daryl Evans , and TV analyst Jim Fox . However, they did not renew the TV play-by-play announcer Alex Faust 's contract. The Pittsburgh Penguins ' play-by-play announcers swapped roles, with Josh Getzoff moving from radio to TV, and Steve Mears moving from TV to radio. However,

6156-431: The city of Mesa about a potential arena at the Fiesta Mall site, but that plan was ultimately rejected for unknown reasons. In January 2024, Scottsdale mayor David Ortega announced his opposition to a Coyotes' proposal, which planned an arena in northern Phoenix near the border of Scottsdale. Following this, the Coyotes initially stated on social media their commitment to keeping the team in Arizona. They announced that

6264-439: The end of the 2021–22 season. Negotiations with the city deteriorated, and the team subsequently signed an agreement to play their games at Mullett Arena on the campus of Arizona State University , starting with the 2022–23 season. The arrangement was intended to be brief, lasting only up until a new arena was built in Tempe, but the arena proposal was rejected by the city's residents in May 2023. Amid growing pressure to resolve

6372-414: The end of the season. After arriving in Phoenix, the team posted six consecutive .500 or better seasons, making the playoffs in every year but one. The one time they did not make the playoffs, in 2000–01 , they became the first team to earn 90 points and miss the playoffs. The Coyotes' original home, America West Arena , was suboptimal for hockey. Although considered a state-of-the-art arena when built for

6480-435: The fact he had never coached at any level of hockey. The Coyotes "Ring of Honor" was unveiled on October 8, inducting Gretzky (who had never played for the organization, but whose number 99 was retired by all NHL teams after his retirement in 1999) and Bobby Hull. Only a week later, Brett Hull announced his retirement. On January 21, 2006, Jets great Thomas Steen was the third inductee to the "Ring of Honor". Another moment in

6588-429: The fact the team is no longer located within Phoenix city limits and to include all hockey fans in the state of Arizona. Aside from a new shoulder patch, the team's uniform design did not change. The name officially changed on June 27. Following the conclusion of the 2013–14 season , it was reported that lackluster revenue from parking and non-hockey events enabled the City of Glendale to recoup just $ 4.4 million, which

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6696-465: The fate of the Coyotes and the holding company. Two potential bidders for the team surfaced, Reinsdorf and Ice Edge Holdings, but they did not submit a bid for the team. Instead, the NHL put in the only rival bid to Balsillie for the team, while it contended the Moyes–Balsillie deal violated NHL rules. The bankruptcy court voided the planned sale to Balsillie, accepting the NHL's argument that bankruptcy could not be used to circumvent NHL rules. The NHL's bid

6804-428: The first round of the 2011 playoffs , losing the series in four games. On April 7, 2012, the Coyotes defeated the Minnesota Wild 4–1 to win the Pacific Division title – their first and only division title as an NHL team (in Winnipeg or Phoenix). This gave them the third seed in the West, and with it home-ice advantage in a playoff series for only the third time in franchise history. In the first round, they defeated

6912-407: The first time ever as an NHL team, and the first time overall since the 1977–78 (WHA) Jets scored 102 points. They finished with 107 points, the highest point total in the franchise's 38-year history. This was good enough for fourth overall in the NHL, tying the 1984–85 Jets for the franchise's highest finish as an NHL team. They also qualified for the fourth seed in the Western Conference, giving them

7020-434: The first time, the four-team, three-on-three format used since 2016 was combined with the "fantasy draft" format used from 2011 to 2015 . In each round, teams compete in a best-of-seven series following a 2–2–1–1–1 format (scores in the bracket indicate the number of games won in each best-of-seven series). The team with home ice advantage plays at home for games one and two (and games five and seven, if necessary), and

7128-408: The franchise at the arena for that game. A proposal by the Coyotes to build a new arena in Tempe was rejected by residents of the city on May 16, 2023. The arena was estimated to cost $ 2.1 billion, with $ 1.9 billion of the cost privately funded. Despite speculation on immediate relocation, the team remained in Arizona, playing at Mullett Arena during the 2023–24 NHL season . The Coyotes spoke with

7236-419: The home for the Arizona State University hockey team. However, the arena project was withdrawn when ASU pulled out of the deal in February 2017. At the end of the 2016–17 season, Barroway bought out the rest of the IceArizona ownership group and became the sole owner of the franchise. Following the transfer, former IceArizona CEO Anthony LeBlanc and the director of hockey operations Gary Drummond both left

7344-457: The league in regular season points at the completion of games played on April 18, 2024. The following goaltenders led the league in regular season goals against average at the completion of games played on April 18, 2024, while playing at least 1,920 minutes. Voting concluded immediately after the end of the regular season. Statistics-based awards such as the Art Ross Trophy , Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy , William M. Jennings Trophy and

7452-435: The league-owned Coyotes to True North and the Thrashers thus becoming the "new" Winnipeg Jets . However, the original Jets' history remains with the Coyotes organization. The 2012–13 NHL lockout provided another opportunity for the Coyotes to find a potential owner and avoid relocation while the NHL suspended team operations during the labor dispute. A deal to former San Jose Sharks owner Greg Jamison had been drafted just as

7560-532: The league. In May 2009, Moyes put the team into bankruptcy hours before Bettman was to present him an offer to sell the team to Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf . Moyes intended to sell the team to Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie , who in turn intended to purchase the team out of bankruptcy and move it to Hamilton, Ontario . The NHL responded by stripping Moyes of his remaining ownership authority. From May until September 2009, hearings were held in Phoenix bankruptcy court to determine

7668-413: The lockout ended, but failed to be finalized and fulfilled by January 31, 2013. The deal would have kept the Coyotes in Phoenix for the next 20 years relying on a taxpayer subsidy, according to the agreement. It would also have had "Phoenix" dropped from the name and instead used "Arizona". California investment executive Darin Pastor also submitted a bid to purchase the Coyotes. His bid proposed to keep

7776-486: The move occurred the team added established superstar Jeremy Roenick from the Chicago Blackhawks , in exchange for trading Alexei Zhamnov . Roenick teamed up with power wingers Keith Tkachuk and Rick Tocchet to form a dynamic 1–2–3 offensive punch that led the Coyotes through their first years in Arizona. Also impressive were young players like Shane Doan (he eventually was the last remaining player from

7884-450: The move to Mullett Arena but had been rediscovered by a local fan), and following the end of the game the fans gave the outgoing team a standing ovation, and the players, in turn, spent over an hour afterward on the ice giving away team apparel and equipment (also signing a majority of the fan gifts), as well as taking a final team picture on the ice and taking turns hugging and thanking longtime equipment manager Stan Wilson, who had moved with

7992-428: The network to become president of hockey operations with the Philadelphia Flyers . Before joining the Flyers' front office, Jones also worked as the team's TV color analyst for 23 seasons, while also working as a studio and game analyst with NBC and later TNT. To replace Jones, TNT hired Brian Boucher away from ESPN/ABC, serving the same role as he previously had with the latter network. Boucher also replaced Jones as

8100-560: The organization. On June 19, 2017, the Coyotes opted not to re-sign long time captain Shane Doan, who had been with the franchise since they were the Winnipeg Jets. The Coyotes left Doan a standing offer to remain with the team in a non-playing role. On June 22, 2017, head coach Dave Tippett left his positions within the Coyotes after eight seasons, and was succeeded by Rick Tocchet on July 11, 2017. On December 4, 2018, it

8208-399: The other division winner, and both wild cards were de facto #4 seeds. The other series matched the second and third-place teams from the divisions. In the first two rounds, home ice advantage was awarded to the team with the better seed. In the conference finals and Stanley Cup Finals, home ice advantage was awarded to the team with the better regular season record. The following players led

8316-408: The other team is at home for games three and four (and game six, if necessary). The top three teams in each division make the playoffs, along with two wild cards in each conference, for a total of eight teams from each conference. In the first round, the lower seeded wild card in each conference was played against the division winner with the best record while the other wild card was played against

8424-401: The ownership was intent on winning a land auction for 110 acres (45 ha) of state-owned land between Scottsdale Road and Loop 101 in Phoenix to build an arena. However, the auction had been delayed from January to June 2024, which likely played a part into the ownership's final decision with the franchise near the end of the 2023–24 season. On April 10, 2024, it was reported that, with

8532-668: The playoffs. The following is a list of notable players who played their first NHL game during the 2023–24 season, listed with their first team. The following is a list of players of note who played their last NHL game in 2023–24, listed with their team: This was the tenth season of the league's 12-year Canadian national broadcast rights deal with Sportsnet . This included Sportsnet's sub-licensing agreements to air Saturday Hockey Night in Canada games on CBC Television and French-language broadcasts on TVA Sports . Sportsnet's national schedule also included Monday Night Hockey , Wednesday Night Hockey , this season's four outdoor games,

8640-627: The purchase of the Coyotes and finishing demolition of Los Arcos, along with infighting in the Scottsdale City Council, Ellman looked toward the West Valley, and in December 2003, the team moved into Glendale Arena (which then became known as Jobing.com Arena during the 2006–07 NHL season ). Simultaneously, the team changed its logo and uniforms, moving from the multi-colored kit to a more streamlined look. In 2005, Ellman sold

8748-536: The renovations made to Climate Pledge Arena before the Kraken began play in the NHL two seasons prior. On April 12, 2024, ahead of a 3–2 overtime win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place , general manager Bill Armstrong officially disclosed the news of the team's impending sale and relocation to Coyotes players and staff. Five days later, on April 17, the Coyotes played their final game at Mullett Arena, and ultimately their last game before deactivation, against

8856-404: The reorganization. The Los Angeles Kings renewed their contract with Bally Sports West despite Diamond's bankruptcy. The Kings also reached an agreement with KCAL-TV for the rights to six games and select half-hour specials. On October 4, 2023, Diamond announced that it intended to reject its Bally Sports Arizona contract with the Arizona Coyotes . The next day, the Coyotes announced

8964-514: The sale (with Meruelo agreeing to refund the money to the NHL as an expansion fee should his efforts to locate a new home for the franchise succeed) and $ 200 million went to the NHL's other 31 owners, as the equivalent of a relocation fee. The Utah team will play its home games at the Jazz's home arena, the Delta Center . Renovations will be required to make it the team's permanent home, similar to

9072-402: The same Oilers team. With the fans engaging in one last Whiteout (and audibly heard chanting phrases such as "Salt Lake sucks" and "we love you Coyotes" throughout the game), the Coyotes won 5–2, with Sean Durzi scoring the final goal of the team's first incarnation, into an empty net . Amongst the events of the game, Shane Doan was given his retirement banner (which had been lost by the team in

9180-405: The same time to Ryan Smith and based in Salt Lake City . The Coyotes' name, history and other intellectual property were initially retained by Meruelo, who had intended to build a new arena in Arizona by 2029. Meruelo hoped to win a parcel of land at an auction in June 2024. When this auction was canceled by Arizona state authorities, Meruelo left the franchise and abandoned his efforts to revive

9288-589: The season. During All-Star Weekend, ESPN had the All-Star skills competition while ABC aired the All-Star Game. Both Stadium Series games were broadcast by ABC. A Presidents' Day doubleheader on February 19 was also scheduled on ESPN this season. Under the "NHL Power Play on ESPN+" branding, the streaming service also streamed ABC games, selected ESPN games, as well out-of-market games. For the second consecutive season, ESPN collaborated with Disney Channel on

9396-495: The season. He continued to provide analysis on select national broadcasts throughout the season. Sportsnet later announced that Dave Tomlinson , formerly a radio analyst for the Seattle Kraken , would take over as the primary TV analyst for Canucks regional broadcasts, with ESPN lead analyst Ray Ferraro working as a substitute for select games. On December 18, analyst Cassie Campbell-Pascall left Sportsnet to become

9504-426: The second-worst record in the NHL. On June 10, 2015, Glendale City Council voted to terminate its 15-year, $ 225 million agreement with the Coyotes. The city claimed "It was entitled to terminate the agreement because two former city employees, Craig Tindall and Julie Frisoni, were involved in securing the deal and later worked for the Coyotes." On July 23, 2015, it was announced the Coyotes and City Council had agreed on

9612-548: The start of the season. In September 2022, Monumental Sports & Entertainment bought out NBCUniversal 's ownership stake in the channel. The 12 NHL teams who had dealt with the Bally Sports regional sports networks may be affected by its operator Diamond Sports Group 's March 14, 2023, decision to file for bankruptcy. Diamond had initially sought to continue broadcasting regional games while it plans to separate from majority parent Sinclair Broadcast Group as part of

9720-480: The starting goaltender position with Mikael Tellqvist acting as the backup goaltender. Neither Auld or Aebischer were able to hold on to the starting position, leaving the Coyotes to turn to the waiver wire for assistance. On November 17, 2007, the Coyotes were able to claim Ilya Bryzgalov off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks . Bryzgalov responded by not only starting in goal the day he was acquired but posting

9828-526: The team from Winnipeg in 1996. The following day, the sale and relocation was officially approved, and the team was officially deactivated until further notice. 2023%E2%80%9324 NHL season The 2023–24 NHL season was the 107th season of operation (106th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). The regular season began on October 10, 2023, and ended on April 18, 2024. The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs began on April 20. The Stanley Cup Finals began on June 8, and ended on June 24, 2024, with

9936-506: The team in Phoenix was never economically viable. In July 2010, the Ice Edge bid collapsed because it did not satisfy Glendale's financial conditions. Ice Edge decided to concentrate on an effort to purchase a minor league team. The City of Glendale had to step in and guarantee the team's losses for 2010–11 as a precondition of the NHL not transferring the franchise. A consortium of investors led by Chicago investor Matt Hulsizer then reached

10044-455: The team in the Glendale area while engaging young hockey players in the region through school partnerships and scholarship efforts. The NHL rejected Pastor's bid on May 13, 2013, citing the bid was "inconsistent with what we had previously indicated were the minimum prerequisites" of a bid. Because the team had been in bankruptcy since 2009 and lost revenue each year, the NHL planned to move

10152-501: The team let go Bob Errey , their TV color commentator. To replace him, a rotation of Colby Armstrong , Mike Rupp , and Phil Bourque , who also provides color commentary on radio, is used. The Seattle Kraken hired Al Kinisky as their radio analyst, replacing Dave Tomlinson, who moved to the Vancouver Canucks television booth. Columbus Blue Jackets TV play-by-play announcer Jeff Rimer announced his retirement at

10260-580: The team with plans to move it to Minneapolis–St. Paul , which had lost the Minnesota North Stars in 1993, for the 1996–97 season . However, in December, after they were unable to secure a lease at Minneapolis' Target Center , they opted to move the Jets to Phoenix instead. Minnesota was ultimately awarded an expansion team in 1997, the Minnesota Wild . After the franchise considered "Mustangs", "Outlaws", "Wranglers" and "Freeze",

10368-558: The team's days in Winnipeg), Oleg Tverdovsky , and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin , whom the fans nicknamed the "Bulin Wall". Another key addition to the squad was veteran forward Mike Gartner , who had joined from the Toronto Maple Leafs . Despite his experience and scoring his 700th career goal on December 15, 1997, Gartner battled injuries in the latter half of the 1997–98 season. The Coyotes did not renew his contract and he retired at

10476-496: The telecasts to other stations across the team's broadcast territory; both KMCC and Salt Lake City 's KUPX-TV were converted from Ion Television stations to independents to accommodate the team's broadcasts, along with Scripps's Montana Television Network , whose second digital subchannels previously carried The CW . On August 30, 2023, the Penguins announced that they would acquire AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, which rebranded on October 2 as SportsNet Pittsburgh . The channel

10584-459: Was all but assured of having to defeat either the Oilers or the Flames (or both) to reach the conference finals. In 1984–85 , for instance, they finished with the fourth-best record in the NHL with 96 points, at the time their best as an NHL team. However, they were swept by the Oilers in the division finals. Two seasons later , they dispatched the Flames in the first round, only to be swept again by

10692-407: Was also declared insufficient, but the judge left the window open to an improved bid. Moyes and the NHL settled, with the NHL purchasing the team and assuming all debts. The NHL negotiated a temporary lease with the City of Glendale, which owns Gila River Arena. The NHL then negotiated with Reinsdorf and Ice Edge toward a deal with Glendale. Ice Edge signed a letter of intent to purchase the team from

10800-498: Was announced that the team would move to the Central Division in 2021, changing divisions for the second time since relocating to Arizona, as part of a league realignment following the addition of the Seattle Kraken . The team previously played in the Central Division for their first two seasons following their relocation from Winnipeg in 1996. On December 20, 2018, the team extended their lease in Gila River Arena through

10908-469: Was considered suitable in any case since the coyote is endemic to the whole of Arizona, unlike the roadrunner , which is only found in the southern and western regions of the state. The Roadrunners only played one more season before leaving Phoenix; however, the Coyotes later revived the "Roadrunners" nickname for their American Hockey League affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners . In the summer

11016-431: Was established on December 27, 1971, as the Winnipeg Jets , a charter franchise of the World Hockey Association (WHA). After seven WHA seasons they were one of four organizations enfranchised by the NHL on June 22, 1979, when the WHA ceased operations. Due to financial troubles, the Jets were sold to American owners who moved the team to Phoenix on July 1, 1996, where they were renamed the Phoenix Coyotes . The franchise

11124-635: Was held on June 28–29, 2023, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville , Tennessee . Connor Bedard was selected first overall by the Chicago Blackhawks . The NHL held games in Australia for the first time in league history. The Arizona Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings played on September 23 and 24 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne , best known as the main venue for the Australian Open . Since

11232-463: Was hired as head coach of the Coyotes on July 1, 2021. For the 2021–22 season , the Coyotes moved into the Central Division upon the arrival of the Kraken in the Pacific Division . In the 2021 NHL entry draft , the Coyotes would select Josh Doan , son of former Coyotes player Shane Doan ; Josh would later play with the Coyotes in 2024. On August 19, 2021, the city of Glendale and the Gila River Arena chose to not renew their operating agreement with

11340-478: Was renamed the Arizona Coyotes on June 27, 2014. Alex Meruelo became the majority owner on July 29, 2019, later becoming the franchise's sole owner following the arrest of minority owner Andrew Barroway . The team failed to gain long-term stability despite the relocation to the state of Arizona, enduring multiple changes in ownership and struggling for a profitable arena for home games. The NHL took over

11448-503: Was replaced by: The Golden Knights later acknowledged their Thunder predecessors by basing their 2020–21 Reverse Retro jerseys off of the Thunder's "V-stripe" pattern. Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in

11556-445: Was significantly less than the $ 6.8 million the city expected to receive back from sources including parking receipts, ticket sales and naming rights for the arena. On June 4, 2014, it was reported that a Scottsdale, Arizona , public-relations firm had sued IceArizona, the owner of the Phoenix Coyotes, alleging the NHL club had reneged on a sponsorship deal worth nearly $ 250,000. A Coyotes spokesman responded to this issue by calling it

11664-528: Was something of a resurgence for the Coyotes. After their disastrous 2006–07 campaign, the Coyotes looked to rebuild the team by relying on their drafted talent such as Peter Mueller and Martin Hanzal to make the team successful as opposed to using free agency. The Coyotes also acquired Radim Vrbata from the Chicago Blackhawks for Kevyn Adams in an effort to provide the team with more offense. The team signed both Alex Auld and David Aebischer to compete for

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