SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — The team did its best to make it seem like everything was business as usual Tuesday, limiting questions to “hockey-related” questions, but perhaps for the last time in Arizona Coyotes history. On the eve of what could be a game, there were limited options for getting in shape.
As the familiar sounds of pucks hitting glass and sticks hitting ice can be heard inside the Ice Den, the Coyotes’ practice facility, team staff members are making a trip to visit what now seems inevitable. There have been conversations about the possibility of an event being planned for early next week. Will Salt Lake City be their new home? Who will stay and who will go?
As the Coyotes prepare for Wednesday’s final game of the season against the Edmonton Oilers and owner Alex Meruelo continues hard work finalizing negotiations on a deal that will liquidate his hockey assets, what happens next? The feeling of resignation was clear.
“The spirit of our message is to live it all up,” Coyotes head coach Andre Tourigny said of his team’s approach to playing what will likely be its last game in the intimate confines of Mallet Arena. Told. “We want to play our last game with respect to everyone in our class. Let’s give the audience the best they can expect. We want to be remembered as a group that fought with all our might. I want it to stay.”
Given the extraordinary circumstances they find themselves in, they have little choice.
new for @Athletic: how #yotes -The Salt Lake relocation plan has been finalized, but what are the remaining issues?https://t.co/BidPlkiNcwhttps://t.co/BidPlkiNcw
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) April 15, 2024
The Coyotes were preparing for a game in Vancouver last Wednesday when news began surfacing through media reports that a move to Salt Lake City for next season could be imminent. Veteran forward Lawson Crouse, who played in all 503 NHL games for Arizona, said he and his teammates learned of their fate through social media.
“Cutting out all the noise, I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty difficult,” Kraus said. “But we did an incredible job on that. So, one more thing.”
While everyone exposed at Tuesday’s carefully curated media session was careful not to say anything that could be interpreted, players and coaches said they had no idea what was going on above them in the owner’s suite. There was a clear sense that the plans being finalized were still largely kept secret. As a criticism of the way this exit is handled.
“I can’t really comment on that,” Kraus said. “I don’t know anything about the logistics around that.”
The Coyotes have played the past two seasons at the 4,600-seat Mallett Arena on the campus of Arizona State University, where they have twice as many wins (42) as they have on the road (21).
This was intended to be a temporary solution while Meruelo works to build an NHL-quality arena in the area. Such progress never occurred. Still, despite the frustrations with the facilities and the tense ownership situation, there were clearly mixed feelings among the players as they prepared for perhaps the final spin with Mallett.
“I think it’s really a home ice advantage playing there,” veteran forward Alex Kerfoot said. “Obviously there’s only one game left so it’ll be fun to put on a show for them in our last home game and just thank them for all the support they’ve given us. ”
new for @Athletic: Arizona Coyotes players face a ‘psychological game’ with uncertainty as a potential move to Utah looms.https://t.co/IGS50SaLgshttps://t.co/IGS50SaLgs
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) April 11, 2024
The Atlanta Thrashers’ move to Winnipeg in 2011 came more than six weeks after they last played at Phillips Arena, making it one of the most experienced NHL players in the social media era. The scenery will be different.
The Coyotes have lived a troubled 28 years in the desert since arriving from Winnipeg, including unstable ownership, bankruptcy court hearings, and eviction from their last home in Glendale over unpaid bills. However, I have also put down roots here. .
Tickets for Wednesday are hot. Prices for seats available on StubHub ranged from $400 to $4,499 as of Tuesday night. Fans gathered in the parking lot before the team’s final practice, shaking hands with arriving players and staff.
“Arizona is home to me,” Kraus said. “Over the eight years (I played here) they have been a great support for us through all the ups and downs. They mean so much not only to me but to all of my teammates. Thank you for being by our side.”
“We will definitely be emotional,” Tourigny added.
All signs point to it being a rude breakup.
The NHL has scheduled a virtual conference call with its board of governors for Thursday, league officials said, to formally decide whether to move the franchise’s hockey operations to Salt Lake City, assuming a deal is finalized by then. A vote may take place.
We chose a good day to publish our feature on Salt Lake City.
I spent four days in SLC last month trying to gauge their appetite for NHL hockey.
I came away impressed by my conversation with Jazz owner Ryan Smith.
I was even more impressed by the city itself.
— Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) April 10, 2024
Meanwhile, there is one game left on the schedule for the players and staff. They need only look to Edmonton’s 9-2 win over San Jose on Monday as an example of how bad things can get when they lose sight of the task at hand. So the focus of this last exercise was to prevent that from happening.
“If we don’t come out and play a good hockey game, everything is going to fall apart,” Tourigny said. “The support of the fans last week, the atmosphere of tomorrow’s game and the people talking about that game, that’s what keeps me going. The people have been nothing but great to us, so we’ve been great to them. I want to be.”
(Photo: Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)