The process of relocating the Arizona Coyotes appears to be underway already.
According to a Wednesday report from Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, the NHL, Coyotes organization, and Smith Entertainment Group (SEG) have made significant progress on an agreement to move the team.
Elaborating on his morning report, Seravalli also revealed that an NHL memo regarding the relocation of the franchise was sent out to the Board of Governors today.
BREAKING: Sources tell @DailyFaceoff– NHL, Arizona Coyotes & Smith Entertain. Grp have made significant progress on the framework of an agreement to relocate #Yotes to Salt Lake City, Utah.#NHL memo updated Governors today.
NOT done. Many layers and lawyers. Much work to do.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) April 10, 2024
Minutes later, ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski shared a similar report, linking to an article detailing a contingency that could relocate the Arizona team to Utah as soon as next season.
The @ArizonaCoyotes to Salt Lake City?
Oh it's very real.
My reporting with @emilymkaplan on what we know about the potential relocation of the Yotes to Utah. How the sale could work, the NHL timeline, SLC arena preparations + what players are saying. https://t.co/4zli1ftDdR
— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) April 10, 2024
Citing Seravalli, Wyshynski reported that the NHL is preparing two schedules for next season: “one involving the Coyotes in Arizona and another for the team in Utah.”
The ESPN article also revealed that NHL sources say “an announcement on relocation could come as soon as this month.”
Rumours of the Coyotes moving have swirled for the past few years. This update comes just two days after Utah Jazz owner and head of SEG Ryan Smith asked fans on social media what they think an appropriate name for a franchise in Salt Lake City would be.
Meanwhile, in January, the billionaire businessman formally asked the NHL to initiate the expansion process and bring a team to Salt Lake City.
In March, Utah state legislators approved a bill that would allow the construction of a new, mixed-use arena in downtown Salt Lake City. This is another indicator that the process is moving along.
The Coyotes, who sit far out of a playoff spot and currently play out of a 5000-seat arena, have just four games remaining on their 2023-24 schedule.
Their final home game of the season may also be the last in franchise history when they host the Edmonton Oilers next Wednesday, April 17.
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