The Arizona Coyotes are arguably the most dysfunctional team in the National Hockey League. Although teams like the Vancouver Canucks this season have given them a hard time in an individual season, no team has consistently had as many problems as the team located in the desert.
Despite their monumental struggles over the years, the Coyotes franchise has continued to gain the seemingly undying support of the NHL and its commissioner Gary Bettman, but perhaps for the first time in a very long time, that support is beginning to waver.
On Friday, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that there is a growing sense of discontent with the Coyotes around the league and, more importantly, that the discontent has reached the upper echelons of the league. Things are so bad in fact that the Coyotes situation could become a topic of discussion at upcoming NHL general managers meetings and beyond.
“The other thing that I think is really going to happen is Arizona,” Friedman said of the Podcast 32 Thoughts. “But I’m not convinced it’s a GM problem, I think it’s a board problem if the other owners are particularly upset.”
Now I know what many of you are probably thinking. Considering how he’s supported the Coyotes over the years, there’s no way the aforementioned Gary Bettman is ready to throw in the towel and admit defeat. The problem for the NHL commissioner is that he has to answer to the league’s owners, and Friedman revealed that some highly placed sources have confirmed to him that at least some of the owners are very unhappy with the situation in Arizona.
“I will say this: I’ve had a few general managers tell me their owners weren’t happy about it,” Friedman said.
It appears the Coyotes may soon be under siege from all sides, with Friedman also indicating the owners aren’t alone in this feeling.
“I’ll tell you this,” Friedman said. “I know some agents and players are very keen on this, we’ll see where it goes.”
