Arizona Coyotes | Relocation, Utah Hockey Club, History and Notable Players

From the WHA to the NHL in Winnipeg

The franchise, a founding member of the WHA, was initially based in WinnipegManitoba, Canadaand began playing in 1972 as the Jets. In its inaugural season, the team made headlines before playing a single game, when they signed superstar Bobby Hull far from the NHL Chicago Black Hawks. The landmark acquisition gave instant credibility to the fledgling league and subsequently led to higher salaries for all professional hockey players, with NHL teams forced to increase their salaries to avoid having their players poached by WHA franchises.

Along with Hull, the Jets proved to be one of the best teams in the WHA, making the Avco Cup finals (league championship) in five of the WHA’s seven seasons and winning three titles (1976, 1978 and 1979). The financially struggling WHA was forced to merge with the NHL before the 1979–80 season, and the Jets were one of four WHA franchises to join the NHL.

The Jets’ dominance did not extend to their new league, as the team failed to post a winning record in any of its first five NHL seasons. Center Dale Hawerchuk led the team to winning seasons and first-round playoff victories (and second-round losses to the eventual champion). Edmonton Oilers) in 1984–85 and 1986–87, but the Jets failed to advance further in the playoffs during the remainder of their stay in Winnipeg.

Moving to Phoenix

As player salaries and other expenses continued to rise throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the small-market Jets struggled financially, and it was announced in 1995 that the team would be sold to a group of Phoenix-area investors. the NHL officially approved the sale in January 1996. The franchise moved to Arizona before the 1996–97 season and became the Phoenix Coyotes.

Led by the play of Keith Tkachuk, Jeremy Roenick, Shane Doan and Teppo Numminen, the rebranded Coyotes qualified for the playoffs in each of their first four seasons in Phoenix, losing in the first round each time. Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky became a minority owner of the team in 2000 and became the head coach of the Coyotes in 2005. The team failed to finish higher than second-to-last in its division during the Gretzky game. mandateand he resigned in September 2009, shortly after the Coyotes — who continued to lose money after moving to Phoenix — filed for bankruptcy protection. Two months later, the bankrupt team was purchased by the NHL.

Despite this turmoil, the Coyotes won 50 games during the 2009–10 season (the team’s highest win total since joining the NHL 30 years earlier) to end a six-year playoff drought. In 2011-12, the Coyotes won their first division title in franchise history. The team followed this feat by defeating the Blackhawks in a thrilling first-round playoff series, in which five of six games were decided in overtime to earn the franchise’s first playoff victory since moving from Winnipeg. The Coyotes won another playoff series before ultimately being eliminated by the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference final.

In 2013, the NHL sold the team to an ownership group that was committed to keeping the Coyotes in Arizona. To reflect the fact that he was based outside of Phoenix, at Glendaleand in an effort to further appeal to hockey fans across the state, the franchise changed its name to the Arizona Coyotes in 2014. The team finished the 2014–15 season last in its division. Between the 2015-16 and 2023-24 seasons, the Coyotes have only reached the playoffs once, in 2020, when the team lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the first round.

A new team in Utah

Although the franchise developed a dedicated, albeit small, fan base, its unsuccessful efforts to establish a permanent arena in Arizona meant that as of 2022, the Coyotes played in Temple has Arizona State UniversityMullett Arena. As a multi-year deal with the university neared its end, in April 2024, the NHL negotiated a deal that involved the sale of the franchise’s “hockey assets” to a Utah ownership group, while classifying the Coyotes as an “inactive” franchise still under the control of its Arizona-based owner, Alex Meruelo. A few months later, Meruelo abandoned its rights to the name and history of the Coyotes in the NHL. The Utah Hockey Club began play in the 2024-2025 season.