The Coyotes. Whenever something gets said about them, the collective reception amongst the NHL community is, “God, what did they do this time?” The Coyotes are in yet another state of flux, with their move to Utah all but confirmed for the upcoming season. While the NHL is adamant about framing the fanbase as the part of the machine that was at fault, everyone knows that is not the case. To understand what’s going on, we need to examine the Coyotes as a franchise, all the way back to when they first moved to the Valley. This article will be done in two parts. The first will cover the history of the Coyotes up until their move to Mullett and the Tempe vote, and the second will cover the current saga.
The Coyotes were moved to Phoenix from Winnipeg in 1996 to capitalize on a population boom in Arizona and a stable American dollar. In an effort to endear themselves to the locals, the Coyotes loaded up for the first few years of their time in Phoenix. In addition to guys like Jeremy Roenick and young star Shane Doan, the Yotes brought in Keith Tkachuk, Rick Tocchet, and the Bulinwall. They made the playoffs in their first two seasons but failed to advance past the first round in either of those years. In their first year, they lost in 7 games to a fellow expansion team, the Ducks. The next, they were quickly dispatched in 6 by the Red Wing machine. Former partner Richard Burke bought out owner Steven Gluckstern that offseason as Burke attempted to alleviate some of the Coyotes’ financial woes. It didn’t work.
The next year, the Yotes would make the playoffs but blew a 3-1 series lead to the Blues, with Pierre Turgeon burying the dagger in game 7. The following season, they got run over by the Avs in 5 games. Even worse, in the 2000-01 season, they missed the playoffs for the first time while in Phoenix. Richard Burke was also selling the team that offseason. Meet your new executive branch, Coyote fans! Local developer Steve Ellman… with Wayne Gretzky as an executive. It’s truly a sign of franchise competence.
Despite having a franchise-best 95-point season the following year, they would still bow out to the Sharks in 5 games. The following year, they would fall apart and miss the playoffs entirely. Most of their star players besides Shane Doan are now gone. Even worse, the first of many arena issues had surfaced for the Coyotes. Their original home in Phoenix, despite being new by the standards of the ‘90s, had been built for the Phoenix Suns with just basketball in mind. This meant that the Coyotes had to play with a reduced capacity, only about 16,000 people, due to horrible sightlines from the compactness of the building. It was so bad that part of the upper deck hung over the end of the ice, so fans sitting there couldn’t see a third of the ice surface, including one of the goals. New management tried and failed to push renovation measures through, whereupon Ellman finally gave up and settled on a state grant in Glendale for their new arena.
Wayne Gretzky behind the Coyote bench in 2005. Photo: AP/Paul Connors.
The new arena didn’t help them out one bit. As the team got worse, attendance began to fall. Even worse, the Coyotes were losing money at an alarming rate. It got so bad that Ellman sold the team to Jerry Moyes. It’s time for executive Gretzky to come in and save the day. Getting rid of Rick Bowness as head coach after his previous struggles that year was somewhat predictable, but his next move was genius. Meet the new Coyotes head coach, Wayne Gretzky! In fact, it got even worse. Two days before Gretzky named himself bench boss, NHL legend Brett Hull was signed by the Coyotes for one last swan song before retirement. Brett is the son of Bobby Hull, a player from the franchise’s time in Winnipeg and one of the few players whose name is in the rafters in Arizona, with #9 retired. The Coyotes promptly unretired the #9 and gave it to Brett Hull. A week after Gretzky took on the head coaching role, Hull would unexpectedly retire. Congrats, Arizona; you successfully alienated not only one of your all-time greats but also somehow their bloodline. Gretzky’s tenure would last until the 2008-09 season. Despite the team being on an upswing at the end of his tenure, the team played in front of tumbleweeds and crickets for most of his time there, missing the playoffs in his four seasons as the team descended into even more financial incompetence. Despite the league, and Gary Bettman in particular, trying to cover it up, the team lost over $40 million annually. It was time for the NHL to step in and save this disaster in the desert. When Moyes attempted to sell the team, he intended to sell it to Canadian Jim Balsille, who intended to immediately move the team to Hamilton, Ontario. When the NHL learned about this plan, they stripped Moyes of ownership and took over the Coyotes in 2009.
On the ice, the Yotes did better than in previous seasons. Under new head coach Dave Tippitt, they would make the playoffs in 2010 with the best season they had ever had and clinched home ice in the first round for the first time since 1985. They lost to the Red Wings in 7 games. They would make it back the following year but get swept by Detroit. 2012, though, was their breakout year. They won the Pacific division and clinched the 3-seed in the West. They beat Chicago in 6 games and then Nashville in 5 to make the Western Conference Finals. Only to lose to a Kings team riding on the power of friendship in 5 games. Don’t feel bad, though. The future looked bright.
The next lockout is ending, so what better opportunity for the NHL to sell off their most volatile asset to the highest bidder? The NHL’s search for a stable owner was finally ending. They sold the franchise to Renaissance Sports and Entertainment, led by George Gosbee, for $225 million. Likewise, the city of Glendale reached a 15-year agreement with the Yotes to keep them in the Phoenix area. They completely fell apart as the team hit the ice for the 2013 season. They would continue on their downward spiral in the next few years. During that time, they would rebrand as the Arizona Coyotes to attract the entire valley to their games. It doesn’t work. The fans continue to dress as red stadium seats for the games and the team loses even more money.
By the 2014-15 season, the organization was in panic mode. They were the worst team in the league by a country mile. Even worse, the city of Glendale voted to terminate their deal with the Coyotes, instead opting for a significantly shorter 2-year deal with the team. GM Don Maloney was kicked to the curb after the 2015-16 season ended in yet another disaster. Enter John Chayka, a 26-year-old wunderkind with no experience managing hockey but was more into asset management. He was also the youngest GM in NHL history. Surely this can’t go wrong, can it?
Chayka started his tenure as the Yotes GM by dragging them all the way down to the cap floor. His strategy was to build from the youth, acquiring draft picks by taking on dead contracts like Marian Hossa and Pavel Datsyuk. The team was predictably terrible that year, but the new developments were off the ice. That fall, the Yotes agreed to a deal with the city of Tempe and Arizona State University for a new arena. The arena would feature a full-size NHL rink for the Coyotes with an adjacent 4,000-seat stadium for ASU’s nascent men’s ice hockey program. The deal fell apart as ASU pulled out at the last minute. Go back to Glendale, Coyotes, do not pass go, do not collect an updated stadium.
After the 2016-17 season, Andrew Barroway, who had held a 51% stake in the team since 2015, bought out the rest of the ownership group to assume sole command of the Coyotes franchise. That season, the Coyotes would get better when Dave Tippitt was replaced by Rick Tocchet, but as 2018 rolled around, it was clear that there was still much work to do for Chayka. The 2019 season fared much better, but the Coyotes only missed the playoffs by 4 points. That offseason, Barroway sold the team to billionaire Alex Meruelo, who had built his fortune in the casino industry. Remember this later. It’s important.
The next year, the Coyotes would do better, bringing in players like Phil Kessel and Taylor Hall. They were on the upswing in the 2020 season and were in playoff position deep into February. You know what else happened in 2020? Covid. One of the industries hit hardest was the casinos. Most of Meruelo’s wealth was based on those casinos. The team began losing even more money as a result. The team would make the playoffs later in the year, beating Nashville in the qualifiers. Sure, they got their earth salted by Colorado the next round, but they won a series for the first time in almost a decade. Let them have their moment. Unfortunately, that’s not the end of the story in 2020. Far from it. Remember how Meruelo was cash-strapped due to the pandemic? Well, he was late paying players’ and coaches’ salaries in the 2020 bubble. The Yotes even had trouble paying for hotels. Don’t think it doesn’t get worse because it does. In the 2020 entry draft, the Coyotes had their eyes set on Mitchell Miller. He was talented, but he turned out to be a complete scumbag off the ice, abusing and tormenting a black disabled kid for years. Miller showed no remorse for his actions, yet the Coyotes drafted him anyway. To no one’s surprise, the NHL and the media intervened and pressured Chayka into letting him go almost immediately after the draft. Also surrounding that draft, the Coyotes broke several rules involving scouting of players. Like hosting illegal workouts of players during the interview process and eyeing their bodies. At this point, the NHL smelled a rat. That rat was Chayka. He would resign immediately after this news went public. The NHL punished the Coyotes hard, docking them a first- and second-round pick.
The Coyotes would miss the playoffs the following season and part ways with head coach Rick Tocchet. Andre Tourigny would take over as bench boss for the 2021-22 season.
The next year, the Coyotes were horrible yet again. Even worse, the Yotes were late making payments on rent for their new arena. The city of Glendale then unanimously voted to kick them out of their arena, leaving Arizona scrambling for a new home. Their new arena for the 2022-23 season? A 5,000-seat college rink belonging to Arizona State University and nowhere near NHL Standards: Mullet Arena.
So, this brings us to our current point in time. I think that’s enough Coyotes history to get a good idea of where the franchise is at this point in time. Terrible ownership, terrible executives, and terrible management by the NHL despite promising youth and quality players and coaches. Part 2 will cover the current situation and how the Coyotes’ history of horrible owners and management relates to the current saga.
