🐕 NHL approves Coyotes sale and relocation
Coyotes sale, Hynes named coach of US, Utah downtown and more!
Slapshot News
April 20, 2024
In today’s edition:
🐕 League approves Coyotes relocation
👤 John Hynes to coach US at world championships
And more!
NHL approves Coyotes sale and relocation
The NHL is moving the team now formerly known as the Arizona Coyotes to Utah to begin play as a new franchise next season, the league announced Thursday. Coyotes fans were emotional Wednesday night at the team’s final regular-season game at Mullet Arena, the 5,000-seat arena at Arizona State University, knowing the possibility the franchise may never return. All of its operations will be heading to Salt Lake City, where Ashley and Ryan Smith of the Smith Entertainment Group, who own the NBA’s Utah Jazz, will be taking over.
According to ESPN, Smith Entertainment Group acquired the team and its assets for $1.2 billion from Alex Meruelo, who bought the franchise for $300 million in 2019. However, the NHL grew tired of Meruelo not finding a long-term solution for an arena fit to NHL standards in Arizona and worked on a sale instead. Meruelo has the right to reactivate a team if a "new, state-of-the-art facility" is built within five years. This would create a new expansion team in the NHL if the criteria are met by Meruelo.
The Utah team will play at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, a facility the Smiths own and which is also home to the Jazz. SEG said it will work on improvements over the summer to outfit the arena for hockey, including building a hockey-specific locker room. According to Smith, the Delta Center will have 12,000 unobstructed seats for hockey games next season and SEG will work to expand after that.
"Effective at closing, the approved transactions will result in the Coyotes franchise transferring the totality of its existing hockey assets – including its full Reserve List, roster of Players and draft picks and its Hockey Operations Department – to the Utah franchise”
Hynes named US coach at World championships
John Hynes of the Minnesota Wild has been named the coach of the 2024 U.S. men's national team for next month's IIHF men's world championship in Czechia. USA Hockey announced the appointment on Friday for the event that will take place from May 10-26. The games will be played in Prague and Ostrava. Hynes, who also coached the national team in 2016 and '19, finished his first season as coach of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild this week, missing the playoffs. Hynes, who is from Warwick, Rhode Island, spent six seasons (2003-09) as a head coach for USA Hockey's national team development program. Hynes played at Boston University and competed in four NCAA Frozen Fours, winning the championship in 1995.
“We’re fortunate to have John leading our team. His passion and energy, coupled with his vast experience, including on the world stage, will certainly serve us well in our efforts to bring back gold to the United States.”