After many years of relocation speculation, the Arizona Coyotes have officially been sold to Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith on April 17th. The Coyotes have been struggling to find a home since being kicked out of Gila River Arena after failing to pay their arena bills. The Coyotes have been playing out of a 5,000-seat college arena since 2022, with plans to build a new proper arena in Tempe. To build the Tempe Arena the Coyotes first had to win a vote to be able to build on the land they wanted. The vote was resoundingly shot down, and with the failure to secure land the future of the Coyotes was in limbo. The NHL did not want to continue to have the Coyotes play out of a college arena, and with the failed Tempe vote the NHL began to start seeking other options.

The new Utah franchise will be considered a completely new franchise as the former Coyotes will have a chance to come back to the NHL by 2029 if they can build a new arena. The Coyote’s name and trademark will still be held by Alex Meruelo who has owned the Coyotes since 2019. The Utah franchise will play out of the Delta Center which hosts the Utah Jazz. Ryan Smith has commented that he will look into creating a new nickname for the team but does not rule out any nickname for the first season.