Bettman says NHL still committed to keeping Coyotes in Arizona after failed arena referendum

Commissioner Gary Bettman says the NHL is still committed to Arizona after Tempe voters rejected a referendum for a Coyotes arena.

Bettman said the team is looking at other areas around Phoenix for a long-term home.

"It's a good market, and if we can make it work, we'll make it work," Bettman said. "We've had our challenges."

Bettman, who held his annual state of the league news conference Saturday in Las Vegas before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Golden Knights and Florida Panthers, said he was surprised and disappointed but not shocked by the result of the vote last month.

The future of the Coyotes is now a major question as they go into a second season playing at a 5,000-seat college rink on Arizona State's campus.

At the other end of the spectrum are the Ottawa Senators, who are close to being sold for what Bettman expects will be around a billion dollars — "give or take."

When the final ends, Bettman may meet with executive Stan Bowman and coach Joel Quenneville, whom he must reinstate for either to take another job with a team. Bowman resigned as Chicago's GM and Quenneville as Panthers coach in October 2021 after an investigation into Chicago's 2010 sexual assault scandal revealed their roles in the team's mishandling the situation.

Bettman said Bowman and Quenneville each requested a meeting and that his office told them he'd deal with them after the playoffs are over.

The league announced two outdoor Stadium Series games next season in East Rutherford, New Jersey, at MetLife Stadium — home of the NFL's New York Jets and Giants. The Philadelphia Flyers are set to play the New Jersey Devils on Feb. 17 followed by the New York Rangers against the Islanders on Feb. 18.

The Rangers played the Buffalo