Coyotes could relocate to Salt Lake City as part of NHL plan - ESPN

The NHL is preparing a contingency that could relocate the Arizona Coyotes to Utah as soon as next season, sources told ESPN.

Even though the NHL remains convinced a franchise should be in Arizona, the league is skeptical about the Coyotes' newest plan to build an arena in Phoenix, which involved Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo's bid to win a land auction in June.

The NHL has prepared a backup option that would sell the team to Ryan and Ashley Smith, owners of the NBA's Utah Jazz, in a relocation move to Salt Lake City, multiple sources said.

That shadow plan includes the NHL preparing two schedules for next season: one involving the Coyotes in Arizona and another for the team in Utah, as Daily Faceoff first reported Wednesday.

An announcement on relocation could come as soon as this month, sources told ESPN.

Multiple NHL sources cautioned that it's a fluid situation. Though it is common practice for the NHL to come up with contingencies in a situation that has this much uncertainty, it's not a done deal.

Relocation would need to be approved by the NHL's board of governors, which is next scheduled to meet in June. The board also could convene a meeting anytime before that over Zoom.

The Coyotes told ESPN they have no comment on reports the team could relocate to Salt Lake City starting next season. The NHL also had no comment.

Coyotes players are following along with the developments through media reports.

«We don't know anything at all and haven't heard anything,» one player told ESPN on Wednesday.

The Coyotes have played their home games at Mullett Arena, a 5,000-seat facility on the campus of Arizona State, since the 2022-23 season as they sought to build a new NHL-sized arena. According to Coyotes president Xavier