NHL Approves Deal Giving Utah A New Franchise And Coyotes A Way To Return

Well, we all knew this was coming, they clearly knew it was coming after their season finale against the Edmonton Oilers, but the Arizona Coyotes are now officially moving to Salt Lake City, Utah… kind of.

At least their players and some staff are.

On Thursday, the NHL announced that they had approved the establishment of a new franchise in Utah that will begin play for the 2024-25 NHL season and will be owned by Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith and his wife Ashley's Smith Entertainment Group.

The NHL had reportedly wanted to get a deal done before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin this weekend, and they managed to do it, despite the somewhat unusual nature of the deal bringing a team to Utah.

"We are honored to bring an NHL team to Utah and understand the responsibility we have as stewards of a new NHL franchise," Ryan and Ashley Smith said in a statement released by the NHL. "This is a transformative day for our state and our fans. Our intention had always been to pursue an expansion team. Commissioner Bettman conceived and proposed an ingenious plan that would allow us to acquire an NHL franchise while also helping to address and remedy an immediate need of the NHL. When he approached us and asked us for help resolving this situation, we made the bold decision to introduce a new franchise in Utah, fully understanding that we are stepping up to do something in a time frame and way that has never been done before in professional sports under these circumstances."

Smith has purchased the Arizona Coyotes' "existing hockey assets," i.e. its current roster, its hockey ops department, and draft picks.

He didn't, however, purchase the Coyotes branding, name, or logo and that's because the Coyotes will be considered "inactive" with the