NHL commish doubles down on desire to keep Coyotes in Arizona amid failed arena vote: 'We’ll make it work'

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Over the years, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has made it clear he wants a hockey franchise in Arizona. On Friday, Bettman double down on his position.

"It’s a good market, and if we can make it work, we’ll make it work," Bettman said during his annual state of the league news conference ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. 

Bettman's reaffirmation of the NHL and the Arizona Coyotes' commitment to the Phoenix area comes more than two weeks after voters in Tempe made it clear they were not in favor of building a new arena and entertainment district.

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An Arizona Coyotes logo during a game at Bell Centre in Montreal Oct. 20, 2022. (David Kirouac/USA Today Sports)

With the setback, the Coyotes plan to play at the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena on the campus of Arizona State University for the 2023-24 season.

Bettman did acknowledge there will likely be some bumps along the road in the process of finding a long-term home for the Coyotes. 

"We've had our challenges," he said.

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The commissioner added that the results of last month's vote surprised him and left him feeling disappointed, but he was not caught off guard by the voters' decision.

"Team-related referendums in all sports don’t do well," Bettman said. "The Islanders did one (in 2011), and it lost. They got their building. When we were looking at Columbus for an expansion, that building referendum went down."

Mullett Arena before an NHL game between the Arizona Coyotes and the Winnipeg Jets Oct. 28, 2022, in Tempe, Ariz.