• The Canadian Press

    How did the Arizona Coyotes end up facing a move to Salt Lake City?

    The Arizona Coyotes are headed out the door for Utah after insisting for years they would stay. Team owner Alex Meruelo is expected to sell the team for $1.2 billion to Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith, who intends to move the franchise to Salt Lake City. The deal could come as soon as Thursday, a day after the Coyotes' final home game in Arizona. A look at how the team got here: HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? The Coyotes, no matter the ownership group, have insisted the franchise is here to stay, even building

  • The Canadian Press

    The Coyotes' troubled tenure in Arizona has come down to 1 last game before an expected move to Utah

    TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — The Arizona Coyotes dubbed Mullett Arena “The Party Barn” for its raucous, closed-quarters atmosphere. The NHL's smallest arena ended up being one of the franchise's biggest problems and will be the site of one final party that will be more like a wake. The Coyotes' game against Edmonton on Wednesday night will likely mark the end of an era, a 28-year run of ups and downs in the desert culminating in an anticipated move to Utah that will take the hopes of fans across Arizona

  • The Canadian Press

    NHL says it set a single-season attendance record with over 22.5 million fans in 2023-24

    NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL said Tuesday it had set a single-season attendance record with more than 22.5 million fans filling arenas and stadiums. The league said the new mark of 22,560,634 was set with 18 games remaining in the regular season, saying buildings so far have been filled 97% to capacity. The season ends Thursday and the playoffs begin Saturday. The previous record was 22,436,532 in 2022-23. This is the third season with 32 teams. Nearly 80,000 people watched the New York Rangers and I

  • The Canadian Press

    Hockey business is booming as the NHL bounces back from the pandemic in a big way

    NEW YORK (AP) — Arenas are full, the NHL is a fixture on TV screens across North America, highlight-reel goals are talking points on a near-daily basis and “The Pat McAfee Show” even has a segment called “Hockey is Awesome." Piece it all together, and more eyes are on the puck than ever before with the playoffs beginning this weekend. Business is booming for the NHL, which has bounced back in a major way from the pandemic. Backstopped by new media rights deals, digital dasher boards and helmet a