Photo credit: USA Hockey

There’s no official word on the Arizona Coyotes relocation, but it seems likely that the team will be making an announcement.

One NHL Insider thinks that the relocation reveal to Salt Lake City could happen as soon as next week.

According to John Gambadoro of 98.7 FM Sports in Arizona, the team will be headed to Salt Lake City with promptness. With the Smith Entertainment Group lobbying the NHL for a franchise for years now, it looks like their work has paid off, as the team may end up in Utah for the 2024-2025 NHL season.

With this potential news, there’s been no official name for the team chosen, although residents in Utah were surveyed for a new franchise name.

The #Coyotes will likely announce their relocation from Tempe, Arizona to Salt Lake City, Utah, on April 18th.

All indications are this is the only option, and all the wheels are in motion for the purchase and transfer of assets.

The current Coyotes’ player group feels “betrayed” and believes that the way this was handled was “cowardly.”

Current owner Alex Meruelo will likely have the opportunity to bring back the Coyotes as an expansion team within the next 5 years, but it’s believed that his relationship with players will be permanently strained.

It also seems, as a result, there will be a new realignment in the NHL to accommodate the rebranded Arizona Coyotes.

It seems now, that the Coyotes and Alex Meruelo have found the cache of dynamite, as they’ve been unsuccessful in finding a new home for the team.

The miscalculation has blown up in their faces, Ryan Smith and company will now run off into the distance and not look back.