Mat Ishbia has finally stepped up for bringing the Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes back to the NHL after Alex Meruelo’s departure, as many hoped.

I really hope with his leadership he can make hockey successful in Arizona with the reactivation of the Coyotes. This is a huge opportunity to JJ Watt and Shane Doan to join forces too. I fully support this. With the right people in charge and an arena at the right location, hockey will work in the desert.

Plus I'm totally supportive of the expansion contenders there is as of right now because there's no need of realignment. Arizona Coyotes (Pacific), Houston Aeros (Central), Atlanta Thrashers (Metropolitan) and Quebec Nordiques (Atlantic). I personally think this is the most realistic scenario of a future NHL expansion.

21 comments
  1. I hope PHX gets an opportunity to have a team with competent ownership. As an implant who moved to Tempe from St Louis I loved every single Blues/Coyotes game I attended at Gila River Arena and Mullet Arena. Arizona is a fuckin rad place and deserves hockey to be there.

  2. I swear it would be the funniest thing ever if Arizona gets a second team before Quebec

  3. The issue was never the fanbase or even the city/state. It was all management/ownership.

    Ishbia is a lot better. Phoenix deserves a proper franchise

  4. there are too many teams as it is. The more expansion, the more the quality of officials goes down. There just aren’t enough officials

  5. Yea I just don’t care.

    No offense to phoenix or any other expansion teams but this needs to stop.

    We already are slipping further and further from a parity league as more spots are filled with minor league players to fill teams.

    32 is fine and until all 32 close the gap in parity and we have an explosion in youth programs and talent, then fuck off.

  6. I would feel confident in an Ishbia-led NHL team in Phoenix. I don’t think it would be the disaster that the Coyotes were

  7. lol, loving the added 4 teams. I’m sure that the NHL is just chomping at the bit to reinstate 3 failed franchises out of 4 new teams.

  8. Meruelo must be stewing. I have zero sympathy for him after he mismanaged that franchise so badly, but to have this get floated out just weeks after he ends up finally signing over his rights to the franchise must sting.

  9. Here I thought he wasn’t gonna sink any more money with how the Suns finances look right now.

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