Arizona Coyotes fans blame ownership for departure, hope for NHL return

PHOENIX – Greg Dunaway has been watching hockey the majority of his life, with most of his affection centered on the Arizona Coyotes. Once the team packed its duffle bags and moved to Utah, however, Dunaway contemplated giving up NHL fandom.

Cold turkey.

“It’s like watching a girlfriend walk away from you,” said Dunaway, a Phoenix resident. “Even if it’s a normal split, you really don’t want to see each other for a little bit. I was pissed like everybody else.”

Although disappointed and angry, many Coyotes fans still hold out hope for the NHL to return to the Valley.

The team spent 28 years in Arizona after its relocation from Winnipeg in 1996. Even before the team moved to Utah in 2024,  ample signs of instability surfaced.

The team was in constant turmoil, whether through ownership turnover, a lack of playoff appearances, red ink, or, most of all, finding a permanent home.

The Coyotes spent most of their tenure bouncing around arenas, going from America West Arena in downtown Phoenix, to Glendale’s Gila River Arena, to Arizona State’s Mullett Arena in Tempe. 

They eyed at least a dozen sites for a permanent arena solution, but the plans never got off the drafting table.

“Building an arena in the right location, that’s something that has obviously plagued the Coyotes as they previously existed,” said Paul Gheduzzi, who has been an avid Coyotes fan since they moved to Arizona, despite living in Philadelphia. “That was why they couldn’t stick around.”

While the relocation to Utah may have seemed imminent to some fans, they were still devastated by it.

“I was angry,” Gheduzzi said. “I was speechless at the same time. I couldn’t believe that it was actually happening, but at the same time, given the last owner of the team, I’m not totally surprised, either. For me, I’m still quite bitter about the loss of the team in Arizona.”

While the move was out of the control of the fans, players and coaching staff, some fans have taken their anger out on players, coaches and even new Utah fans, who had no say in the move.

“Initially, for sure,” said Rich Roy, a resident of Phoenix who has been a fan of the Coyotes since he moved to Phoenix in 2000. “You can see it all over social media. I think some of it has died down, obviously, and it’ll probably continue to die down over time. Hockey fans tend to have a long memory.”

Most fans, however, have targeted the ownership, specifically Alex Meruelo, as the reason for failure, especially because Meruelo never found an arena solution. He was kicked out of Glendale. He failed to secure the votes for a Tempe arena plan. And he failed to secure a piece of land in north Phoenix for yet another proposed arena project. The land was later scooped up by the Arizona Cardinals to build a new training facility.

“I don’t think anyone hated the coach and the staff,” Roy said. “I think a lot of that goes with it. You don’t fault the staff and the players in the organization for the organization being poorly run.”

In light of the arena failures, it’s clear that if some new iteration of the Coyotes comes to the Valley, fans don’t want to see the same turmoil accompany their team again.

“Solid ownership is a must,” Roy said. “It has to be foolproof this time. I think, not only will they look at it, but they’re going to look at it deeper. I think just because it’s this market, and it’ll be their second bite at the apple, they can’t afford to have it be a black eye.”

Fans made clear they want something that the previous team never had – a proper arena.

“There’s no world (the arena) is going to be in West Valley,” Dunaway said. “I think the only way the NHL comes back is if there’s a shovel-ready process, where they are going to play in a beautiful new rink. Whether that’s shared with the Suns, whether that’s a new rink of their own, I think that’s how you’ll see it happen.”

Despite the loss of the Coyotes, some fans have continued to watch hockey, with ASU’s team serving as a suitable substitute for what they lost.

“Getting an ASU ticket is really, really hard,” Dunaway said. “They went from playing at Oceanside, where I played beer league, to being one of the top-ranked teams in all of college hockey. Hockey fans, like me, only have one arena and demand is through the roof.”

Shortly after the loss of the team, local business, political and hockey community leaders formed a committee to bring back the Coyotes.

Andrea Doan, wife of former Coyotes captain Shane Doan, became the head of the committee to bring the Coyotes back in September 2025, alongside mayors, politicians , and even Taylor Burke, whose family brought the Coyotes to Arizona in 1996.

Even Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, has expressed interest in revisiting the Arizona market in multiple interviews.

“The short answer is yes,” Roy said on a possible return for the Coyotes. “Without a stadium somewhere, where they can viably play, I don’t think it’s even on the table, whether that’s an expansion team or rebuilding. The stadium has to be built first, and then it’s kind of ‘If you build it, (the sponsors) will come’ mentality.”

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