Coyotes forced to move after next season
With the arrival of the 32nd team in the NHL, the Seattle Kraken, it was expected that the League would remain intact for a few years. Gary Bettman now had a perfect balance between the teams in the Western and Eastern Associations.
However, big news came out today regarding the Arizona Coyotes. The Gila River Arena lease agreement between the Coyotes and Glendale County expires at the end of the 2021-2022 season. The City of Glendale has informed the Arizona team that it will not be renewing the Coyotes' lease. This means that the Coyotes will have to find a new home as of June 30.
BREAKING: City of Glendale has informed the Arizona Coyotes it will opt out of its joint lease agreement for Gila River Arena, meaning #Yotes will need to vacate the arena by June 30, making 2021/22 their final season at the facility.
via @TheAthletic https://t.co/xobT0xgDTJ� NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) August 19, 2021
Is this a sign that the Nordiques are coming back? It didn't take much to rekindle the flame of Quebec City fans! Of course, whenever there is a move on the horizon, Quebec City is very often at the top of the list. However, we must not forget that with the current divisions, this would cause an imbalance between the West and the East. There are already 16 teams playing in the Eastern time zone.
Tiny issue with moving the Coyotes to Quebec City is the NHL already has 16 teams that play in the eastern time zone.� Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) August 19, 2021
This will obviously be an issue to follow in the coming months. Will the Coyotes stay in Arizona or will they move elsewhere in the western United States? Remember that the city of Houston had already been part of the rumors to host a team of the National Hockey League. Will it be another US city that will have the upper hand over Quebec City? It would be another hard blow to take...
