This is pretty cool for the new GM of the Griffins (BTW, if you missed that news, it’s true: Pat Verbeek, following the departure of Ryan Martin takes over as the AHL GM, as is the usual for assistant GMs.)
There’s also this:
With an increased focus on larger, more impactful events and uses of the city-owned arena, the city of Glendale has chosen to not renew the operating agreement for the Arizona Coyotes beyond the coming 2021-22 season.
(THREAD) pic.twitter.com/JoeBYKbpPN
— City of Glendale, AZ (@GlendaleAZ) August 19, 2021
Part of this is just public negotiations, but the reality of the situation is that the Coyotes were driven to Phoenix by a trucking magnate who got one over on Gary Bettman and leveraged the team for a real-estate scheme and they’ve suffered from that decision ever since. Despite that, they’ve grown hockey culture in the desert there and DO have a fanbase. It would be a shame if they have to leave the area after suffering from a bunch of decisions that would have damaged a team in a colder climate as well.
Move them to Phoenix. They always should have been there.