Plan to bring Arizona back to the NHL officially in the works
Photo credit: Sporting News
Just as quickly as the Arizona Coyotes left the desert, they might be coming back. Mat Ishbia, the owner of the NBA's Phoenix Suns, wants to bring an NHL team back to Phoenix immediately.
Ishbia has expressed interest in having an NHL team return to the Phoenix area after the Coyotes recently relocated to Utah.
Although there is no confirmation that Ishbia has spoken to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman about his plan, if a new arena is built and Ishbia pays the expansion fee, we could see an NHL team in Arizona within the next 10 years.
Mat Ishiba has expressed interest in bringing an NHL franchise back to Phoenix, Arizona 🇺🇸 as an expansion franchise.
The Coyotes' branding rights were retained by the league after the team moved to Utah, meaning that if a team returns to Arizona, they could once again be named the Coyotes and use their former logo.
Ishbia is the CEO and chairman of United Wholesale Mortgage and owns both the NBA's Suns and the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury. Worth over $10 billion, hockey fans in the desert are hoping his deep pockets can help them get their team back one day.
Previously on PuckReporter
POLL |
JUILLET 24 | 136 ANSWERS Plan to bring Arizona back to the NHL officially in the works Will the Arizona franchise be revived within the next 10 years? |
Yes | 35 | 25.7 % |
No | 101 | 74.3 % |
List of polls |