The Desert Dogs could be heading to higher ground.
According to a report by Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, the league is drafting up two different versions of the schedule for the 2024-25 season — one with the Coyotes remaining in Arizona and another with the team playing out of Salt Lake City, Utah.
This is hardly concrete evidence that the long-speculated relocation of the Coyotes will come to fruition, but shows that the league is considering a viable contingency plan for next season.
This report comes after Ryan Smith, a billionaire potential buyer for the team, was publicly soliciting potential names for an NHL team in Utah earlier this week.
“We are interested. We are ready, and we’re a partner,” Smith told The Athletic. “The arena is done. We think we have a solution. And that’s my message to the NHL.”
Seravalli’s report says that multiple sources indicate Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo is intimately involved the league’s schedule-making process for both potential outcomes.
The preferred outcome involves the Coyotes remaining in the Phoenix area and building a new arena via Arizona State Land Trust auction, which is scheduled for June 27.
The other option involves Meruelo selling control of the franchise in a complicated process that would include Smith Entertainment Group paying north of $1.2 billion US — part of which a relocation fee to be distributed to fellow league owners.
Smith also owns the NBA’s Utah Jazz and their home arena, the Delta Center, could play host to the relocated NHL team until a new multipurpose arena is constructed.
The Coyotes have been in dire straits for years, having failed several times to get a new arena built in the Phoenix area. The team currently plays out of the 4,600-seat Mullett Arena on the campus of Arizona State University while awaiting the franchise’s next move.
The report also said that sources continually cautioned that no deal is done and Meruelo remains steadfast in his belief that he can get a new arena built.
“Lots of moving pieces,” one source said. “Nothing is resolved at this point.”
The NHL has yet to comment on the report.