The city of Glendale has announced they will not be renewing the Arizona Coyotes arena lease after this season, thus forcing the Coyotes to find a new home after June 30th, 2022. With many potential suitors, where will the Coyotes be playing in the 2022-2023 season?
The city of Glendale has chosen not to renew the operating agreement with the Arizona Coyotes beyond the 2021-22 #NHL season, the city announced on Twitter on Thursday: https://t.co/RbtAwCt9Al#TSNHockey pic.twitter.com/0huWJveySS
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) August 19, 2021
Quebec City
The Obvious choice seems to be Quebec City. Over the past decade if not longer fans from across the NHL have been calling for Quebec City to get a team back. Now is the time to get them a team. Quebec City already has an NHL-ready stadium and fan base to fill the stadium night in and night out. With the Videotron Centre in Quebec City being the seventh-largest indoor arena in Canada it makes for the best option for the Coyotes’ new home.
Houston
Houston is an intriguing option for an NHL team. The city of Houston has not seen hockey since 2013 when the AHL Houston Astros were in town. Lots of good things would come from Houston adding an NHL team to their professional sports resume. Hockey in Houston would also add a new built-in rival for the Dallas Stars while keeping the Coyotes in the central division.
Portland
An interesting city that always seems to slide its way into new NHL city conversations is Portland. Home of the WHL Winterhawks, MLS Timbers, and NBA Trail Blazers, Portland is a city full of strong fanbases, but could the home an NHL franchise? Potentially. With a population of around 650,000 people, it may be a tough sell, but Seattle has a team. A Seattle Portland NHL rivalry may be enough to get people interested in a new Portland franchise.
San Francisco
An unlikely option but a possibility would be San Francisco. Many fans don’t want to see a fourth California team but the San Francisco area is full of passionate sports fans, just look at the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and NFL’s San Francisco 49ers. The big question mark though is San Jose too close? Could both cities house NHL teams? With San Jose just 50 miles south of San Francisco it is tough to invasion both franchises working out together.
Hartford
The city of Hartford has not seen a team since 1997 when the Whalers moved on to Carolina. It is still unknown whether or not it can support an NHL franchise. The XL Center in Hartford is still standing, but it only holds 14,750 spectators which may be a deterrent for the NHL as the smallest stadium holds 15,294 (Winnipeg Jets). If Hartford could arrange a bigger stadium in the next 10 months they could get an NHL team back.
Unfourtanly for Glendale the Coyotes is on their way out, but the NHL finally gets out of the desert and can get another hockey-crazed city a new team. Hopefully, the new Coyotes home will be longer than 25 years and the city welcomes them with open arms.
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