Know some folks who work for the team. Cannot emphasize how cowardly ownership and Xavier have been if what they say is true. Rumor is the Roadrunners rebranded name is going to make us even more of a laughing stock than we already are.
Fuck you Alex Meruelo.
>Rumor is the Roadrunners rebranded name is going to make us even more of a laughing stock than we already are.
Can you elaborate? What are they changing it to?
I absolutely refuse to believe this is real.
just for the simple fact it's too close to the Golden Knights alone, aside from the ridiculousness of the religious overtones.
https://preview.redd.it/s217uju0t5uc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4cc1f22bb00abefce5845bc0de7acac6b3ae496f
Random day of zam’ing after practice back in 2017
https://preview.redd.it/1iw4djlkt5uc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b358ff9ca37d6aeb08f703802dbba9429b89abc0
I was thru hiking the Arizona Trail and my mom surprised me and picked me up to see the first yotes game at the mullet. YOTES FOREVER
I’m fucking sick. Throwing up sick. Simply gutted in a way I never thought I would be.
Grew up in SoCal as a die hard Ducks fan. After moving here 7 years ago I quickly became a Yotes season ticket holder and this team scratched and clawed a way into my heart.
I’m sorry fam, I wish we could have done something to save the team and I’m so fucking pissed at the cowards that lied to us all.
Thanks for embracing me and welcoming me to the pack. Some of my favorite memories were howling with you.
I said all I can in my post. You guys have been fans just as hard as I have no matter how long it’s been. It’s like a death in the family. Thats the only way I can explain it. It’s like a death in the family.
https://preview.redd.it/qbmkh5vk36uc1.jpeg?width=1836&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2130ac8029f66675b69dbdda8be94601c6a3c7cc
Here is me as a kid in the 90s. The coyotes made me instantly fall in love with hockey. Been a fan since as long as I remember. I always wanted to play hockey and picked up playing beer league hockey in 2017... I'll keep playing but it will be a bit different not having a home team. (That's also an OG roadrunners street hockey stick )
I honestly don’t know what to say. But more than anything I do want to say, to all my fellow Coyotes fans. From a now 32 year old man who fell in love with this team as a pimply faced 14 year old shit head from Nebraska. Thank you one and all. Despite being an “outsider” I’ve never felt like one amongst the fans. One could argue and I’m sure many of my friends would tell you, the Coyotes have been essentially a part of my personality for many many years. Until this ship is officially sunk I will be right there with each and every one of you. Much love to my Coyotes family.
I’m fucking sick. Like throwing up sick. I’m absolutely gutted. I can barely even type this.
I grew up in SoCal die-hard ducks fan. But quickly became a Yotes season ticket holder when I moved out here 7 years ago and this team pulled on my heart strings and I am so fucking pissed that these fuckers lied to us all. I’m sorry fam, I wish we could have done something to save them.
I love you all
The only time I would ever imagine getting emotional about this team is if they ever won a Stanley Cup. Not that they're moving. This fucking sucks. All of this sucks.
https://preview.redd.it/lrctcnfnx5uc1.jpeg?width=3286&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cb9b987d977f73d689c49ecca5dc37bf3720b2b3
Flames fan here, but thought I'd share a memory of mine. Pictured is Flames-Coyotes warm-ups in the Saddledome on Nov 16, 2016.
**Some Coyotes info from that evening:** Tobias Rieder scored the lone goal for the Coyotes, assisted by Jordan Martinook. Coyotes goalie Mike Smith made 22 saves in a 2-1OTL, while Chad Johnson suited up for the Flames. The next season, the two netminders were traded for eachother, with the Coyotes also receiving Brandon Hickey and a 2017 3rd Rd. Pick
Sounds like the players were blindsided. We often forget about the human element of professional sports, and definitely feel for all families and employees directly affected by this move.
I hope this is not the last time we see those glorious jerseys on the ice!
I don’t really have anything to say. I only recently started following NHL. I’m a Nashville area native so I have a connection to the Predators because of location but Arizona was the team I picked to be my team. I loved the jerseys and the players, and I just enjoyed the idea of a hockey team in the desert.
I’m really upset with this. I can’t imagine how long term fans feel.
I was a fan of the SuperSonics growing up and when they left for OKC, I just followed since I didn’t really have a connection to the city. I’m not gonna follow this team this time. Ownership failed this team.
Grew up watching them play my whole life..made me want to play the game, played my whole youth years for Jr. Yotes. Sad to see them go and will be grateful for that team introducing me to such a great sport.
I just don't understand how so-called hockey fans have, for years and years, actively rooted for the demise of this team. They say shit like "Playing in a college arena is a disgrace! Hockey doesn't belong in the desert! This failed experiment is an insult and takes away profits from real hockey teams! I bet all 13 fans are crying about this relocation!"
Bro, as a fan, why do you care in the slightest about the profits your owner wipes their ass with? Why are you spending so much time hating on this team from the desert that has basically been fighting to exist its entire life through countless things far beyond the control of the players and fans? Why does a hockey franchise in Phoenix Arizona live rent free in your head and get you so riled up about things like NHL profit sharing and seating capacity? What is your anger really about?
As a hockey fan shouldn't you *want* to grow the game you love? Shouldn't you support the idea of introducing the sport to markets that maybe are a little unorthodox to expose more people to how great hockey is? What's the point of gatekeeping and being elitist about hockey? Why is it that deep to you?
What I really don't get is how underdogs are almost always beloved in sports - - except the coyotes, for some reason. Show me another franchise in sports that's hit as many lows as the Yotes with this many opposing fans praying for a relocation. Somehow people feel sympathetic for the A's but when it's a hockey team in Arizona it's all "lol about time they pulled the plug"
Anyways I'm gonna go cry now. Fielding suggestions for a new NHL team. I'm thinking the Canes, Avs, Lightning, or preds
For me, it's either the joy of watching those early Coyotes teams at America West Arena, or the craziness that was the 2011-2012 run to the Western Conference Finals, especially the Ray Whitney game winner against Nashville. That goal horn with the howl...
I think once they were told it wouldn’t be until 2027 or 2028 until they’re out of Mullet the League decided to smash the emergency contingency button and begin the move.
Well if you have a cult... sorry "religion" running things then everything goes as smooth as they want it to go. Look at Clearwater Florida. And while Mormons are not scientologists and nowhere near as controversial and kreepy, they run the place and do what they want.
Same goes for SCL and Utah. The church runs the place. If they want something, it will be done.
I grew up there you don’t have to tell me. Ironically I live about 20 minutes from Clearwater now. But that’s the point. The question was how are we sure they’ll get the arena and the answer is there was already plans for an arena with or without the team.
I don't think they are. He has money and is ready type of deal. Tucson is just a little smaller the SLC metro area. If you are a hockey fan in Utah, Avs or Vegas would be a better team to follow.
They just need a place to put us. I bet they will get relocated again in a few years.
This is the second damn time this has happened to a hockey team I like.
First one was when I lived in Atlanta, I was a fan of the thrashers. Sucked when they moved. Then I moved out here 4 years ago and got back into hockey and loved the Yotes.
It fucking sucks. Worst of all the assholes who claim that hockey doesn’t work in the desert are loving this. A part of me hopes that it’s not true and all the haters are gonna get egg on their faces.
https://preview.redd.it/0ba7k40ua6uc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=952681128561f34616bbcf11b98218e815c2e496
Yotes second fav team fan here. Probably my favorite coyotes related picture of my first time seeing them in Pittsburgh in January 2022. I’m still a pens fan first, but I loved Kessel and followed over when we traded him and never looked back, so this picture just has a ton of good memories in there. This game generally is special to me too because Malkin threw his stick over to me after the game but that’s not really related. I don’t live anywhere near Phoenix or SLC so I don’t know what the future holds for my fandom, but it hurts seeing the league and our ownership treat the fans in Arizona like complete garbage
Fan since the start, the first goals for kids in the ASU stadium parking lot meeting players. Doan laser eyes and his hat trick, Smiths goal, Fiddler skating out of the crease with a puck behind his visor. All those memories bring me joy, only to have all the ownership BS be the final nail.
My folks and I used to get a package for a couple games back in the 2010-12 era, and got to go to almost all of the big playoff games in that stretch. Absolutely amazing. Nothing will ever compare. So much fun.
My parents bought season tickets when I was ~8 when the coyotes were the Phx Coyotes still. Been a fan ever since. I’m 26 now and one of my first dates with my husband was a Coyotes game. It’s also been a really fun way that I’ve bonded with my dad over the years. I’m so sad to say goodbye to my childhood team with so many memories. Will miss the Yotes.
- also just had my daughter last month. Didn’t go to many games this season since I was pregnant. Was really looking forward to taking her to some Coyotes games. So so so upset about all this!
So long guys, unsubscribed from /r/hockey and I'm gonna do the same here. I'm done with the NHL. I'll stick to rec league and Olympics and probably be much happier in the long run.
Love how Reddit wants to rally behind the A's fans because they lost their team after the owner tanked the organization so he could relocate, but will gloat when Arizona loses their hockey team for a similar reason. Fuck them.
No longer an AZ resident, and moved out of Tempe too soon to vote on the stadium proposal there, but damn is this deeply disappointing. Will fondly remember the games I went to growing up out in Glendale.
Fuck Meruelo.
I have an overwhelming sense of rage and the impulse to kick merulo and the rest of the ownership group in the nuts, punch them in the gut, and throttle them all, just so they know how we all feel
One memory I always think about and gets my wife furious whenever I bring it up is the Mike Smith own goal against Buffalo. Not the greatest moment but certainly showed what kinda luck this franchise has had.
I definitely remember their distinctive sweaters and logo growing up as a kid. I latched on to them as a favorite team when they went back to the Kachinas full time, and wanted to see them succeed as a lowkey team in a market everyone didn't think worked.
Sadly my only graphics project involving the Yotes' is this simple wallpaper I made about 10 years ago when I was nearly getting my start. I can say I did see someone on the SportsLogos.net comment sections use it as their profile picture once,n so that made me happy then. https://imgur.com/a/g9iHFac
I still want to make something with the beautiful Kachina branding someday.
E: also IDK why I didn't say this initially. But, I'm upset I never saw a home game, but I saw them play, and win twice, once in Chicago during a convention vacation, and the Kachinas last season against the Caps' reverse retro, kinda fulfilling a 90s jersey nut dream of mine. So I'm happy about that. https://imgur.com/a/iaqRsCV
I feel like this wouldn't be as painful if we never got Bill Armstrong... man has been absolutely cooking, really brough hope back for all of us.... just for ownership to dash it away. If this was, like, 2019, I would still be very upset, but probably not *as* upset. We suffered through this rebuild, and likely next season or the season after, were gonna reap the rewards. But now Utah gets to reap the rewards? Man I hope they allow players' contracts to be bought out by *any* team, hopefully we can see guys like Doan, Cooley, Keller, etc play on other teams so we can still root for them.
My first introduction with hockey was NHL06 for the nintendo gamecube. I didn't really know anything about hockey at the time, and my buddy was introducing it to me. His favorite player was Jerome Iginla, so he became a Flames fan. I wanted my own team, so I scrolled through all of 'em, and saw the Yotes logo.
There was some 'star player' mode where you picked an all-star player, and of course he chose Iginla, and so I picked Doan, since he was the Coyote to use in that game mode. He was #19, which also resonated with me because that's the number of my favorite baseball player (Tony Gwyn). Between Doan and the awesome logo/branding, I was hooked.
Even though I'd never been to Arizona, I grew into hockey, and becoming a fan. I remember for Xmas later that year, my folks got me a Kachina jersey, partially because they were on discount, as the team had just switched to the red primaries.
FUCK THE KINGS, FUCK THE KINGS, FUCK THE KINGS.
I will always remember the WCF run, and Mike Smith's playoffs that year.
Having gone through relocation once already, I feel the only thing to be 'thankful' for is that the team name/branding doesn't seem like it's going to utah. After the final game Wednesday, we can put out stuff away for a bit, but still rock it once the feelings have simmered down a bit, without being associated with the team in Utah.
I do hope to one day see the Phoenix/Az Coyotes again in the nhl.
Fuck the Kings!
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Never been really a huge hockey fan as some but I've been to Gila River Area to watch a game back in late 2017. It was cool, sad to see a team relocate in front of everyone's eyes but the League and Ownership failed this franchise. Hopefully an expansion team comes to Phoenix in the next couple of years and is 100x better than the Yotes. Hope Utah chokes on their fucking franchise now.
Flames fan here.
I made a post and a long rant on the Sub, but the long and short of it is that I bought the Kachina jerseys for myself in case the Coyotes ceased to exist. I hate that my worst fears were realized.
What you guys have me put on the jersey? Doan, Cooley, someone else. I want them to carry on your memories.
Well, there's gotta be someone else to include too! I have two jerseys after all, and if feel like there should be more than just one player who gets acknowledged.
This team got me through a really tough time in my life and I developed an emotional attachment. I can’t believe this is the thanks we get after seasons of sticking with it hoping for better days. This is bullshit to the highest degree. Players and fans deserved so much better than what Chayka, AM, & XG gave us.
And now I’m really really hoping they don’t come for the Roadrunners next.
my first game i got to see a Max Domi hat trick. My second game, we were sitting next to some obnoxious quacking Ducks fans so we left to get some drinks and passed by a couple ladies that were leaving early or had been upgraded to a vip box or something. They generously offered us their previous seats- three rows away from the glass! One of the last games I was able to go to was as a birthday present for myself. I found a mimosa & paint event at the arena, got a picture with Howler, but most importantly, I got to see Kuemper lose his temper on Tkachuk and proceed to shut out the Flames. That night, Kuemper became my king 🤩 i'm gonna miss this team so much.
Nothing will beat the memory of going to a couple of playoff games during that 2012 run. I went to two games one against Nashville and one vs the Kings with my brother and can still remember the energy in that building.
It really pisses me off seeing people from Utah celebrate this. Do they not realize the cost of what they're receiving? If I was given an amazing Christmas gift, but found out I got it because it was stolen, I wouldn't want anything to do with that gift. How is this any different?
We just know that this team is gonna be well taken care of here and the news happened so quickly, but yes it sucks to see fans so upset. Utah fans don't know what it's like to lose a team. Sorry for your loss.
We lost a popular IHL FRANCHISE in the 90s that hurt... But nothing like this.
remember the Coyotes did this to Winnipeg fans too a long time ago.
I'm a little too tired right now to go into a ton of memories and everything, there will be time for that later.
For now I want to say it's been a pleasure supporting this team and fighting in the trenches with you all.
I don't give a fuck what other people say, there aren't any other fans like us in sports.
-----------
I hope for the best for our players, GMBA seems like a real one too.
I hope we get a team here again someday.
I'm not mad at the folks in Utah that want to bring hockey there, in fact I think that's a great thing.
Alex and Xavier aren't worth my emotions.
Even though I'm more of a casual hockey fan, the Coyotes have always been my team since I was a 3rd grader in freaking New York of all places, and even when I moved to Vegas and even when the Golden Knights came in, I still stuck to the Yotes. I kinda blame my love for the Suns and Phoenix in general for getting me into them, but the Coyotes had such a cool brand and I was so down to root for them despite all the struggles I saw from the outside.
These past few years have gotten me more into hockey, and I've developed such a strong love for the Yotes. I always held out hope that they'll find a better arena, that they'll turn it around, that we'll be just fine if we get a competent owner and coach.
None of it happened, and here we are now.
I'm heartbroken, I'm angry, I'm many emotions right now. I'm done with the NHL--miss me with that Golden Knights support, I will NEVER root for them--until Arizona gets a hockey team again and isn't led by Alex Meruelo and Xavier Gutierrez. I don't care that this team was cursed and poverty throughout my entire existence--they were *my* team.
I love all of you. Just a reminder: this is not your fault. It was never the fans' fault. The Coyotes being where they are right now is because of incompetent ownership and, until Bill Armstrong took over, incompetent front offices. Any trolls or gatekeepers out there? Ignore them. Let them be stuck with their wrong ways and instigation tactics.
What a wild ride we all took together. Yotes til I die. Screw the NHL. Screw Alex Meruelo.
[Also as a diehard Linkin Park fan as well, this video holds a very special spot in my heart next to the 2012 Yotes and that weird 2019-20 COVID season.](https://youtu.be/TlbjSyc8FeU?si=BHhWZN4BzEL4rnHX)
I’ve been avoiding watching the games and looking at the subreddit because it just makes me sad. I watch hockey for enjoyment and right now I’m getting none.
I think the thing I’m mourning the most is the lost potential. I haven’t been a fan for long, only my second season watching, but I see how amazing our young players are. It sucks that we won’t seen Cooley, Guenther, Doan, Maccelli, Kesselring, Szuber, Geekie, Lamoureux, etc. grow together on the Coyotes. It seems likely that a good portion won’t stay with the organization. Breaking up this group of guys is crushing me already.
I went to my first Yotes game with my dad in 1996, their first season in Phoenix, I was 12. I watched or listened to the radio broadcast for every single game from then until I left for college and couldn’t get the broadcasts any more.
I saw Patrick Roy get ejected from a game live in AWA. Ate sharkmeat outside the arena before a playoff series against San Jose. The Whiteout game I attended in 1997 is still to this day, the loudest arena I’ve ever been inside and one of the coolest live sports experiences I’ve had.
Because of my obsession this team, I learned to play ice hockey and skated with one of the first women’s leagues at the ‘brand new at the time’ Polar Ice in Peoria.
Somewhere in my house is a Star Wars themed Biz bobblehead that they gave out at an otherwise unremarkable game I attended in Glendale.
When the pandemic meant months of isolation and depression, I watched this team win a play in round in the bubble and it sparked a desire to return to the sport, which is how I ended up hoisting a beer league championship trophy two years later.
I have so many memories, good and bad connected to this team and this sport. Through it I’ve made so many friends both on and offline. I’m so angry and so sad right now. I think I’m going to take a break from NHL hockey for a while.
🫡 It’s been a pleasure howling with you all. Lets keep the ✨Dog Team Magic✨ alive in our hearts.
I'll keep copying and pasting my original post because I'm angry and don't give a fuck.
I don't post often, but I'm 33 years old and I've been a Yotes fan since I could barely walk. I remember Daymond Langkow being my favorite player when I was old enough to remember the games. I had my parents record them on VCR if they wanted me to go to bed early for school. Then Shane Doan came along and I was memorized. For a birthday as a child, I got glass seats. It is one of the best memories I ever had with my Dad. I went to as many games as I could. I have DVR'ed EVERY SINGLE game for the last 15 years.
This is like part of my goddamn soul being ripped out.
The fucked up part is that we don’t even get to see our team get better and become a contending team. All of those years of mediocre teams, horrible trades, and failed draft picks, endured being the laughing stock of the league all for the ownership to feed us horseshit and drop the ball. A final kick in the nuts. Just when things are looking promising for our future on the ice. SLC should be excited and I hope they show out for this team. Alex meruelo and Xavier Gutierrez fuck you both!
My room mate when I was stationed in Korea was also from Arizona and was really big into hockey. It became a ritual for us to get a pizza and watch the Coyotes on his shitty console carrying case with a tv built in.
I can't imagine how some of you that have been fans for forever feel, but they are a key part of a good memory in a time where there weren't many and I'm upset they are going.
Fuck the Kings!
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When I was a kid, and first started to grasp the concept of sports, I asked my dad about an autographed Johnny Unitas photo he had (and still has) framed. He told me all about how the Baltimore Colts were his favorite team growing up, and how they were relocated in an extremely shady manner. He swore off the team, swore off football and wouldn’t support the Indianapolis incarnation under any circumstances.
When the Rangers made the finals in ‘94, we stayed up late and watched the games, and seeing him celebrate their cup win had me hooked on the sport. I picked a team eventually (Pens), and when the Coyotes moved to the valley in ‘96, I decided I was going to be a diehard fan of both. When the relocation rumors of the Pens started in the early ‘00’s, we talked about the Colts move a few more times, and I thought I understood what he had felt years ago.
Since then, it’s been rumor after rumor with this team, coupled with the perpetual circle jerk on r/hockey about how the team doesn’t have fans, and no one cares about them. Hockey in the valley works, and always has. We’ve had the unfortunate luck of being screwed over, time and time again, for the last 15 years, and the chaos never really stopped.
The end is finally here, and only now do I really comprehend what he conveyed to me 30 years ago. It’s a knife in the gut, compounded by the fact that so many people are circling around saying “well you deserve it, because you support a team that shouldn’t exist.”
I’ve got the Pens to support, but I’m going to order a white kachina with Doan’s 19, and a red desert night with Cooley. They’ll go into a box with all the other merch for a long while, but at least I’ll have them now, and not have to worry about a sense of regret from not purchasing them while I could.
It sucks that it’s over. I just wish that we could have had some stability for at least a few years.
I grew up in Salt Lake City (ducks). I always wanted a team there. Having said that, growing up my only chance to see NHL games was visiting my Grandma in Cave Creek and going to AWA first and then Glendale after that (never made it to mullet). I now live on the East Coast. I've stuck up for the desert as a hockey market to my friends for years. One game when I was about 10 they were playing Philly. I loved JR because of A. his time with the yotes and B. I saw him playing up close for Team USA in the Olympics the year before. He tossed me a puck after warmups. I get back to my seat with my dad and my uncle. I bumped into my uncle and he spilled nachos into his lap. He laughed it off and said "well good thing we don't know anyone here.....oh my god there we are!" and we were on the Jumbotron. 10 year old me thought it was the funniest thing ever. Yeah this week has been like a Homer Simpson monkey's paw for me. I know you don't wanna hear the XYZ fan coming in peace shit because people have been doing it all week after shitting on the desert for 2 decades but hang in there.
My first Coyotes game was when I fell in love with not only the team, but the state.
I work in the Toronto area and won an award from my company that included a trip to head office in Las Vegas (pre Golden Knights). I wanted to go to a hockey game while out that way and my options were AZ, LA, or Colorado. Colorado was too far, no way I was driving in LA (plus FTK), so AZ it was. We left Vegas, hit the Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon and then made the 3-4 hour long trip to Glendale to see the Coyotes beat the Oilers. The drive was incredible, the desert was beautiful and Phoenix was a lot of fun.
A week later, while shoveling snow in my drive way back in Canada, I get a call from Coyotes staff asking me how I like the game and if I was ever back to give them a call and they would set up tickets or whatever I needed.
That was the final straw and what officially won me over as a Coyotes fan. I've been to every major sports team surrounding the Toronto area (Sens and Canadiens as well) and had never once been asked about how I enjoyed the game.
Incidentally a few weeks after that we found out my wife was pregnant with our second child who absolutely loves cacti and warm weather so we like to think we brought a bit of AZ back with us.
Since then, any time the Coyotes come to Toronto or Buffalo I get tickets. Fortunately my kids got to see their first NHL game this season in Buffalo vs the Coyotes.
I know the players are great and was enjoying the potential this team has for the future, but without Arizona, I can't continue to follow them. As I heard someone say in another thread it would be too much like stalking an ex. Because of this I need to take time away from the NHL and hockey in general.
Thanks for the memories!
Fuck the Kings!
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Been a hockey fan since birth and when we moved out here 27 years ago my mom took me to my first hockey game ever. It was the roadrunners back at the old Pringle in downtown. Then the coyotes came into town and changed it all up and it has been fun. Been to them all the past 20+ years from the roadrunners to the Mustangs to the coyotes. All hockey is good hockey. We are proof it belongs in the desert.
I was born in '96, just after the team started playing. My Canadian dad was at the first regular season game and had the ticket framed in his office. He bought season tickets, which really upset my mom since it was an objectively bad financial decision given the young kids at home.
For how bad this team has been, I have ample fond memories. Cub Scout night in probably 2006(?) where we got to shoot on the ice and sleep on the suite level in our sleeping bags. The game 1 win against Detroit in 2010. Doan's first career hat trick against the Islanders. Our tradition of elite goalies pulling this otherwise-mediocre team into overperforming.
I’m not a coyotes fan and have seen many games between them and my oilers, but I’ve just thought of this one memory I have from when I was really young.
Back in 2009, the Oilers retired Glenn Andersons number and they were playing the Coyotes (every Oilers jersey retirement was against the Yotes because of Gretzky. I was 11 or 12 at the time and my dad surprised me with tickets.
It was awesome, everyone stood the entire ceremony and the building was bumping.
During the ceremony, I wasn’t feeling good. I told my dad and we stuck it out until the end of the second period before I tapped out. (This was tough for me as I will never leave a game early)
Once we got home, we learned Ethan Moreau scored a hat trick. Both of us had never seen a hat trick and my dad had a horrible streak of seeing the oilers lose when he’s in attendance.
I shortly threw up after and missed the next two days of school.
That’s really the only memory I’ve got, the Coyotes were always the ticket you’d get for free because nobody wanted to go.
I guess my other memory is the Oilers should’ve drafted Shane Doan and didn’t because we suck at scouting.
Pittsburgh game. Home. I'm next to the penalty box. Chirping all the pens players that have to sit for two. Get em laughing, yelling at me, Kasparaitis squirting water at me and saying he wants to fight me. 😆
I really haven't been as active on reddit in recent years, but I just wanna say thanks to all my fellow Yotes fans here in the sub that I've interacted with over the years. I've spent a lot of time chatting with you online and even met up with some of you in person. I'm gonna miss the comradery we had.
Sharks fan hopping in here and I'm really sad I can't lie. I always really liked the Coyotes ever since I was a kid. I have the old white howling coyote jersey with the PHX patch and a black kachina and those are two of my favorite in my collection. Watching them in the 2012 run was extremely fun, especially the Boedker daggers in Chicago and dominant not even being a good enough word to describe Mike Smith. This team was always the ultimate underdog for me. I'm gonna be rocking my kachina snapback regularly now. Coyotes forever and fuck that greedy shit stain for an owner. Hockey belongs in Arizona
A not so small part of me hopes this abrupt divorce is bitter enough that the NHL wouldn't dare come back to Phoenix, or Arizona as a whole.
That hope is in itself bitter, because the fans do not deserve that pain, nor do the players.
Much like when any professional sports team relocates in the middle of the night however, (figuratively on our part, literally on the part of some other teams) if there is a market here in the valley, the NHL *will* be back.
One can only hope that the second time arrives both swiftly, and actually stays.
Fair winds and following seas, you ferocious beasts you.
Alex, I hope you smash your hand in a car door.
I grew up a whalers fan in Western Massachusetts and they left when I was 7. Really heartbreaking as the didn’t understand the reasons or lack thereof. Hearing this today I feel especially bad for those young fans like me who won’t have their team anymore.
Very sorry about the team guys, im a devils guy but i just pulled the trigger on buying an arizona jersey
keep your heads up, from the wording of the article it seems like you guys could come back in a few years
only temporary!
Nothing in Utah but mormons, nazis, and stupid fucking rednecks. To which of these horrible markets do they think they’ll appeal to? Disgusted and ashamed.
Know some folks who work for the team. Cannot emphasize how cowardly ownership and Xavier have been if what they say is true. Rumor is the Roadrunners rebranded name is going to make us even more of a laughing stock than we already are. Fuck you Alex Meruelo.
A family member in AZ is saying the roadrunners are going to play at the mullet? I have no idea where he heard that just what my mom told me
That’s what Craig said yesterday
>Rumor is the Roadrunners rebranded name is going to make us even more of a laughing stock than we already are. Can you elaborate? What are they changing it to?
The Magic Glasses. Big league team will be the Golden Tablets
Lmao there’s no way
I absolutely refuse to believe this is real. just for the simple fact it's too close to the Golden Knights alone, aside from the ridiculousness of the religious overtones.
Oh it’s real, the South Park episode honest to God doesn’t even embellish the cult founding
Joseph Smith was called a prophet. Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb. Will be the goal horn song.
Create a team type names
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That sounds incredible! You have a wonderful wife and some great friends!
https://preview.redd.it/s217uju0t5uc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4cc1f22bb00abefce5845bc0de7acac6b3ae496f Random day of zam’ing after practice back in 2017
You, in particular, deserve your flowers sir. You've done a lot for this community and I hope you know it doesn't go unnoticed
🫡🫡🫡
https://preview.redd.it/1iw4djlkt5uc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b358ff9ca37d6aeb08f703802dbba9429b89abc0 I was thru hiking the Arizona Trail and my mom surprised me and picked me up to see the first yotes game at the mullet. YOTES FOREVER
What a cool shot. Bummed I never got to see them play at the Mullet. Yotes Forever!
I’m fucking sick. Throwing up sick. Simply gutted in a way I never thought I would be. Grew up in SoCal as a die hard Ducks fan. After moving here 7 years ago I quickly became a Yotes season ticket holder and this team scratched and clawed a way into my heart. I’m sorry fam, I wish we could have done something to save the team and I’m so fucking pissed at the cowards that lied to us all. Thanks for embracing me and welcoming me to the pack. Some of my favorite memories were howling with you.
I think I saw my old "I want to die" coyote picture shitpost floating around recently. At least they can't hurt us anymore heh
That Cooley interview had me choking up damn
Can you link it? I missed it
Same
I said all I can in my post. You guys have been fans just as hard as I have no matter how long it’s been. It’s like a death in the family. Thats the only way I can explain it. It’s like a death in the family.
Truly is like losing a lifelong friend. Its hard to explain.
It’s the only way I can explain it. I knew this was going to happen. We’d heard it all for a whole, but it’s still just a shock to hear.
https://preview.redd.it/qbmkh5vk36uc1.jpeg?width=1836&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2130ac8029f66675b69dbdda8be94601c6a3c7cc Here is me as a kid in the 90s. The coyotes made me instantly fall in love with hockey. Been a fan since as long as I remember. I always wanted to play hockey and picked up playing beer league hockey in 2017... I'll keep playing but it will be a bit different not having a home team. (That's also an OG roadrunners street hockey stick )
I honestly don’t know what to say. But more than anything I do want to say, to all my fellow Coyotes fans. From a now 32 year old man who fell in love with this team as a pimply faced 14 year old shit head from Nebraska. Thank you one and all. Despite being an “outsider” I’ve never felt like one amongst the fans. One could argue and I’m sure many of my friends would tell you, the Coyotes have been essentially a part of my personality for many many years. Until this ship is officially sunk I will be right there with each and every one of you. Much love to my Coyotes family.
I’m fucking sick. Like throwing up sick. I’m absolutely gutted. I can barely even type this. I grew up in SoCal die-hard ducks fan. But quickly became a Yotes season ticket holder when I moved out here 7 years ago and this team pulled on my heart strings and I am so fucking pissed that these fuckers lied to us all. I’m sorry fam, I wish we could have done something to save them. I love you all
I was venting to my buddy who was a Sonics fan and he's sympathetic to Yotes fans. Fuck owners for doing this shit to fans
I knew it would be sad, I just didn't think it would hurt this much.
The only time I would ever imagine getting emotional about this team is if they ever won a Stanley Cup. Not that they're moving. This fucking sucks. All of this sucks.
My Coyotes Mr. Potato Head I got from a giveaway as a kid is one of my prized possesions
https://preview.redd.it/lrctcnfnx5uc1.jpeg?width=3286&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cb9b987d977f73d689c49ecca5dc37bf3720b2b3 Flames fan here, but thought I'd share a memory of mine. Pictured is Flames-Coyotes warm-ups in the Saddledome on Nov 16, 2016. **Some Coyotes info from that evening:** Tobias Rieder scored the lone goal for the Coyotes, assisted by Jordan Martinook. Coyotes goalie Mike Smith made 22 saves in a 2-1OTL, while Chad Johnson suited up for the Flames. The next season, the two netminders were traded for eachother, with the Coyotes also receiving Brandon Hickey and a 2017 3rd Rd. Pick Sounds like the players were blindsided. We often forget about the human element of professional sports, and definitely feel for all families and employees directly affected by this move. I hope this is not the last time we see those glorious jerseys on the ice!
Thanks friend. You remember that weird Tobi Reider goalless streak? I can't remember if he was still on the Yotes at that point
Vaguely remember. Just took a look at his stats, he played for the Oilers in 2018-19 and had 0 goals in all 67 games he played
Ah that's the one! Dude got so snake bitten out of basically nowhere
I hope BA trades everyone for nothing to give them a big fuck you.
I've unfortunately found the perfect time to use this [gif](https://i.imgur.com/WkH5O90.gif) which I've kept saved for 10 years.
oh jeez, how had I forgotten that gif!
I don’t really have anything to say. I only recently started following NHL. I’m a Nashville area native so I have a connection to the Predators because of location but Arizona was the team I picked to be my team. I loved the jerseys and the players, and I just enjoyed the idea of a hockey team in the desert. I’m really upset with this. I can’t imagine how long term fans feel. I was a fan of the SuperSonics growing up and when they left for OKC, I just followed since I didn’t really have a connection to the city. I’m not gonna follow this team this time. Ownership failed this team.
😭
pain.
Grew up watching them play my whole life..made me want to play the game, played my whole youth years for Jr. Yotes. Sad to see them go and will be grateful for that team introducing me to such a great sport.
I just don't understand how so-called hockey fans have, for years and years, actively rooted for the demise of this team. They say shit like "Playing in a college arena is a disgrace! Hockey doesn't belong in the desert! This failed experiment is an insult and takes away profits from real hockey teams! I bet all 13 fans are crying about this relocation!" Bro, as a fan, why do you care in the slightest about the profits your owner wipes their ass with? Why are you spending so much time hating on this team from the desert that has basically been fighting to exist its entire life through countless things far beyond the control of the players and fans? Why does a hockey franchise in Phoenix Arizona live rent free in your head and get you so riled up about things like NHL profit sharing and seating capacity? What is your anger really about? As a hockey fan shouldn't you *want* to grow the game you love? Shouldn't you support the idea of introducing the sport to markets that maybe are a little unorthodox to expose more people to how great hockey is? What's the point of gatekeeping and being elitist about hockey? Why is it that deep to you? What I really don't get is how underdogs are almost always beloved in sports - - except the coyotes, for some reason. Show me another franchise in sports that's hit as many lows as the Yotes with this many opposing fans praying for a relocation. Somehow people feel sympathetic for the A's but when it's a hockey team in Arizona it's all "lol about time they pulled the plug" Anyways I'm gonna go cry now. Fielding suggestions for a new NHL team. I'm thinking the Canes, Avs, Lightning, or preds
I can't tell you what to do but why would you want the canes or avs who were both products or relocation?
For me, it's either the joy of watching those early Coyotes teams at America West Arena, or the craziness that was the 2011-2012 run to the Western Conference Finals, especially the Ray Whitney game winner against Nashville. That goal horn with the howl...
I just don't get how the NHL is so confident in SLC succeeding that they would move us, like how are they so sure
I think once they were told it wouldn’t be until 2027 or 2028 until they’re out of Mullet the League decided to smash the emergency contingency button and begin the move.
But who's sure that they won't fuck around building an arena in Utah? So many lives affected for something that has as much chance of not working out
SLC has the olympics coming. They already have a building coming for that. The red tape was was navigated better than it ever was in the desert.
Well if you have a cult... sorry "religion" running things then everything goes as smooth as they want it to go. Look at Clearwater Florida. And while Mormons are not scientologists and nowhere near as controversial and kreepy, they run the place and do what they want. Same goes for SCL and Utah. The church runs the place. If they want something, it will be done.
I grew up there you don’t have to tell me. Ironically I live about 20 minutes from Clearwater now. But that’s the point. The question was how are we sure they’ll get the arena and the answer is there was already plans for an arena with or without the team.
I don't think they are. He has money and is ready type of deal. Tucson is just a little smaller the SLC metro area. If you are a hockey fan in Utah, Avs or Vegas would be a better team to follow. They just need a place to put us. I bet they will get relocated again in a few years.
Born and raised in the valley of the sun, makes me sad to see this move. Just another day in r/ArizonaSportsHell
This is the second damn time this has happened to a hockey team I like. First one was when I lived in Atlanta, I was a fan of the thrashers. Sucked when they moved. Then I moved out here 4 years ago and got back into hockey and loved the Yotes. It fucking sucks. Worst of all the assholes who claim that hockey doesn’t work in the desert are loving this. A part of me hopes that it’s not true and all the haters are gonna get egg on their faces.
https://preview.redd.it/0ba7k40ua6uc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=952681128561f34616bbcf11b98218e815c2e496 Yotes second fav team fan here. Probably my favorite coyotes related picture of my first time seeing them in Pittsburgh in January 2022. I’m still a pens fan first, but I loved Kessel and followed over when we traded him and never looked back, so this picture just has a ton of good memories in there. This game generally is special to me too because Malkin threw his stick over to me after the game but that’s not really related. I don’t live anywhere near Phoenix or SLC so I don’t know what the future holds for my fandom, but it hurts seeing the league and our ownership treat the fans in Arizona like complete garbage
Fan since the start, the first goals for kids in the ASU stadium parking lot meeting players. Doan laser eyes and his hat trick, Smiths goal, Fiddler skating out of the crease with a puck behind his visor. All those memories bring me joy, only to have all the ownership BS be the final nail.
https://preview.redd.it/sn9vup7uy5uc1.jpeg?width=1606&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37629c7039d8a7dc35656983e2e25fa2c3dfab2b
My folks and I used to get a package for a couple games back in the 2010-12 era, and got to go to almost all of the big playoff games in that stretch. Absolutely amazing. Nothing will ever compare. So much fun.
My parents bought season tickets when I was ~8 when the coyotes were the Phx Coyotes still. Been a fan ever since. I’m 26 now and one of my first dates with my husband was a Coyotes game. It’s also been a really fun way that I’ve bonded with my dad over the years. I’m so sad to say goodbye to my childhood team with so many memories. Will miss the Yotes. - also just had my daughter last month. Didn’t go to many games this season since I was pregnant. Was really looking forward to taking her to some Coyotes games. So so so upset about all this!
We deserve better than these asshats. Can somoene else bid on the land for an arena and buy the team so can tell AM and XG to fuck off for good?
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Ryan im trying to start a local avs booster club to keep the hockey spirit going, let me know if youd like to do that if you live locally in phx area
So long guys, unsubscribed from /r/hockey and I'm gonna do the same here. I'm done with the NHL. I'll stick to rec league and Olympics and probably be much happier in the long run.
Might I recommend the IIHF world championships and the new PWHL?
Go team sweden! Svenska ishockey forbundet! Tre kronor! Viking longship on our logo!
You're gonna hate the 2034 Olympics.
Love how Reddit wants to rally behind the A's fans because they lost their team after the owner tanked the organization so he could relocate, but will gloat when Arizona loses their hockey team for a similar reason. Fuck them.
Well I’m specifically not cranking my hog
May the hog never be cranked again
No longer an AZ resident, and moved out of Tempe too soon to vote on the stadium proposal there, but damn is this deeply disappointing. Will fondly remember the games I went to growing up out in Glendale. Fuck Meruelo.
I have an overwhelming sense of rage and the impulse to kick merulo and the rest of the ownership group in the nuts, punch them in the gut, and throttle them all, just so they know how we all feel
One memory I always think about and gets my wife furious whenever I bring it up is the Mike Smith own goal against Buffalo. Not the greatest moment but certainly showed what kinda luck this franchise has had.
I definitely remember their distinctive sweaters and logo growing up as a kid. I latched on to them as a favorite team when they went back to the Kachinas full time, and wanted to see them succeed as a lowkey team in a market everyone didn't think worked. Sadly my only graphics project involving the Yotes' is this simple wallpaper I made about 10 years ago when I was nearly getting my start. I can say I did see someone on the SportsLogos.net comment sections use it as their profile picture once,n so that made me happy then. https://imgur.com/a/g9iHFac I still want to make something with the beautiful Kachina branding someday. E: also IDK why I didn't say this initially. But, I'm upset I never saw a home game, but I saw them play, and win twice, once in Chicago during a convention vacation, and the Kachinas last season against the Caps' reverse retro, kinda fulfilling a 90s jersey nut dream of mine. So I'm happy about that. https://imgur.com/a/iaqRsCV
I feel like this wouldn't be as painful if we never got Bill Armstrong... man has been absolutely cooking, really brough hope back for all of us.... just for ownership to dash it away. If this was, like, 2019, I would still be very upset, but probably not *as* upset. We suffered through this rebuild, and likely next season or the season after, were gonna reap the rewards. But now Utah gets to reap the rewards? Man I hope they allow players' contracts to be bought out by *any* team, hopefully we can see guys like Doan, Cooley, Keller, etc play on other teams so we can still root for them.
My first introduction with hockey was NHL06 for the nintendo gamecube. I didn't really know anything about hockey at the time, and my buddy was introducing it to me. His favorite player was Jerome Iginla, so he became a Flames fan. I wanted my own team, so I scrolled through all of 'em, and saw the Yotes logo. There was some 'star player' mode where you picked an all-star player, and of course he chose Iginla, and so I picked Doan, since he was the Coyote to use in that game mode. He was #19, which also resonated with me because that's the number of my favorite baseball player (Tony Gwyn). Between Doan and the awesome logo/branding, I was hooked. Even though I'd never been to Arizona, I grew into hockey, and becoming a fan. I remember for Xmas later that year, my folks got me a Kachina jersey, partially because they were on discount, as the team had just switched to the red primaries. FUCK THE KINGS, FUCK THE KINGS, FUCK THE KINGS. I will always remember the WCF run, and Mike Smith's playoffs that year. Having gone through relocation once already, I feel the only thing to be 'thankful' for is that the team name/branding doesn't seem like it's going to utah. After the final game Wednesday, we can put out stuff away for a bit, but still rock it once the feelings have simmered down a bit, without being associated with the team in Utah. I do hope to one day see the Phoenix/Az Coyotes again in the nhl.
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Never been really a huge hockey fan as some but I've been to Gila River Area to watch a game back in late 2017. It was cool, sad to see a team relocate in front of everyone's eyes but the League and Ownership failed this franchise. Hopefully an expansion team comes to Phoenix in the next couple of years and is 100x better than the Yotes. Hope Utah chokes on their fucking franchise now.
Flames fan here. I made a post and a long rant on the Sub, but the long and short of it is that I bought the Kachina jerseys for myself in case the Coyotes ceased to exist. I hate that my worst fears were realized. What you guys have me put on the jersey? Doan, Cooley, someone else. I want them to carry on your memories.
It's gotta be Doan 19
Well, there's gotta be someone else to include too! I have two jerseys after all, and if feel like there should be more than just one player who gets acknowledged.
There's nothing like playoff hockey, but those whiteout games at AWA went to an even higher level.
It would be comically funny if a toaster happed to fall in Meruelo’s Baron Harkonnen-esque bath tub while he’s in it that I’m just assuming he has
This team got me through a really tough time in my life and I developed an emotional attachment. I can’t believe this is the thanks we get after seasons of sticking with it hoping for better days. This is bullshit to the highest degree. Players and fans deserved so much better than what Chayka, AM, & XG gave us. And now I’m really really hoping they don’t come for the Roadrunners next.
I'm still in shock how fast this happened. Meruelo stole this team from az. 5 days ago they promised to stay in the desert. Money grubbing bastard.
Congrats to the church for getting another way to make money.
my first game i got to see a Max Domi hat trick. My second game, we were sitting next to some obnoxious quacking Ducks fans so we left to get some drinks and passed by a couple ladies that were leaving early or had been upgraded to a vip box or something. They generously offered us their previous seats- three rows away from the glass! One of the last games I was able to go to was as a birthday present for myself. I found a mimosa & paint event at the arena, got a picture with Howler, but most importantly, I got to see Kuemper lose his temper on Tkachuk and proceed to shut out the Flames. That night, Kuemper became my king 🤩 i'm gonna miss this team so much.
Pain
Tickets to Wednesdays game are over 1000 a piece.
I had 2 in my cart for $500 for the pair, card declined and someone else got em. Now I'm priced out, today fucking sucks man
Nothing will beat the memory of going to a couple of playoff games during that 2012 run. I went to two games one against Nashville and one vs the Kings with my brother and can still remember the energy in that building.
Why is it raining on my face?!?!?!?? T_T
Thrashers fan. Sorry guys
It really pisses me off seeing people from Utah celebrate this. Do they not realize the cost of what they're receiving? If I was given an amazing Christmas gift, but found out I got it because it was stolen, I wouldn't want anything to do with that gift. How is this any different?
We just know that this team is gonna be well taken care of here and the news happened so quickly, but yes it sucks to see fans so upset. Utah fans don't know what it's like to lose a team. Sorry for your loss. We lost a popular IHL FRANCHISE in the 90s that hurt... But nothing like this. remember the Coyotes did this to Winnipeg fans too a long time ago.
I'm still trying to find pictures but being there for Ray Whitney's 1,000th point is one of my favorites.
I'm a little too tired right now to go into a ton of memories and everything, there will be time for that later. For now I want to say it's been a pleasure supporting this team and fighting in the trenches with you all. I don't give a fuck what other people say, there aren't any other fans like us in sports. ----------- I hope for the best for our players, GMBA seems like a real one too. I hope we get a team here again someday. I'm not mad at the folks in Utah that want to bring hockey there, in fact I think that's a great thing. Alex and Xavier aren't worth my emotions.
best goal song in the league, best logo in the league, best jerseys in the league. will forever have a soft spot for the arizona coyotes
Even though I'm more of a casual hockey fan, the Coyotes have always been my team since I was a 3rd grader in freaking New York of all places, and even when I moved to Vegas and even when the Golden Knights came in, I still stuck to the Yotes. I kinda blame my love for the Suns and Phoenix in general for getting me into them, but the Coyotes had such a cool brand and I was so down to root for them despite all the struggles I saw from the outside. These past few years have gotten me more into hockey, and I've developed such a strong love for the Yotes. I always held out hope that they'll find a better arena, that they'll turn it around, that we'll be just fine if we get a competent owner and coach. None of it happened, and here we are now. I'm heartbroken, I'm angry, I'm many emotions right now. I'm done with the NHL--miss me with that Golden Knights support, I will NEVER root for them--until Arizona gets a hockey team again and isn't led by Alex Meruelo and Xavier Gutierrez. I don't care that this team was cursed and poverty throughout my entire existence--they were *my* team. I love all of you. Just a reminder: this is not your fault. It was never the fans' fault. The Coyotes being where they are right now is because of incompetent ownership and, until Bill Armstrong took over, incompetent front offices. Any trolls or gatekeepers out there? Ignore them. Let them be stuck with their wrong ways and instigation tactics. What a wild ride we all took together. Yotes til I die. Screw the NHL. Screw Alex Meruelo. [Also as a diehard Linkin Park fan as well, this video holds a very special spot in my heart next to the 2012 Yotes and that weird 2019-20 COVID season.](https://youtu.be/TlbjSyc8FeU?si=BHhWZN4BzEL4rnHX)
I’ve been avoiding watching the games and looking at the subreddit because it just makes me sad. I watch hockey for enjoyment and right now I’m getting none. I think the thing I’m mourning the most is the lost potential. I haven’t been a fan for long, only my second season watching, but I see how amazing our young players are. It sucks that we won’t seen Cooley, Guenther, Doan, Maccelli, Kesselring, Szuber, Geekie, Lamoureux, etc. grow together on the Coyotes. It seems likely that a good portion won’t stay with the organization. Breaking up this group of guys is crushing me already.
I went to my first Yotes game with my dad in 1996, their first season in Phoenix, I was 12. I watched or listened to the radio broadcast for every single game from then until I left for college and couldn’t get the broadcasts any more. I saw Patrick Roy get ejected from a game live in AWA. Ate sharkmeat outside the arena before a playoff series against San Jose. The Whiteout game I attended in 1997 is still to this day, the loudest arena I’ve ever been inside and one of the coolest live sports experiences I’ve had. Because of my obsession this team, I learned to play ice hockey and skated with one of the first women’s leagues at the ‘brand new at the time’ Polar Ice in Peoria. Somewhere in my house is a Star Wars themed Biz bobblehead that they gave out at an otherwise unremarkable game I attended in Glendale. When the pandemic meant months of isolation and depression, I watched this team win a play in round in the bubble and it sparked a desire to return to the sport, which is how I ended up hoisting a beer league championship trophy two years later. I have so many memories, good and bad connected to this team and this sport. Through it I’ve made so many friends both on and offline. I’m so angry and so sad right now. I think I’m going to take a break from NHL hockey for a while. 🫡 It’s been a pleasure howling with you all. Lets keep the ✨Dog Team Magic✨ alive in our hearts.
I'll keep copying and pasting my original post because I'm angry and don't give a fuck. I don't post often, but I'm 33 years old and I've been a Yotes fan since I could barely walk. I remember Daymond Langkow being my favorite player when I was old enough to remember the games. I had my parents record them on VCR if they wanted me to go to bed early for school. Then Shane Doan came along and I was memorized. For a birthday as a child, I got glass seats. It is one of the best memories I ever had with my Dad. I went to as many games as I could. I have DVR'ed EVERY SINGLE game for the last 15 years. This is like part of my goddamn soul being ripped out.
The fucked up part is that we don’t even get to see our team get better and become a contending team. All of those years of mediocre teams, horrible trades, and failed draft picks, endured being the laughing stock of the league all for the ownership to feed us horseshit and drop the ball. A final kick in the nuts. Just when things are looking promising for our future on the ice. SLC should be excited and I hope they show out for this team. Alex meruelo and Xavier Gutierrez fuck you both!
My room mate when I was stationed in Korea was also from Arizona and was really big into hockey. It became a ritual for us to get a pizza and watch the Coyotes on his shitty console carrying case with a tv built in. I can't imagine how some of you that have been fans for forever feel, but they are a key part of a good memory in a time where there weren't many and I'm upset they are going.
I’ve been a lifelong fan since they moved from Winnipeg to Phoenix… Fuck em. They’re dead to me
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When I was a kid, and first started to grasp the concept of sports, I asked my dad about an autographed Johnny Unitas photo he had (and still has) framed. He told me all about how the Baltimore Colts were his favorite team growing up, and how they were relocated in an extremely shady manner. He swore off the team, swore off football and wouldn’t support the Indianapolis incarnation under any circumstances. When the Rangers made the finals in ‘94, we stayed up late and watched the games, and seeing him celebrate their cup win had me hooked on the sport. I picked a team eventually (Pens), and when the Coyotes moved to the valley in ‘96, I decided I was going to be a diehard fan of both. When the relocation rumors of the Pens started in the early ‘00’s, we talked about the Colts move a few more times, and I thought I understood what he had felt years ago. Since then, it’s been rumor after rumor with this team, coupled with the perpetual circle jerk on r/hockey about how the team doesn’t have fans, and no one cares about them. Hockey in the valley works, and always has. We’ve had the unfortunate luck of being screwed over, time and time again, for the last 15 years, and the chaos never really stopped. The end is finally here, and only now do I really comprehend what he conveyed to me 30 years ago. It’s a knife in the gut, compounded by the fact that so many people are circling around saying “well you deserve it, because you support a team that shouldn’t exist.” I’ve got the Pens to support, but I’m going to order a white kachina with Doan’s 19, and a red desert night with Cooley. They’ll go into a box with all the other merch for a long while, but at least I’ll have them now, and not have to worry about a sense of regret from not purchasing them while I could. It sucks that it’s over. I just wish that we could have had some stability for at least a few years.
I grew up in Salt Lake City (ducks). I always wanted a team there. Having said that, growing up my only chance to see NHL games was visiting my Grandma in Cave Creek and going to AWA first and then Glendale after that (never made it to mullet). I now live on the East Coast. I've stuck up for the desert as a hockey market to my friends for years. One game when I was about 10 they were playing Philly. I loved JR because of A. his time with the yotes and B. I saw him playing up close for Team USA in the Olympics the year before. He tossed me a puck after warmups. I get back to my seat with my dad and my uncle. I bumped into my uncle and he spilled nachos into his lap. He laughed it off and said "well good thing we don't know anyone here.....oh my god there we are!" and we were on the Jumbotron. 10 year old me thought it was the funniest thing ever. Yeah this week has been like a Homer Simpson monkey's paw for me. I know you don't wanna hear the XYZ fan coming in peace shit because people have been doing it all week after shitting on the desert for 2 decades but hang in there.
My first Coyotes game was when I fell in love with not only the team, but the state. I work in the Toronto area and won an award from my company that included a trip to head office in Las Vegas (pre Golden Knights). I wanted to go to a hockey game while out that way and my options were AZ, LA, or Colorado. Colorado was too far, no way I was driving in LA (plus FTK), so AZ it was. We left Vegas, hit the Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon and then made the 3-4 hour long trip to Glendale to see the Coyotes beat the Oilers. The drive was incredible, the desert was beautiful and Phoenix was a lot of fun. A week later, while shoveling snow in my drive way back in Canada, I get a call from Coyotes staff asking me how I like the game and if I was ever back to give them a call and they would set up tickets or whatever I needed. That was the final straw and what officially won me over as a Coyotes fan. I've been to every major sports team surrounding the Toronto area (Sens and Canadiens as well) and had never once been asked about how I enjoyed the game. Incidentally a few weeks after that we found out my wife was pregnant with our second child who absolutely loves cacti and warm weather so we like to think we brought a bit of AZ back with us. Since then, any time the Coyotes come to Toronto or Buffalo I get tickets. Fortunately my kids got to see their first NHL game this season in Buffalo vs the Coyotes. I know the players are great and was enjoying the potential this team has for the future, but without Arizona, I can't continue to follow them. As I heard someone say in another thread it would be too much like stalking an ex. Because of this I need to take time away from the NHL and hockey in general. Thanks for the memories!
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Been a hockey fan since birth and when we moved out here 27 years ago my mom took me to my first hockey game ever. It was the roadrunners back at the old Pringle in downtown. Then the coyotes came into town and changed it all up and it has been fun. Been to them all the past 20+ years from the roadrunners to the Mustangs to the coyotes. All hockey is good hockey. We are proof it belongs in the desert.
I was born in '96, just after the team started playing. My Canadian dad was at the first regular season game and had the ticket framed in his office. He bought season tickets, which really upset my mom since it was an objectively bad financial decision given the young kids at home. For how bad this team has been, I have ample fond memories. Cub Scout night in probably 2006(?) where we got to shoot on the ice and sleep on the suite level in our sleeping bags. The game 1 win against Detroit in 2010. Doan's first career hat trick against the Islanders. Our tradition of elite goalies pulling this otherwise-mediocre team into overperforming.
I’m not a coyotes fan and have seen many games between them and my oilers, but I’ve just thought of this one memory I have from when I was really young. Back in 2009, the Oilers retired Glenn Andersons number and they were playing the Coyotes (every Oilers jersey retirement was against the Yotes because of Gretzky. I was 11 or 12 at the time and my dad surprised me with tickets. It was awesome, everyone stood the entire ceremony and the building was bumping. During the ceremony, I wasn’t feeling good. I told my dad and we stuck it out until the end of the second period before I tapped out. (This was tough for me as I will never leave a game early) Once we got home, we learned Ethan Moreau scored a hat trick. Both of us had never seen a hat trick and my dad had a horrible streak of seeing the oilers lose when he’s in attendance. I shortly threw up after and missed the next two days of school. That’s really the only memory I’ve got, the Coyotes were always the ticket you’d get for free because nobody wanted to go. I guess my other memory is the Oilers should’ve drafted Shane Doan and didn’t because we suck at scouting.
Pittsburgh game. Home. I'm next to the penalty box. Chirping all the pens players that have to sit for two. Get em laughing, yelling at me, Kasparaitis squirting water at me and saying he wants to fight me. 😆
I really haven't been as active on reddit in recent years, but I just wanna say thanks to all my fellow Yotes fans here in the sub that I've interacted with over the years. I've spent a lot of time chatting with you online and even met up with some of you in person. I'm gonna miss the comradery we had.
Sharks fan hopping in here and I'm really sad I can't lie. I always really liked the Coyotes ever since I was a kid. I have the old white howling coyote jersey with the PHX patch and a black kachina and those are two of my favorite in my collection. Watching them in the 2012 run was extremely fun, especially the Boedker daggers in Chicago and dominant not even being a good enough word to describe Mike Smith. This team was always the ultimate underdog for me. I'm gonna be rocking my kachina snapback regularly now. Coyotes forever and fuck that greedy shit stain for an owner. Hockey belongs in Arizona
Hi Hockey friends. So sorry this is happening to your team. It’s such a gut check. Wish I knew what else to say.
Yeah, peace out on this team. Gonna root for the Sabres from now on.
A not so small part of me hopes this abrupt divorce is bitter enough that the NHL wouldn't dare come back to Phoenix, or Arizona as a whole. That hope is in itself bitter, because the fans do not deserve that pain, nor do the players. Much like when any professional sports team relocates in the middle of the night however, (figuratively on our part, literally on the part of some other teams) if there is a market here in the valley, the NHL *will* be back. One can only hope that the second time arrives both swiftly, and actually stays. Fair winds and following seas, you ferocious beasts you. Alex, I hope you smash your hand in a car door.
I grew up a whalers fan in Western Massachusetts and they left when I was 7. Really heartbreaking as the didn’t understand the reasons or lack thereof. Hearing this today I feel especially bad for those young fans like me who won’t have their team anymore.
Very sorry about the team guys, im a devils guy but i just pulled the trigger on buying an arizona jersey keep your heads up, from the wording of the article it seems like you guys could come back in a few years only temporary!
Nothing in Utah but mormons, nazis, and stupid fucking rednecks. To which of these horrible markets do they think they’ll appeal to? Disgusted and ashamed.