While the Utah Hockey Club will be available in the state of Arizona via a streaming subscription, the Vegas Golden Knights will begin airing for the 2024-25 season over the air in Phoenix and Tucson.

The Golden Knights and Scripps Sports on Thursday announced that the team will broadcast 55 games on Arizona 61 in Phoenix and Arizona 58 in Tucson. Vegas’ NHL team will also be available via a streaming platform, KnightTime+.

“We are thrilled to expand the Realm of fans who can watch our local broadcast and appreciate our partners at Scripps Sports for helping make this a reality,” Golden Knights president and CEO Kerry Bubolz said in a release. “Having our games available for free over the air, or through KnightTime+, is a win for hockey fans in Arizona.”

The full Golden Knights schedule and how to find channels over TV, cable and streaming platforms are below.

Vegas Golden Knights 2024-25 TV and streaming schedule in Arizona

Wed., Oct. 9 vs. Colorado – TNT, MAX
Fri., Oct. 11 vs. St. Louis – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Sun., Oct. 13 vs. Anaheim – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Tue., Oct. 15 at Washington – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Thurs., Oct. 17 at Tampa Bay – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Sat., Oct. 19 at Florida – Antenna TV, KnightTime+
Tue., Oct. 22 vs. Los Angeles – ESPN, ESPN+
Fri., Oct. 25 vs. Ottawa – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Sat., Oct. 26 vs. San Jose – Antenna TV, KnightTime+
Mon., Oct. 28 vs. Calgary – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Wed., Oct. 30 vs. Los Angeles – TNT, truTV, MAX
Sat., Nov. 2 vs. Utah – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Wed., Nov. 6 at Edmonton – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Fri., Nov. 8 at Seattle – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Mon., Nov. 11 vs. Carolina – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Wed., Nov. 13 at Anaheim – KnightTime+
Fri., Nov. 15 at Utah – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Sun., Nov. 17 vs. Washington – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Wed., Nov. 20 at Toronto – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Thurs., Nov. 21 at Ottawa – Antenna TV, KnightTime+
Sat., Nov. 23 at Montreal – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Mon., Nov. 25 at Philadelphia – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Wed., Nov. 27 at Colorado – TNT, MAX
Fri., Nov. 29 vs. Winnipeg – KnightTime+
Sat., Nov. 30 vs. Utah – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Tue., Dec. 3 vs. Edmonton – ESPN+, Hulu
Wed., Dec. 4 at Anaheim – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Fri., Dec. 6 vs. Dallas – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Thurs., Dec. 12 at Winnipeg – KnightTime+
Sat., Dec. 14 at Edmonton – Antenna TV, KnightTime+
Sun., Dec. 15 at Minnesota – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Thurs., Dec. 19 vs. Vancouver – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Sat., Dec. 21 vs. Seattle – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Mon., Dec. 23 vs. Anaheim – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Fri., Dec. 27 at San Jose – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Sun., Dec. 29 vs. Calgary – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Tue., Dec. 31 vs. Montreal – KnightTime+
Thurs., Jan. 2 vs. Philadelphia – KnightTime+
Sat., Jan. 4 vs. Buffalo – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Tue., Jan. 7 at San Jose – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Thurs., Jan. 9 vs. NY Islanders – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Sat., Jan. 11 vs. NY Rangers – KnightTime+
Sun., Jan. 12 vs. Minnesota – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Tue., Jan. 14 at Nashville – KnightTime+
Fri., Jan. 17 at Carolina – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Sat., Jan 18 at Chicago – KnightTime+
Mon., Jan. 20 vs. St. Louis – Antenna TV, KnightTime+
Thurs., Jan. 23 at St. Louis – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Fri., Jan. 24 at Dallas – ESPN
Sun., Jan. 26 vs. Florida – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Tue., Jan. 28 vs. Dallas – ESPN+, Hulu
Thurs., Jan. 30 vs. Columbus – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Sun., Feb. 2 at NY Rangers – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Tue., Feb. 4 at NY Islanders – KnightTime+
Thurs., Feb. 6 at New Jersey – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Sat., Feb. 8 at Boston – ABC, ESPN+
Sat., Feb. 22 vs. Vancouver – KnightTime+
Mon., Feb. 24 at Los Angeles – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Thurs., Feb. 27 vs. Chicago – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Sun., March 2 vs. New Jersey – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Wed., March 5 vs. Toronto – TNT, truTV, MAX
Fri., March 7 vs. Pittsburgh – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Sun., March 9 vs. Los Angeles – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Tue., March 11 at Pittsburgh – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Thurs., March 13 at Columbus – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Sat., March 15 at Buffalo – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Sun., March 16 at Detroit – KnightTime+
Thurs., March 20 vs. Boston – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Sat., March 22 vs. Detroit – ABC, ESPN+
Sun., March 23 vs. Tampa Bay – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Tue., March 25 at Minnesota – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Fri., March 28 at Chicago – KnightTime+
Sat., March 29 at Nashville – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Tue., April 1 vs. Edmonton – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Thurs., April 3 vs. Winnipeg – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Sat., April 5 at Calgary – KnightTime+
Sun., April 6 at Vancouver – ESPN
Tue., April 8 at Colorado – ESPN
Thurs., April 10 vs. Seattle – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Sat., April 12 vs. Nashville – KnightTime+
Tue., April 15 at Calgary – Arizona 61/Arizona 58, KnightTime+
Wed., April 16 at Vancouver – TNT, truTV, MAX

Arizona 61, Arizona 58 and Antenna TV can be found on the following platforms:

Arizona 61 (Phoenix)

Arizona 58 (Tucson)

Antenna TV (Phoenix)

Antenna TV (Tucson)

Over the air

Channel 61.1

Channel 58.1

Channel 15.2

Channel 9.3

Cox Cable

Channel 6

Channel 18

Channel 95

Channel 86

Comcast Cable

Channel 8

DirecTV

Channel 61

Channel 58

DISH Network

Channel 58

Streaming

Fubo

Fubo (coming soon)

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Guenther will count just over $7.14 million annually against the salary cap over the term of the contract that runs through the 2032-33 NHL season. The 21-year-old is one of the youngest building blocks for the team that was known until earlier this year as the Arizona Coyotes and is now based in Salt Lake City.

“Dylan is elite in every aspect on and off the ice,” Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said. “He is a young, highly skilled forward with a shot that’s evolving into one of the best in the NHL. He’s also a first-class person with a strong determination to be great. We look forward to having Dylan as a core player for this organization for many years to come.”

Guenther split last season between Arizona and the American Hockey League’s Tucson Roadrunners. He had 18 goals and 17 assists for 35 points in 45 NHL games with the Coyotes.

“There isn’t a better example than Dylan when we talk about the combination of talent and character that we are so excited to build a new franchise with here in Utah,” president of hockey operations Chris Armstrong said. “Today is another exciting day for our organization and our fans who will come to love Dylan, not just as a hockey player but as a member of our community.”

Guenther, an Edmonton, Alberta, native, who also played his junior hockey there, was the ninth pick in the 2021 draft. He has 50 points in 78 career games since breaking into the league.

“This is a very happy day for me and my family,” Guenther said. “Everything about this organization is on the right track, and I know we have an opportunity to do some special things here for a long time. Utah is where I want to be, and I’m proud to commit to my teammates and the organization long term.”

Guenther is now signed longer than any other player in the organization, surpassing defenseman Mikhail Sergachev, who was acquired in an offseason trade from Tampa Bay and is under contract through 2031. Forward Clayton Keller and defenseman Sean Durzi are each signed through 2028.

The UtahHC+ app (Utah Hockey Club) and SEG+ app (Utah Jazz and Utah Hockey Club) will allow fans to stream games of the pro franchises, the Smith Entertainment Group announced on Thursday.

UtahHC+ is available in Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, New Mexico, Montana and parts of Nevada.

Good catch here, Utah Jazz+ territory and UHC+ territory are different. Arizona fans will still be able to watch the UHC.#UtahHockeyClub #UtahJazz pic.twitter.com/1pXpKUGNAf

— Cole Bagley (@BagleyKSLsports) September 19, 2024

The team also on Thursday announced that former Arizona Coyotes broadcaster Tyson Nash will join the Utah club as a UtahHC+ personality and analyst.

Nash spent 14 seasons as a broadcaster for the Coyotes and will join the app to host alt-casts. He will appear as a guest on pre- and post-game shows during live broadcasts as well.

Former Coyotes play-by-play man Matt McConnell was already set to serve as TV play-by-play voice.

Former Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo was forced to sell the hockey team to the Utah group after the team failed to find land for a new home arena. The agreement shipped the hockey operations department and roster to the Utah group, where it will share an arena with the Jazz.

How can Arizona Coyotes fans watch the Utah Hockey Club?

Cost for only the Utah Hockey Club app is $69.99 annually or $14.99 monthly. It is $5 for a single game.

Utah Hockey Schedule

Fans can watch the Utah Hockey Club’s first game on Oct. 8 against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks.

Click here for the full schedule.

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Gaudreau, 31, and brother, Matthew, 29, are Carneys Point, New Jersey, natives and were scheduled to be groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding that was scheduled for Friday in Philadelphia.

New Jersey State police said the Gaudreau brothers were cycling on a road when a man driving an SUV in the same direction attempted to pass two other vehicles and struck them from behind. They were pronounced dead on the scene.

Police said the driver, 43-year-old Sean M. Higgins, was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and charged with two counts of death by auto, along with reckless driving, possession of an open container and consuming alcohol in a motor vehicle. He was jailed at the Salem County Correctional Facility.

According to the criminal complaint obtained by The Associated Press, Higgins told a responding officer he had five or six beers prior to the accident and admitted to consuming alcohol while driving. He failed a field sobriety test. His blood alcohol level was not immediately available.

Johnny Gaudreau, known as “Johnny Hockey,” played 11 professional seasons in the league and was set to enter his third with the Blue Jackets. He played his first nine with the Calgary Flames, a tenure that included becoming one of the sport’s top players and a fan favorite across North America.

“Just devastating news for all of us connected with the Gaudreau family,” Jerry York, who coached the Gaudreau brothers at Boston College, said in a phone interview with the AP. “Both Matty and Johnny were terrifically admired by all of us. Wonderful young guys, and they impressed a lot of us off the ice.”

York raved about parents Guy and Jane and the family’s dedication to their children and hockey. Gaudreau had been married to his wife, Meredith, since 2021, and they have two children under 2, Noa, who was born in September 2022, and Johnny, who was born in February.

Blue Jackets, NHL react to Johnny Gaudreau’s death

The Blue Jackets said Gaudreau “was not only a great hockey player, but more significantly a loving husband, father, son, brother and friend.”

“Johnny played the game with great joy which was felt by everyone that saw him on the ice. He brought a genuine love for hockey with him everywhere he played,” the team said in a statement.

Gaudreau, at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, was part of a generation of hockey players who thrived in an era of speed and skill that made being undersized less of a disadvantage. He scored 20-plus goals six times and was a 115-point player in 2021-22 as a first-time NHL All-Star when he had a career-best 40 goals and 75 assists.

“While Johnny’s infectious spirit for the game and show-stopping skills on the ice earned him the nickname ‘Johnny Hockey,’ he was more than just a dazzling hockey player; he was a doting father and beloved husband, son, brother and teammate who endeared himself to every person fortunate enough to have crossed his path,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said.

NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said: “Johnny was a beloved teammate and friend in both Calgary and Columbus, and he was a joy to watch during his 10 years and 763 games in the NHL. … The players and staff of the NHLPA are devastated by these terrible losses.”

A fourth-round pick of Calgary’s in 2011, Gaudreau helped Boston College win the NCAA championship in 2012 and in 2014 took home the Hobey Baker Award as the top college player in the country.

As a professional, Gaudreau was part of the NHL all-rookie team during his first season in the league and was third in voting for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year in 2014-15.

Gaudreau was a point-a-game player with 642 points in 644 regular-season and playoff games since breaking into the league. In 2022, he left the Flames to sign a seven-year contract worth nearly $69 million with the Blue Jackets that put him and his young family in central Ohio, closer to his family in New Jersey.

Social media was full of an outpouring of messages about Gaudreau, from USA Hockey to the Flames and beyond the sport itself.

Longtime executive Brian Burke, who had Gaudreau in Calgary and with the U.S. national team, said it could not be overstated just what a joy it was to have him around.

“There are few players in hockey history who matched his passion and love for the game of hockey.” Burke said. “His talent on the ice was enhanced, not diminished, by the fact that he was having fun out there.”

Former Flames teammate Blake Coleman posted that he was “completely gutted. The world just lost one of the best.” Retired goaltender Eddie Lack called Gaudreau one of his favorite teammates.

“Always happy, always spreading positivity around him,” Lack said. “Rest in Peace my friend and prayers for your wonderful family.”

NBA superstar LeBron James, who is from Akron, Ohio, said he instantly got sad after seeing the news.

“My thoughts and prayers goes out to the Gaudreau family,” James said. “May Johnny and Matthew fly high, guide/guard and bless their family/s from the heavens above.”

In international play, Gaudreau owns the men’s world championship records by a U.S. player with 30 assists and 43 points.

Gaudreau’s death is the latest off-ice tragedy to strike the organization in the past few years. Goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks died in July 2021 when he was struck in the chest by a firework while attending the wedding of then-Blue Jackets goaltending coach Manny Legace’s daughter in Michigan.

The team is now left to deal with another unexpected loss three weeks before training camps around the league are set to open.

“We will miss him terribly and do everything that we can to support his family and each other through this tragedy,” the Blue Jackets said. “At this time, we ask for prayers for the Gaudreau family and that their privacy be respected as they grieve.”

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𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗮.

Plans include 10,000-seat state-of-the-art arena, satellite ice rink, fan zone and more. Learn more: https://t.co/dAVGwPRFlI#GSR #RenoArena #RenoTahoe pic.twitter.com/jGDKWhzPwI

— Grand Sierra Resort | GSR (@GrandSierra) July 25, 2024

After receiving the “preferred host” designation late last year, Utah can now look forward to hosting its second Olympics over 30 years after the 2002 Winter Olympics.

With the Winter Olympics officially coming back to Utah in 12 years, Salt Lake City will join a prestigious group of cities.

Only 10 cities have ever hosted more than one Olympics. Salt Lake City will become the third U.S. city to do so, joining Los Angeles, California, and Lake Placid, New York.

How did Salt Lake City land the 2034 Winter Olympics?

Over the last few years, there were signs that the Olympics could be coming back to Utah.

It started in 2019 when the U.S. Olympic Committee announced Salt Lake would be its selection for a future Winter Olympics bid.

In June 2022, reports came out from IOC meetings that Salt Lake was most likely getting the nod. It just was about picking between 2030 and 2034.

As the 2024 Paris Olympics crept closer and no other city had a comparable bid, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox caused a stir with his confidence on the topic.

Finally, in November 2023, Salt Lake City was announced as the ‘preferred host city’ for the 2034 Olympic Games.

Salt Lake City’s 2002 Olympic history

The 2002 Winter Games were held in Salt Lake City and the surrounding areas from February 8-24 of 2002. Those Games hold memories dear to many Utahns’ hearts, like the Miracle on Ice team lighting the torch and the incredible display of patriotism the Games produced following the events of 9/11.

Events for the Games were held across 10 competitive venues in downtown Salt Lake City, Park City, Provo and in the mountains near Salt Lake City.

Many venues of past Olympics were torn down, not cared for or left abandoned after the Games were over, but that is not the case here in Utah.

All 10 venues used for competition during the 2002 Olympics are still in use, which made Salt Lake an ideal candidate for future Games.

This story was originally published by KSLSports.com.

That same night, the Florida Panthers will raise their first Stanley Cup banner to the rafters in Sunrise, Florida, before facing off against the Boston Bruins.

The NHL released the list of home openers for each of its 32 teams Monday with the full 1,312-game regular-season schedule expected this week.

Utah, which is expected to have a permanent name in time for the 2025-26 season, will play at the Delta Center, home of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, an arena that will undergo renovations to provide more unobstructed views for NHL games.

The capacity is 16,200 for the inaugural season, with not all directly facing the ice, but the demand has been high with 30,000 season-ticket deposits.

“We are thrilled to play the first regular season game in franchise history, at home, in front of our amazing fans,” president of hockey operations Chris Armstrong said.

“The eyes of the hockey world will be on Utah when we host the Blackhawks on that historic night, and we look forward to rising to the occasion.”

The second day of the season is rivalry night with the New York Rangers visiting Pittsburgh; Toronto at Montreal; and Colorado at Vegas. Avalanche-Golden Knights is a matchup of the 2022 and ’23 Cup champions.

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Utah used its immense draft capital to swing two trades to build its blue line.

First, Utah got Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev in the first major deal from the new NHL franchise. Utah sent J.J. Moser, Conor Geekie, pick No. 199 in the 2024 draft, and a 2025 second-round pick to Tampa Bay to acquire Sergachev.

Utah then traded the No. 49 pick and 2025 second-round pick for New Jersey defenseman John Marino and a fifth-round pick. Utah only had one blue liner under contract heading into the draft; they’ve suddenly added two young veterans who will contribute immediately.

“I woke up this morning after I slept for two minutes and said, ‘Let’s shock the world!'” general manager Bill Armstrong said on the NHL Network.

Sergachev, 26, has been a mainstay in the NHL since he was 19 and is widely seen as a top-20 defenseman. He was limited to 34 games last season after fracturing the tibia and fibula in his lower left leg.

In 2022-23, his last full season, he finished with 54 assists for the Lightning. Sergachev is under contract through the 2030-31 season after signing a massive eight-year extension in 2022. The Lightning retained none of Sergachev’s contract, which carries an $8.5 million cap hit for the next seven years.

“Mikhail Sergachev is a proven winner and point producer and has been one of the best shutdown defenseman in the NHL for a sustained period of time,” said Armstrong.

“Mikhail is a top two-way NHL defenseman, and you cannot win in this league without a star, elite defenseman. We are thrilled to welcome Mikhail to our organization and look forward to many years ahead with him leading our blue line.”

Armstrong said he started to “plant some seeds” with Tampa Bay about such a deal a few months ago. With the Lightning needing to clear cap space, the timing became right for both teams.

Marino has played five seasons in the NHL and has averaged over 20 minutes of ice time in each one. Last season, he had four goals and 21 assists. Marino has three years left on his current deal.

“We’re really psyched to get both guys. They’re going to stabilize the backside,” Armstrong said. “We can score, but somebody’s got to defend. So we got two good guys today.”

These were some of the items Meruelo retained when the Coyotes were sold to a new ownership in April that has since moved the Coyotes to Salt Lake City.

Meruelo is expected to return the team’s marks, logo, name and rights to the Phoenix area to the NHL.

PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan first reported on Monday evening that Meruelo was ending his chase at potentially bringing the Coyotes back to the Valley in a new franchise. He reached an agreement with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman that if the Coyotes built a new arena within five years, an expansion franchise would follow.

But this news comes after the land auction that the Coyotes expected to win for that arena was canceled last week. The Arizona State Land Department asked for the Coyotes to secure a special use permit before the land would be auctioned.

On Friday, the Coyotes released a statement following the news of the cancellation for the land auction they expected to win for the new arena. The Coyotes cited they will be “exploring” all of their legal options following the “unprecedented action by the state of Arizona that seriously jeopardizes the future of NHL hockey returning to the desert.”

The Coyotes’ statement also referred to the decision as “shortsighted.”

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It will prove we were a great hockey city all along. 

Our next NHL franchise will be worth the wait. We have lost a talented, homegrown team to a smaller market in Salt Lake City. But we have been liberated from a bad owner, an edgy billionaire who peddled in wild ideas while ignoring his bills and generally paying by his own set of rules. Good riddance. 

Good owners use their fortunes to pursue a greater, more lasting brand of wealth, the kind that comes with greatness and glory and championship parades. Bad owners can’t see past the money. They tend to stick around for decades. They can poison a good sports town.

Alex Meruelo will be remembered as one of the worst. He connected with no one. He saw no value in political capital or public relations. He was evicted in Glendale and butchered a vote in Tempe. He either didn’t care or didn’t know that sports franchises are public trusts that must serve and reflect their communities, businesses that rely on collaboration and goodwill. 

Really. How dumb must an owner be to allow an underling to ostracize and insult Shane Doan, one of the greatest captains and brand ambassadors in the NHL?

Incredibly, we’ve had two of them in Arizona. Surely, you remember a previous owner who sent an underqualified general manager to fire Doan over breakfast.  

But only Meruelo could accomplish what no other forces of darkness ever could. He was the owner who drove Doan to another NHL franchise. 

The incompetence is staggering, and you wonder how ultra-rich people can be so stupid. Are they blinded by greed? Or is it greed that makes them wealthy in the first place? Is it the bootlickers and sycophants who insulate their lives, nodding their heads with every poor decision? 

The next owner of the Coyotes must be better. We must find our hockey version of Mat Ishbia, who has already hit for the trifecta in the Valley. He replaced the reviled Robert Sarver; he spends wildly on basketball players; and has publicly vowed his stewardship to every sports fan in the Valley. He’s shown the kind of awareness you don’t always get with billionaires. 

Our next NHL franchise will also face a tough decision. Will they still be the Coyotes? Or will they be blessed with a new name entirely? For most of their 28 years in the Valley, the Coyotes were a pit of dysfunction. Whenever they became a talking point in the Valley, it was for something scandalous or bizarre. As in, what have they done now? 

With all due respect for the kachina jersey, part of me wants to turn the brand into a smoking pile of ash. But maybe we do exactly the opposite. Maybe we embrace the ugliness of our history as a sign of our toughness and our resilience.  After all, our hockey team left us. We are not running away from anything.  

Either way, our next NHL franchise will be different from the top down. They will skate on a clean slate. We will accept nothing less. 

Follow @danbickley

The selection is a decade in the making, as Roenick first became eligible in 2012.

The class of 2024 is comprised of three male players, two female players and two “builders” (non-players, upper team management). The induction ceremony is slated for Nov. 11 in Toronto, Canada.

Inductees must receive at least 75% of the votes from the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee. Roenick was one of three retired male players to make the cut (Shea Weber and Pavel Datsyuk) as the HHOF limits the retired male player category to four.

Roenick, whose NHL career spanned 20 years, became the eighth Coyote player to achieve Hall-of-Fame status and first since Teemu Selanne was granted the right in 2017.

Welcome to the Hockey Hall of Fame, ​Jeremy Roenick.#HHOF2024 | #HHOF pic.twitter.com/qRQaDpvCjJ

— Hockey Hall of Fame (@HockeyHallFame) June 25, 2024

A snapshot of Jeremy Roenick’s prolific career on ice

The Boston, Massachusetts native finished his career with 1,216 points, stockpiling 513 goals and 703 assists with five different franchises. On Nov. 10, 2007, Roenick joined rare company, becoming just the third American-born player to hit the 500-goal milestone while with the San Jose Sharks.

Roenick was selected as the No. 8 overall pick in the 1988 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks after a standout high school career (34 goals in 24 games) at Thayer Academy in Massachusetts.

Roenick was the first NHL player to wear the number 97 after he was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes because 27 — the jersey number he wore in his eight seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks — was already on the back of defenseman Teppo Numminen.

The right-handed stick wielder tallied 152 goals and 227 assists while a Coyote (1997-2001, 2007), averaging over 24 goals and 37 assists per season.

He participated in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and was on the silver-medal winning U.S. squad and also competed in the 1991 Canada Cup.

Video: Felisa Cárdenas and Jeremy Schnell/Arizona Sports

Coyotes staff was informed of Meruelo’s decision on Monday, according to Morgan and confirmed by Front Office Sports, which added that the owner’s son, Alex Meruelo Jr., relayed the message to about a dozen workers still employed by the dormant franchise.

This comes after the land auction that the Arizona Coyotes expected to win as the first step toward building a new arena was canceled last week. The Arizona State Land Department asked for the Coyotes to secure a special use permit before the land would be auctioned.

On Friday, the Coyotes released a statement following the news of the cancellation for the land auction they expected to win for the new arena. The Coyotes cited they will be “exploring” all of their legal options following the “unprecedented action by the state of Arizona that seriously jeopardizes the future of NHL hockey returning to the desert.”

The Coyotes’ statement also referred to the decision as “shortsighted.”

The Arizona State Land Department’s statement noted it “recently confirmed that the proposed arena use will require a Special Use Permit, and as a result we are requesting that the applicant file for and receive a Special Use Permit prior to the auction.”

In April, the franchise moved to Salt Lake City, however there was an agreement between Meruelo and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman that would allow Meruelo to activate the franchise separately within five years.

Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported before the listing was posted that Meruelo had spoken to potential buyers, both inside and outside of Arizona, to gauge their interest in purchasing the NHL franchise.

Meruelo took over the Coyotes in 2019. The Coyotes played the past two seasons at Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena and had been searching for a site to construct a new arena after it was pushed out of its former home in Glendale after the 2021-22 season. ASU and the Coyotes were under contract for the team to play there through 2024-25 with an option year the following season.

The Arizona State Land Department in April listed the auction for the land. Weeks later, it came to light that the NHL franchise’s hockey operations, including its roster and front office, were being sold to a group owned by Utah Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith.

A March 14 state land department meeting cleared that land to be auctioned, according to the meeting agenda that lists the Coyotes’ Miracle Development LLC. The auction needed to be publicly listed for at least 10 weeks before taking place.

The Arizona State Land Department Board of Appeals unanimously approved the $68.5 million appraisal of the 95 acres. Bidding in an auction would start at that amount and would need to be made in $100,000 increments at minimum.

Included with the auction posting was a letter from the city of Phoenix with public infrastructure obligations to a potential developer, which includes zoning information, along with fire, water and traffic recommendations. The estimated cost for those additions is $80 million, according to the auction notice.

The Coyotes said in their statement that the development would include a 17,000-seat arena and 150,000-square-foot practice facility.

It would also feature a concert venue for a live music theater for 3,000 attendees, 400,000 square feet of retail and a multi-purpose watch party plaza equipped with a supersized screen for viewing events. The district would be covered by a 170,000-square-foot canopy spanning the arena to the theater.

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Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe scored goals, Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves and the Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 on Monday night in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. It was the third title-round appearance in Florida’s 30-year history; it was swept in 1996 by Colorado and routed 4-1 by Vegas last season.

This time, they were on the right side of history — after avoiding what would have been a historic collapse. The Panthers won the first three games of the series, then lost the next three and needed a win on Monday to avoid joining the 1942 Detroit Red Wings as the only teams to lose the final after taking a 3-0 lead in the title round.

“It’s not what I thought it would be,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “It’s so much better.”

It wasn’t easy. Not even close. But it’s done.

“It’s heavy,” Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said, after he took the celebratory first lap with the Cup.

But not too heavy. Barkov handed it to Bobrovsky and the celebration was on. It took until the very end for the Panthers to deny Connor McDavid his first title, and Edmonton what would have been its first Cup since 1990.

McDavid won the Conn Smythe as MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He didn’t come out for the trophy. It’s not the one he wanted, anyway. The Cup is what they play for, and it was Florida that hoisted it.

“It’s not a dream anymore. It’s not a dream. It’s reality,” said Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk, who got traded to Florida two summers ago with this as his goal. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. … I can’t believe how good these two years have been. So thankful for this group of guys. It’s the best place, best guys. It’s something really special here with what we have.”

Mattias Janmark had the goal for Edmonton and Stuart Skinner stopped 19 shots for the Oilers. The Oilers also couldn’t snap Canada’s title drought; it’s been 1993 and counting since a team based in Canada won the Cup.

Montreal was the last to do so, 30 seasons ago. Since then, there have been seven attempts by teams from Canadian-based cities — Vancouver in 1994 and 2011, Calgary in 2004, the Oilers in 2006, Ottawa in 2007 and the Canadiens in 2021 — to win titles, and all were in vain.

South Florida now has one of everything when it comes to titles from the four major pro sports leagues in the U.S. The Miami Dolphins were champions twice, the then-Florida Marlins were champions twice, the Miami Heat have three titles and now the Panthers have joined the party.

Welcome, Stanley. The Panthers have been waiting. Maurice hoisted the Cup by the bench, closed his eyes tight to control the emotion and let out a yell. General manager Bill Zito didn’t bother even trying to not let the yell out. And in the stands, Tkachuk’s family — his father, Keith, never won a Cup — reveled in the moment, knowing their surname will soon be on Lord Stanley.

“This is for them,” Tkachuk said.

Bobrovsky was as cool as could be, even in the biggest moments. Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard had a good look from the right circle with about 14 seconds left in the second period; Bobrovsky blocked the shot, and the puck bounced off him and into the air.

No problem. Bobrovsky took his stick and batted the puck away again, more like he was playing morning pickleball at a park than in the biggest game of his life — literally, the last line of defense against the Oilers, and against a piece of history that the Panthers desperately fought to avoid.

Florida led this title series 3-0, then got outscored 18-5 in Games 4, 5 and 6 to waste three chances at winning the Cup. Edmonton was one win away from becoming the second team in NHL history to win the Cup after dropping the first three games; Toronto did it to Detroit in 1942, and no team has pulled off such a comeback since.

They brought in seven-time Grammy winner Alanis Morissette — she was born in Canada and became a dual U.S. citizen in 2005 — to sing the national anthems. Hardly anybody could hear her; the Oilers fans drowned her out for “O Canada,” the Panthers fans did the same for “The Star-Spangled Banner.” They had Panthers legend Roberto Luongo bang the ceremonial bass drum after that; he urged fans to “let’s go” with an extra word in there that needed to be bleeped a few times.

“I just can’t believe we did it,” Barkov said.

The pregame was raucous. The stage was set.

And the teams came out absolutely ablaze.

The Panthers got the first goal just 4:27 into the game when Verhaeghe waved his stick at the puck that was fired in from the left side by Evan Rodrigues and got just enough to redirect it past Skinner for a 1-0 lead — the first Florida lead since the end of Game 3.

They waited more than a week to be back on top. They stayed there for just over two minutes.

Janmark got behind the Florida defense and beat Bobrovsky over the right shoulder at 6:44, knotting things right back up and ensuring that this Game 7 of the final — like all 17 of the previous such games — wouldn’t end 1-0.

It stayed that way through wild ebbs and flows — the Oilers controlled long stretches, the Panthers would counter, back and forth — until Reinhart scored late in the second to put Florida up 2-1. It capped a crazy sequence, one where Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov wound up in the net to help prevent an Edmonton goal seconds before Reinhart beat Skinner. The goal was Reinhart’s 67th of the season, extending his Florida single-season record, and it was up to the Panthers to make it hold up.

Florida was an NHL-best 44-0-3 entering Monday when leading after two periods this season. An NHL-best 85-2-6 in that situation in the two seasons under coach Maurice, too.

They slammed the door, one last time. And the Cup was their reward.

“This is the best moment of my life so far,” veteran Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said. “Nothing tops it.”

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That’s a loaded question in Arizona, where heartbreak is relentless, where we stock warehouses full of sporting misery. 

Yet in 2024, there is a terrible mix of abject failure and unmet expectations. We lost our NHL team to Salt Lake City, which carries great weight in this conversation. Losing a franchise causes significant trauma and abandonment issues for any major metropolis, even for a team as perennially underfunded as the Coyotes. Even worse, most of the fan base would rather wait patiently for an expansion team than saddle up with Alex Meruelo, the billionaire who delivered a stake to the heart.  

In a league full of skates, Meruelo is certainly the cheapest, and apparently the only owner capable of killing our resilient hockey team.  

Just a few months ago, Frank Vogel promised the super-team Suns were “going to be a monster” in the postseason. Instead, they were swept out of the first round of the playoffs. They’re getting further, and not closer to the championship ring. Three consecutive NBA postseasons have now ended with indignity and embarrassment, which is why most of the fan base is ready for padded walls.

The Suns enter a low-wattage NBA draft with very few moves left on the chessboard; a shoddy draft history that includes Deandre Ayton over Luka Doncic and Jalen Smith over Tyrese Haliburton; along with strange affinity for Bronny James. They have three great offensive players in Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal. And yet they are still missing three very important pieces: point guard, athletic wing, big man with verticality.    

It takes a telescope and a great imagination to find legitimate championship hopes on Planet Orange. 

Meanwhile, Arizona State’s athletic department is no longer plummeting only because it has finally hit rock bottom. As radio host/diehard ASU fan Vince Marotta noted on Monday, the Sun Devils are one of four power five athletic departments that missed out on a bowl game in football, and the NCAA Tournament in both men’s basketball and baseball. They are at a table with Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Stanford. Yuck. 

The Diamondbacks remain a wild card. They spent handsomely to ensure a successful encore season. They have been decimated by injuries and bad luck. If they hang around long enough to field a healthy pitching rotation of Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eduardo Rodriguez, Jordan Montgomery, and Brandon Pfaadt, they can again tear through the postseason. If not, they will represent another kick to the midsection. Either way, the tank of optimism is waning, and so is the giddy buzz that accompanied last year’s magical run to the World Series. 

Which is why we are all taking great solace in a four-win football team.   

Like the Diamondbacks, the Cardinals can save us from a worst-case scenario. They seem to have the physical identity, the quarterback and the chemistry to be an ascendant team in the coming months. They seem primed to be one of those outhouse-to-penthouse stories we often see in the NFL. After all, they were a missed field goal removed from being 4-4 in the return of Kyler Murray. 

National media and experts remain dubious and skeptical of the 2024 Cardinals, which means we’re in danger of looking like a bunch of rubes clinging to silver linings. But we know something they don’t. 

Namely, Monti Ossenfort and Jonathan Gannon haven’t let us down yet. And in Arizona, that counts for something. 

Reach Bickley at dbickley@arizonasports.com. Listen to Bickley & Marotta mornings from 6-10 a.m. on Arizona Sports 98.7.

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The team previously said it would play 30 of its 36 home games at Tucson Arena located in the Tucson Convention Center. The other six home games would be played in Tempe at Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena.

But after the land auction that the Arizona Coyotes expected to win was canceled last week, the team has now decided to play all of its home games in Tucson.

Tucson has housed the AHL affiliate for the inactive Arizona Coyotes for eight seasons. The Coyotes’ hockey operations were sold by owner Alex Meruelo amid arena uncertainty and relocated to Utah.

Meruelo had earlier mentioned the possibility of moving the Roadrunners to Mullett Arena for half of next season during a press conference with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, but a vote from the Rio Nuevo District’s board unanimously (9-0) decided to keep the team in Tucson.

Fans who had already purchased tickets for games in Tempe at Mullet Arena will be refunded this week, according to the Roadrunners.

The 72-game AHL schedule releases in July.

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The Coyotes can get credit for building grassroots hockey — where it’s served youth players — but nearly three decades of incompetence at the ownership level has turned away would-be fans and done a disservice to the ones still trying to find any reason to believe the NHL should remain in the Phoenix area. Those are two different things, something the Coyotes forgot in projecting they would easily win over Tempe voters to build a new arena there last May.

The Arizona State Land Department on Friday decided that it would require an ownership group led by Meruelo to first land a special use permit before having the ability to win a tract of land at the northwest corner of Scottsdale Road and the Loop 101.

Instead of responding with disappointment about the decision — one they should have seen coming — the Coyotes again got defensive, isolated themselves and attacked the groups who they must work with to acquire the land.

They said they would explore legal action instead of doing the easiest thing: Say they would succeed in acquiring the special use permit to clear a way for the auction to eventually take place.

They opted out of taking the easiest path forward to be petty. Worst of all, the Coyotes seemed surprised, lashing out without taking any accountability.

That right there is why Meruelo has not garnered goodwill. It’s a pretty blatant example of why the team’s apparent desire to unthaw the franchise down the road will fail.

“No one should be surprised at this ownership groups’ incompetence and duplicity,” Tempe councilman Randy Keating told Front Office Sports. “They were told several times what they needed to do to move forward with the auction by the City of Phoenix and not only chose not to do so, but then had the gull to cast blame. The call is, and always has been, coming from inside the house. Fans deserve so much better.”

The state land department’s decision Friday was not about stopping hockey in the desert, like some conspiracy theorists believe. Maybe it worked in concert with the city of Phoenix, a separate entity that by the way has only gone as far to say there will be no special tax abatements if the Coyotes do find land to build a new arena.

The land department does not want to sell a seemingly important piece of developable land to an untrustworthy ownership group that wasn’t wanted in Glendale (the city) or Tempe (the voters). And the ASLD especially should not have if it caught any sense that the city of Phoenix wasn’t going to clear the way for the Coyotes to develop the land. Or if it thought the Coyotes might not have the easiest financial path to develop the land before getting to building.

That’s pretty darn fair.

Surely there are politics at play, a reason why Phoenix at the leadership level hasn’t done what Tempe’s city council once did: Publicly promote the benefits of landing a new arena.

Mayor Kate Gallego’s spokesperson told AZCentral that a pro sports arena is not allowed under the existing zoning. The Coyotes’ former zoning lawyer, Nick Wood of Snell & Wilmer, said in April that he believed rezoning was not necessary.

There are nuances and complications in those two messages that don’t jive.

What is clear is that zoning semantics probably could be cleared up if there was motivation for Phoenix to bring the NHL back within its boundaries.

Why wouldn’t Phoenix want the Coyotes?

For starters, look at Meruelo’s history and reputation.

We also don’t know what the city’s economic experts think a 15,000-plus seat arena up north would do to a still-developing downtown with two pro-sports-slash-concert venues. Downtown Phoenix is already home to an NBA arena that was just refurbished and an MLB ballpark needing a refresh ASAP. The D-backs are attempting to find an avenue toward upgrading their county-owned stadium so they don’t need to find a new home, a much more expensive option.

So here’s where we are: You can blame Glendale city leaders for forcing the Coyotes out. You can blame Tempe voters for not welcoming them in. Blame the NHL and commissioner Gary Bettman, the latter who deserves massive credit for somehow convincing an owner living in a false reality to sell his hockey team to a Utah ownership group, lending an unlikely lifeline for Meruelo to restart the franchise. That was quite the threading of the needle. Sure, you can blame Phoenix for not doing everything in its power to bring back the NHL team.

But at some point, save the conspiracies that span multiple cities and the freakin’ NHL that didn’t want this version of the Coyotes in Arizona. Blame Alex Meruelo.

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Video: Felisa Cárdenas and Jeremy Schnell/Arizona Sports

Statement from the Arizona Coyotes. pic.twitter.com/EMOd9AuH1P

— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) June 21, 2024

The Coyotes’ statement also referred to the decision as “shortsighted.”

The Arizona State Land Department’s statement noted it “recently confirmed that the proposed arena use will require a Special Use Permit, and as a result we are requesting that the applicant file for and receive a Special Use Permit prior to the auction.”

The impact of Friday could very well be the final blow to the franchise that had already moved its team to Salt Lake City in April. It was hinging on an agreement between owner Alex Meruelo and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman that would allow Meruelo to activate the franchise separately within five years.

As of Friday, only Miracle Development, LLC, was registered to bid on the tract of land on the northwest corner of the Loop 101 and Scottsdale Road near Desert Ridge Marketplace, according to PHNX Sports.

The Arizona State Land Department in April listed the auction for the land. Weeks later, it came to light that the NHL franchise’s hockey operations, including its roster and front office, were being sold to a group owned by Utah Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith.

Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported before the listing was posted that Meruelo has spoken to potential buyers, both inside and outside of Arizona, to gauge their interest in purchasing the NHL franchise.

A March 14 state land department meeting cleared that land to be auctioned, according to the meeting agenda that lists the Coyotes’ Miracle Development LLC. The auction needed to be publicly listed for at least 10 weeks before it takes place.

The Arizona State Land Department Board of Appeals unanimously approved the $68.5 million appraisal of the 95 acres. Bidding in an auction would start at that amount and would need to be made in $100,000 increments at minimum.

Included with the auction posting was a letter from the city of Phoenix with public infrastructure obligations to a potential developer, which includes zoning information, along with fire, water and traffic recommendations. The estimated cost for those additions is $80 million, according to the auction notice.

The Coyotes said in their statement that the development would include a 17,000-seat arena and 150,000-square-foot practice facility.

It would also feature a concert venue for a live music theater for 3,000 attendees, 400,000 square feet of retail and a multi-purpose watch party plaza equipped with a supersized screen for viewing events. The district would be covered by a 170,000-square-foot canopy spanning the arena to the theater.

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