Coyotes say goodbye, close chapter in Arizona before relocation

TEMPE, Ariz. – They gathered one last time here together because that’s what you do when your heart is breaking and your mind is racing.

The 28-year existence of the Arizona Coyotes was a lot of things: a lesson in making the best of whatever circumstances you’re faced with; a consistent reminder that there are always a few positives to be found amid the chaos; and an example of what not to do when running a professional sports franchise.

But in trying to measure what the NHL’s entire Coyotes gambit amounted to as the team willed its way through a farewell 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night it would be foolish not to look around and see what they’re leaving behind with the impending move to Salt Lake City.

The group of Kachina-clad fans who stood well into the night outside Mullett Arena to salute players as they drove out of the parking lot for the last time. Staff members who posed for selfies together, wiped tears from reddened eyes and shared stories about their loss. Just a real, genuine community of folks who are invested in the game to a degree few outsiders would have imagined possible back when the Winnipeg Jets – version 1.0 – migrated to the desert in 1996.

“Hockey is more than just a sport,” said Shane Doan, the holder of every meaningful Coyotes/Jets franchise record, before returning to an impromptu line of handshakes, hugs and selfies between periods of the final game.

“It’s the relationships, it’s the fans, it’s the people that worked here for their whole careers. It’s the security people. It’s the ticket people. It’s everybody. It’s a small tight group here, so that makes it tough.”

They are far from the first air-tight community to be reminded that business is capable of blowing apart their passion. The NHL moved the North Stars out of Minnesota. It turned the Nordiques into the Avalanche right before a Stanley Cup campaign. It took Atlanta to Calgary, then moved a second Atlanta team to Winnipeg, and is now considering a third expansion foray into Georgia.

Big picture, it’s easy to understand why the Coyotes’ winding road ended here. The 4,600-seat Mullett Arena was bubbling with energy throughout a finale that was far more of a celebration than a funeral, but ultimately it remained a far-less-than-professional setup on the campus of Arizona State University. There is more immediate money and opportunity to be found elsewhere.

The building was so cramped as the Coyotes said goodbye that fans lining up to greet players on the ice post-game were literally able to reach out and touch head coach André Tourigny while he was being interviewed by reporters. They also had a wonderful view when equipment manager Stan Wilson, a day one employee of the organization, embraced everyone in sight from the bench after the final buzzer sounded.

“(He) is one of the best guys ever,” Coyotes forward Clayton Keller said of Wilson. “Seeing him get emotional was sad, you know? It’s tough. Same with the fans. They care so much, they always supported us through the ups and downs over the years. I’m just super thankful for that.”

Outbound owner Alex Meruelo was nowhere to be found in the arena while fan favorite forward Liam O’Brien finished a check and then opened the scoring against Edmonton. That came on the first of a couple of Coyotes-friendly bounces as the puck glanced off a referee and directly into the slot area, where he pounced.

“There’s tons of mixed emotions,” O’Brien said. “I’m still kind of processing everything and figuring everything out. It’s just kind of day by day and step by step.”

Nothing was remotely normal for this group after word first started to leak about the Coyotes’ move to Utah while they were in Vancouver on April 10 preparing for a game. They finished with victories in three of their last four outings but did so while squeezing in extra meetings and conference calls and planning a team visit to their new home.

For the folks in Arizona who have invested time, energy and money, there is a certain amount of cruelty in losing this particular group right now. They’ve just seen Dylan Guenther fill the net down the stretch and watched Logan Cooley complete a 44-point rookie season and welcomed Josh Doan, Shane’s son, to a storybook NHL beginning with nine points in his first 11 games.

Soon, all of those players will be blossoming somewhere else.

“It’s tough to kind of take it all in or even think about it,” said Cooley. “It still doesn’t really feel real.”

However, if you’re mindful of the origins of this odyssey, there’s a glimmer of hope to be found in the unknown. There will be another hockey community to build.

“I told (Josh) when we were talking about it, ‘You know what? This is exactly what happened with me leaving Winnipeg,”‘ Shane Doan said. “It was sad and it was hard leaving Winnipeg. We came here and started a whole new life. I never dreamed I’d be in Arizona and I ended up in Arizona kind of writing a story and being part of a story here that was incredible and great and I loved it.

“Go do that. Go to Salt Lake City, if that’s where it’s at and that’s what happens. Go there and enjoy it.”

Of course, they will each leave a small pebble back here in the Valley as well. It wasn’t the Coyotes players or staff who drove this decision to leave.

“If there’s a paradise, it’s near here,” Tourigny said. “I don’t know where it is, but it’s not far from here.”