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The NHL in Las Vegas: Three Reasons Phoenix Isn’t Moving There

By Catherine Silverman |
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Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman addresses the crowd before the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

On Tuesday evening, my Twitter exploded.

I blame Thomas Drance. He’s one of my favorite NHL reporters over at The Score- but then this happened.

“Report: NHL Expansion Reportedly a Done Deal“

According to columnist Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Providence, the expansion of the NHL to Sin City was reportedly “already a done deal”. All the i’s had been dotted, all the t’s had been crossed, and it was only a matter of time before Gary Bettman became the first league commissioner to have a professional sports team in the Nevada hothouse.

This seems unlikely for a number of reasons. First, it doesn’t seem likely that any sports league would expand to LV; the prevalence of sports betting in the region is just too high for a team to risk it.

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Second (and this is where Arizona fans should be listening), it doesn’t seem likely that the league would add another team to the desert- particularly when cities like Seattle, Houston, Kansas City, and Quebec City still sit lacking a franchise.

All speculations about the likelihood aside, though, the rumor took off with a flying leap. Before the end of the night, Sports Illustrated had published an article saying that not only was Las Vegas getting a team, but Seattle and Quebec City would be joining them- in addition to Toronto receiving a second franchise- by 2017.

Naturally, these kinds of expansion rumors are always accompanied with relocation rumors. If I took a shot for every time I read someone tweet that “Arizona is most likely to move to Las Vegas”, I’d have been hospitalized by Wednesday afternoon. It’s insane.

While the rumor that Las Vegas is getting a franchise seems unlikely, though, I think that the rumor that Arizona would be the one to move there is even more insane. Here are three pretty valid reasons why-

1. The team needs MORE financial stability, not less

Oct 3, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA; (left to right) Phoenix Coyotes alternate governor Anthony LeBlanc NHL commisioner Gary Bettman and governor George Gosbee during a press conference prior to the game against the New York Rangers at Jobing.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

This seems like a no-brainer, but just in case, let me go over why this is a valid argument against the relocation rumor.

Everyone’s biggest complaint about Arizona is that the team isn’t financially stable. This may be true, it may not- the teams are privately owned, so no one has full access to the team’s financials. We can only guess as to what level of truth this complaint holds, although Forbes suggests that the team is nowhere near as financially destitute as nay-sayers make them out to be.

I digress. Whether the team is financially stable or not, though, there is one uncontested truth to all of this- the Arizona Coyotes’ finances are talked about in the league more than any others’. Therefore, it would seem foolish- on the part of the league AND the franchise- to relocate the team to another city that isn’t guaranteed to be financially supportive of a franchise.

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But, but… Las Vegas has shown immense interest in becoming host to a team! Cry the fans who are pro-LV. Look at all the news reports! 

Funny thing about news- it may be informative, but it’s also fickle. Houston, Texas has a hockey-themed bar downtown- and during the playoffs, it was standing room only during practically every game. One could easily get hundreds of people to openly support the relocation of a franchise there- and the same could easily be said of any city, Las Vegas included. Using the ‘popular support’ for a franchise in the Nevada city as a valid argument for relocating the Coyotes is uninformed and, quite frankly, a little ridiculous. Looking at the finances instead, there’s really no evidence to suggest that LV would be a more financially stable home for the ‘Yotes- especially since the city has no sports franchises presently to use as a financial precedent.

Moving on. 

2. The Timeline Doesn’t Match Up.

Apr. 4, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA; Phoenix Coyotes left wing Rob Klinkhammer (36) takes the ice prior to the game against the Detroit Red Wings at Jobing.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

In a follow-up article done by The Score’s Ian Maclaren, he suggested that one reason the Coyotes might move would be the team’s ability to use an ‘out clause’ to relocate after three years in Glendale- which, were that true, would put the team’s ability to relocate right in line with the rumored date for a Las Vegas franchise to be added.

Of course, Craig Morgan of Fox Sports AZ cleared that up pretty quickly, but I still don’t think that everyone got a good look at what he said. Let me show you-

He then followed up by explaining exactly when, and how, the franchise could leave Glendale-

This doesn’t even involve selling the team or obtaining league approval for the move. Based on this, the Coyotes are unable to opt out of their lease agreement with the city of Glendale and Gila River Arena until the end of the 2017-2018 season. Since all these rumors are putting a franchise in Las Vegas by 2016, this seems… well, you do the math.

3. ICE Arizona Hasn’t Mentioned a Sale

Oct 3, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA; Members of Ice Arizona, the Phoenix Coyotes ownership group, pose prior to the game against the New York Rangers at Jobing.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Personally, I’m more for league expansion than relocation- I think that the league could handle two more franchises within the next five years. Four franchises in the next two years? Not so much… but two franchises in five years? Absolutely.

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Putting that aside, though, all the reports floating around have made it seem like Las Vegas is just waiting on an owner to bring the franchise to the West Coast- it would seem that if ICE Arizona was willing to let the team head out of the state, we would have heard chatter about this by now. Sales of franchises, particularly those who aren’t financially independent, aren’t quick and simple affairs. If the Coyotes were headed elsewhere, we undoubtedly would have heard about it by now- just look at Carolina. Even if the team stays put, we’ve at least heard speculation that the owner is looking to sell.

Additionally, the team has signed multiple blockbuster partnership agreements in recent years. All evidence suggests that the team is making a real effort to grow some roots where they are- I don’t see a rumor changing that.

The league hasn’t even confirmed the rumors floating around. According to a report by Fox Sports on August 27th, the league continues to insist that talks of expansion are still just that- talks.

Apr 13, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Phoenix Coyotes right wing David Moss (18) celebrates with defenseman Brandon Gormley (33), defenseman Zbynek Michalek (4), center Jeff Halpern (14) and left wing Martin Erat (10) after scoring the game winning goal in the third period against the Dallas Stars at Jobing.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

League Commissioner Gary Bettman may be no one’s favorite person in the hockey community, but he’s been at least marginally open about his talks with cities regarding expansion. Here’s what we know-

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  • The league has received some level of significant interest from multiple cities regarding expansion. This has included Seattle, Kansas City, Quebec City, Madison, and Las Vegas, according to Fox Sports.
  • Bettman has gone to Seattle to further talks of putting a team in Washington, but the lack of solid plans regarding an arena are holding the city back
  • The league has no imminent plans to move a team to any of the cities interested at the moment- should a city get all their affairs in order, the league’s Board of Governors will begin discussions of putting a team in the city in question. At the moment, though, no city seems ready for a team- and the league does not plan on expanding in a ‘piecemeal’ manner.

So, there you have it. Feel free to call me crazy, feel free to tell me I’m biased, feel free to tell me I’m totally right. I’ll try and keep you updated- but for now, let’s just continue counting down to October.

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