Getty Cheerleaders at the final home game of the Arizona Coyotes
The league announced on Thursday, April 18, that the NHL’s Board of Governors had approved the establishment of a franchise in Utah with the new team starting to play in the league next season, as documented by Heavy’s Emma Lingan.
Just one day earlier, on Wednesday, the Coyotes played their final game of the season in Arizona, a 5–2 win over playoff-bound Edmonton Oilers. While that was a meaningless win in the context of the season, it was a massive coup for a team on the verge of leaving the desert forever.
A final goodbye to the Arizona Coyotes 🫡
It was an emotional night for Coyotes players, team personnel, and fans. It was, also, quite a moving evening for the folks in the broadcasting booth who bid a heartful farewell to the only franchise they’ve known in the desert.
Before the puck drop, the Coyotes’ local broadcast team, including pre-game host Todd Walsh and color analyst Tyson Nash, was showing more than their fair share of emotion while sharing their memories and thoughts with their now-gone audience.
“This is not how we wanted it to end,” Walsh said. “But the passion and dedication you’ve shown, even in the toughest of times, is something I’ll always remember. You are the heartbeat of this franchise.”
Todd Walsh Turned into an Arizona Coyotes Icon Off the Ice
Before the puck drop, the Coyotes’ local broadcast team was showing more than their fair share of emotion, including pre-game host Todd Walsh and color analyst Tyson Nash.
Walsh has broadcast more than 2,000 games and Nash played for the Coyotes from 2003 through 2006 before re-joining the franchise as a broadcaster on radio and TV in 2008. Walsh visibly struggled to hold back tears as he said goodbye to the only NHL team he’s ever known.
A final goodbye to the Arizona Coyotes 🫡
“No matter what happens, Arizona will always be our home,” Walsh said. “The Coyotes belong to you, the fans. Never forget that.”
The crowd couldn’t have enjoyed Walsh’s speech anymore judging by the reaction coming from the stands. Waslh’s message was heard inside the arena and the crowd reacted with chants of “Todd! Todd! Todd!” after listening to his voice for nearly three full decades since the Coyotes joined the NHL in 1996 following the relocation of the Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix 28 years ago.
Arizona & Coyotes Hockey Impact on the NHL Landscape
The pair of commentators discussed Toronto Maple Leafs’ star Auston Matthews, who grew up in Arizona and still lives there during the offseason, as part of their talk about the impact of hockey in Arizona and what the state has given hockey back.
“[Matthews] still lives locally, still has a home here in the Valley,” Nash revealed, “and he is absolutely heartbroken by the news.”
“This hits not just locally. It has tentacles, doesn’t it?”, asked Walsh. That led to Nash’ opinion on the whole relocation story and the franchise moving to Utah before the sale became official a day later.
“This is awful. This is everywhere. This is absolutely gut-wrenching, heartbreaking,” Nash said. “Best city in the world–I can’t say it enough.
“I’m absolutely in shock. And possibly, we have lost our hockey team. That was a gift. The NHL gave us a gift here in Arizona. And we possibly just lost it.
“We did good,” Nash told Walsh when the host asked him about their run together in the booth for the past 20-plus years of Coyotes hockey. “I’m on the brink of tears, I can tell you that. 22 years, buddy. You a lot longer.”
“A lifetime,” Walsh replied. “And it gave me a purpose, I know that.”
There Might be a Future For Hockey in Arizona
As documented by Heavy right before the sale became official, the NHL has given now-former Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo a five-year span “to secure a new arena in Arizona, at which point he could be granted a new team via expansion.”
Meruelo will remain in Arizona and he will attempt to close a deal with the state to secure land for a new arena and bring the NHL back to the desert, which the NHL is interested in doing as the league has always viewed the state as good one for one of its franchises.
“The NHL’s belief in Arizona has never wavered,” Bettman said in the announcement of the sale, as documented by Lingan at Heavy. “We thank Alex Meruelo for his commitment to the franchise and Arizona, and we fully support his ongoing efforts to secure a new home in the desert for the Coyotes.
“We also want to acknowledge the loyal hockey fans of Arizona, who have supported their team with dedication for nearly three decades while growing the game.”