Thursday, April 18, 2024, is a day that Arizona Coyotes fans will remember forever until a team returns to the Valley of the Sun. As the Utah Hockey Club is thriving in ways the Coyotes couldn’t imagine, newly elected Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas Galvin broke the silence.
“In his acceptance speech, he made a number of points, sort of an outline what he’d be focusing on, and one of those things was forming an advisory committee of politicians and business leaders and probably people from other walks as well to try and bring the National Hockey League back to Arizona,” said Craig Morgan via the Puck Drop Podcast. “We all know the story, right? We all know the Coyotes are gone to Utah.”
Related: Utah Is Thriving in Ways Coyotes Never Dreamed Of
This news has surprised the hockey world, and it’s no secret why: it came out of nowhere. We’ll dive deeper into this later, but while this is a building block for hockey’s return to the desert, it’s similar to the boy who cried wolf. Don’t get too excited, and stay cautious, as this story is still very fluid, and several other factors must occur before we jump to any conclusion. A team won’t magically appear tomorrow; it doesn’t work like that.
Who Exactly is Thomas Galvin?
This is the first time many are hearing of Thomas Galvin, and that’s not a surprise. Many even questioned where he was six months ago when the Coyotes desperately needed political support. As Morgan mentioned, Galvin was recently appointed Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chairman, which puts him at the top of the ladder regarding leadership in District Two. Maricopa County is the fourth largest county in the United States, with a population of over 4.4 million people.
“Tom Galvin has been a supporter of this franchise for a very long time, and in his position, he’s with District Two, but now the chair, he tried to facilitate some things, you know, with county islands, which are real opportunity areas in this state [Arizona] there, they litter the valley, so there’s all sorts of possibilities there. For some reason, I don’t know why, Alex Meruelo and Xavier Gutierrez really didn’t give him the time of day they should have because they obviously faced a lot of political opposition,” said Morgan. “This was a politician that was willing to help.”
“I am a fan of hockey, I’m a fan of sports and I’m a fan of the Valley. I want to express a lot of support for Coyotes fans who are hurting right now. I think it’s a shame that people were gleeful in the demise of this project just because they like to take shots at an organization or a sport,” said Galvin. “I have a lot of respect for hockey. I have a lot of respect for hockey fans and I think hockey is great for the Valley. I want to see it stay here for decades to come.”
With Galvin in the mix, a lot of shots could be coming from his desk. With the comments about his desire for a hockey team in the desert, Coyotes fans should be excited, but optimistically excited, as nothing is set in stone. In fact, they still have a long road ahead of them; they still don’t have an advisory committee formed yet, but that’s in the distant future. After that, you can look at a potential ownership group, which many have jumped the gun and theorized who that could be (or group, doubtful but possible).
Many have assumed Coyotes legend Shane Doan would be involved, and it’s very plausible considering the impact he made (and still makes) on hockey in Arizona. Again, this is one of many questions, almost like a jigsaw puzzle, that we won’t know until more details are released.
Is There An Ownership Timeline?
The Coyotes have had great ownership throughout their franchise’s history, right? Right? This is sarcasm; the Coyotes have had some of the worst ownership tenures throughout their existence, and each group made one mistake after another, creating a domino effect of problems.
“In Arizona, we know what the issue was. The original sin was Steven Ellman building an arena in Glendale when co-owner Richard Burke told him it’s not going to work out there, and it created all sorts of revenue issues for the team that they were never able to get out from under,” said Morgan. “When you look at the demographics of the valley, nothing’s changed over the past 20-30 years. The population base of the city lives on the east side, the corporate base of the city lives on the east side. Anywhere from 66% to 75% of your premium season ticket holders or suite holders are on the east side of town.”
Glendale, then to a possible Tempe site, then to Mullett for two seasons, then an auction that never took place in North Phoenix. We’ve all heard how that story ends. We all know it has the same ending, even though we see through the mistakes and false promises everyone who touched the franchise made.
Now, what about an ownership group? Of course, this is the most critical aspect of bringing the Coyotes back. We could skip this part and pull a Green Bay Packers, where the people own the team, but we know that won’t happen (though it would make for a great movie). An ownership group takes time, and it most definitely won’t happen overnight, especially in a market like Arizona.
“This is so preliminary; he hasn’t even announced the names yet of this committee. Some of them he’s still talking to, but he’s still forming that committee. I talked to him later that night, and he said that he hopes to form it soon, but I think it’s fairly obvious some of the names that should be on this committee like we can all think of one right off the top of our heads, and that’s Shane Doan,” said Morgan. “I’m certain that these two can get together and talk, so we’ll see where that goes.”
So, the hunt for an advising committee has commenced, which, as Galvin said, could be formed soon, but finding an ownership group could take months.
Arena Talk…Again?
Ah, we meet again at last. Since the Coyotes were born, there has been some arena talk that it’s in their DNA to have issues. So, what should we expect as we enter this uncertain time? Most fans can piece this together, but the NHL will not return to Arizona without an arena plan or shovels in the ground. They won’t be doing a Mullett Arena situation where they sit and wait; NHL commissioner Gary Bettman won’t play that rodeo again.
“Please stop asking us if they’re going back to Glendale; it’s an emphatic no,” said Morgan, laughing. “Please stop asking me if they could just play in Glendale. Also, stop asking me if Matt Ibisha is going to buy this team; he’s not. He’s not interested in owning a hockey team. They’re not going to be playing at Footprint, so drop that too.”
That then drops nearly every single established arena in the Phoenix metro area. That then means they’ll be building their arena. They’ll look to build a state-of-the-art arena somewhere where season ticket holders can get to games regularly and the fanbase in general. You’d think they would’ve figured that out by now, but clearly they haven’t.
That’s where county islands come into play, and with Galvin as Chairman directing the show, it is very plausible they go this route. For those wondering (including myself about a week ago), what is a county island? In simple terms, a county island is a piece of land that is surrounded by a city or town but is not part of that city or town. Instead, it is governed by the county. An example would be a neighborhood in Phoenix surrounded by Scottsdale, which is a county island governed by Maricopa County, not Scottsdale’s services.
“Talk to me when we have an actual ownership group in place and an arena plan. I don’t know when those are going to come about,” said Morgan. “The only honest answer, the unsexy answer, is we don’t know.”
Unsexy indeed, but with the help of Galvin now, it certainly opens up more doors than closes them, and sometimes you need one to open to have an endless amount of possibilities.
Excited vs. Caution: Where Should Coyotes Fans Lean?
This is good news; don’t get it twisted. It’s not a step back, but it’s not a gigantic step forward either. The team won’t have an arena built tomorrow; this will take lots of patience. So, where should Coyotes fans fall? Eternally optimistic, or not have any expectations at all? A mix of both is ideal; it’s good not to ride the highs too high or the lows too low, but rather stay comfortable in the middle.
“There are at least two groups that are pursuing this; how far along they are, it’s hard to say,” said Morgan. “You hear rosy outlooks from some people, and then you hear caution from other people. “
After seeing disappointment time after time, it’s easy not to let this small bit get you over the moon excited, but it’s a step in the right direction. It was quite unexpected, but it’s a positive to make of what was quite a negative 2024 for the Coyotes. With this breaking in January 2025, you have to wonder what December 2025 looks like; there are just so many questions. No one knows, and it’s quite fascinating.
“I would caution people about getting overly excited about this. It’s okay to be optimistic, it’s okay to have hope, but I think I’ve read some narratives out there that, ‘oh they finally have political support,’ well this isn’t a change, really.” said Morgan. “Tom Galvin has always been a supporter of the Coyotes, as have other politicians. The trick will be getting other leaders on board, that’s been the problem all along. So, I wouldn’t say it’s a major shift, but it’s good to have someone in a position of power and influence spearheading this thing.”
So Many Questions, Yet Little Answers
I wish I had a genie in front of me, and one of my three wishes would be what the Coyotes’ future looks like in, let’s say, a decade. Seriously though, nobody knows what’s going to happen. Whether that be in a day, week, or a year, nobody has a clue. As Morgan has said, though, this is a positive, but we should all be wary of how excited this gets us because there is still a long road ahead that’ll likely have lots of bumps and obstacles.
