Every team has a rival. Whether the rivalry is born in the playoffs or just because of location, it’s an aspect for every team in the NHL. In the East, you have the classic examples of the New York Rangers and the New York Islanders, the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Tampa Bay Lightning with the Florida Panthers. In the West, you have the San Jose Sharks and the Vegas Golden Knights, the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks, and the Edmonton Oilers with the Calgary Flames.
However, the Arizona Coyotes don’t have one of those fierce rivalries that are known league-wide. Perhaps the lack of recent playoff appearances plays a factor in that. Maybe it’s the fact that the nearest NHL team to them is four and a half hours away. So, who is the biggest rival to the Coyotes? There are definitely some candidates.
Nashville Predators
The Nashville Predators are sort of like the Coyotes as they don’t have a well-established rival. However, the two teams do have a history in the playoffs. They have met in the playoffs twice, both meetings happening in the past 15 years. The two first met in the 2012 Playoffs after the Coyotes took out the Chicago Blackhawks in the first round while the Predators took out the Detroit Red Wings. The home team won the first two games in Glendale with both games being decided by only one goal, including Ray Whitney scoring the OT winner in Game 1. The Predators took the first game in Nashville, which ended up being the only game in the whole series where the winning team won by more than one goal. The Coyotes then shut out the Predators in Game 4 and won the series in Game 5, advancing to the Western Conference Final for the first time in franchise history.
The two didn’t meet again until the Coyotes’ next playoff appearance in 2020 in the play-in round. The Coyotes squeaked out a 4-3 win in Game 1 with Darcy Kuemper making 40 saves. Game 2 saw the opposing team even the series. Game 3 was the biggest win in the series with the Coyotes winning 4-1, giving them a 2-1 series lead and putting the Predators on the brink of elimination. The Coyotes finished the job and eliminated the Predators thanks to a God-like performance from Kuemper with 49 saves and Brad Richardson scoring the OT winner.
The two have had some fierce meetings more recently as well. The two faced off in the Coyotes’ final game at Gila River Arena. In front of a near sold-out crowd, the Predators quickly jumped out to a four-goal lead in the first period. However, the hometown team slowly came back and scored five straight goals, including two goals scored by Shayne Gostisbehere to win the final game in Glendale.
The two teams are now division rivals as well after the Coyotes were moved to the Central Division in 2021. Interestingly enough, the Coyotes have a winning record in their all-time stats against the Predators (38-30-2-12). It’s definitely worth arguing that the two have an intense rivalry and with the two teams in the same division now, fans very well might see the two clash in the playoffs again.
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche might be a very underrated enemy to the Coyotes. While at first glance it might not look like much of a rivalry, there’s much more than meets the eye.
To look at the history between the two, you’ll have to go all the way back to the 2000 Playoffs. The Coyotes were in their fourth season in Arizona and made the playoffs for the fourth straight year, the longest playoff streak the team has had. However, the Coyotes wouldn’t have any luck in the playoffs facing the Avalanche. They blew the Coyotes out in Game 1 and won Games 2 and 3 as well. The Coyotes avoided the sweep by winning Game 4 with Sean Burke practically standing on his head, putting up a .947 save percentage. However, the Avalanche ruined any glimmer of hope by winning 2-1 in Game 5, eliminating the Coyotes.
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The Coyotes and the Avalanche didn’t meet in the playoffs again until the 2019-20 season when the two met in the first round of the bubble playoffs. Fresh off eliminating Nashville and winning their first playoff round since 2012, the Coyotes weren’t ready for the offensive juggernaut of Nathan MacKinnon and company. They shut the Coyotes out in Game 1 and won a close Game 2. The Coyotes won Game 3 thanks to a stellar performance from Kuemper who had 49 saves. Unfortunately for them, Game 3 was as good as it got as the Avalanche blew out the team 7-1 in both Games 4 and 5, eliminating the Coyotes from the playoffs once again.
While the two haven’t had the most competitive playoff series, they’ve had some close and competitive games. Obviously, there are the aforementioned games in the playoffs but the 2018-19 season was another example but in the regular season. The Coyotes and the Avalanche were battling for the final wild-card spot in the West. The final stretch of games included a game in the final stretch of the season on March 29. It was a tight game that saw the Coyotes come back from a 2-0 deficit with Oliver Ekman-Larsson scoring two goals in the third period. They had put up 44 shots that game and forced it all the way to the shootout where MacKinnon scored the game-winner. The Avalanche forced a game into OT against the Winnipeg Jets a couple of games later, clinching a playoff spot, and eliminating the Coyotes from playoff contention.
The two teams are only located 12 hours away via car (two hours via plane) which gives them somewhat of a geographic rivalry. The Coyotes have a tight record against the Avalanche all-time as well going 61-61-12-14. The two also now play in the same division which will be fun to see once the Coyotes get competitive in the next couple of years. While 2020 gave us a taste of what this rivalry could be like, it will only get better as they transition into a contending team.
Los Angeles Kings
The Kings might sound like one of the most ideal rivals to the Coyotes thanks to their distance away from each other. While the two haven’t had the longest history with each other, there has been some friction between them.
Their first and only meeting in the playoffs happened in 2012. The Coyotes made it to the Western Conference Final for the first time in franchise history while the Kings were there for the first time in a long time. Like the Coyotes, the Kings weren’t expected to be on the doorstep of the Stanley Cup Final after making it into the playoffs as the eighth seed. Unfortunately for the Coyotes, it wasn’t their opponent’s Cinderella run that ended. The Kings continued their dominance as they won the first three games of the series with only Game 3 being relatively close. The Coyotes avoided the sweep by winning Game 4 and forcing Game 5 in Glendale. In a back-and-forth game where no team had anything more than a one-goal lead, Keith Yandle scored the final goal in regulation time to force the game into OT but Dustin Penner ended the home team’s season.
Interestingly enough, the Coyotes have a winning record against the Kings all time (121-90-25-11). Via car, the two teams are five and a half hours away from each other (an hour and a half via plane) which makes the Kings one of the closest teams to them. The unfortunate thing is that the Coyotes are no longer in the Pacific Division after being moved to the Central Division in 2021. While this now makes it less likely that we’ll see a playoff rematch between the two, the Coyotes and the Kings definitely have the potential to make some sort of rivalry as the Coyotes become more competitive.
Winnipeg Jets
While the Coyotes and the Jets don’t have the playoff history or the geological distance to form some sort of rivalry, the two have something in common that no other team has. The original Winnipeg Jets were moved from Winnipeg to Phoenix to become the Coyotes. A move that a lot of Jets fans still don’t take lightly. After Winnipeg got their team back after the Atlanta Thrashers relocated to Manitoba, it wasn’t long until there were some intense games between the two teams.
The first game that comes to mind is the Coyotes’ return to Winnipeg in 2011. They were violently booed by the Winnipeg fans every time the team touched the puck with the exception of Shane Doan who was the only original Jet still playing on the Coyotes. The Jets beat the Coyotes 1-0 that game.
The two played another big game in 2019 when the Coyotes retired Doan’s number before a game against the Jets. It was one of the first sold-out games in Glendale since their playoff run in 2012 and they didn’t disappoint. The Coyotes won 4-1 with Kuemper posting a .971 save percentage. The team also opened their first season at Mullett Arena against the Jets where Christian Fischer scored the first two goals ever in the arena before letting their opponents score three straight goals including Blake Wheeler’s OT winner.
All time, the Coyotes have a 19-18-1-5 record against the Jets/Thrashers. I wouldn’t recommend driving to Winnipeg from Phoenix (especially in the wintertime) as it takes 28 hours via car to make it there (six hours via plane). The good news for this potential rivalry is that the two teams are now in the same division which helps increase the amount of games that they’ll play against each other. While it seems like the Jets are heading for a rebuild and the Coyotes are heading toward playoff aspirations, there’s still some animosity between them. We likely won’t get a playoff matchup for a while but when it does happen, it might be one of the most fun playoff matchups ever.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights might be one of the newest teams in the NHL but they have no shortage of rivalries already. The Sharks, Kings, Jets, Washington Capitals, and Dallas Stars all already have beef with the now seven-year-old team (thanks to their many playoff appearances) but the Coyotes might be next in line. Both teams come from the desert and both were expected to be failed experiments. While Vegas has had more success than the Coyotes with Finals appearances in 2018 and 2023 and Cup in the aforementioned year, they’ve shown that hockey does work in the desert.
The two haven’t had the best history as the Coyotes haven’t been great since the Golden Knights came into the league. The Golden Knights have had the better of the team in the short time with a record of 8-13-5 all-time including the Golden Knights taking down the Coyotes in their first-ever home game at T-Mobile Arena (although they won the most recent matchup with Clayton Keller scoring a hat trick). However, there are a couple of factors here that could blow up and start a rivalry.
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The first factor is the distance between the two cities. Vegas is just four and a half hours away from Phoenix (only an hour via plane) making the Golden Knights the closest NHL team to Phoenix. The second is what William Karlsson said at the Stanley Cup parade this past season about the Coyotes. It could make their next meeting on Nov. 25 one to look out for. While they might not be in the same division anymore, the duel in the desert could be the name of a new rivalry as the Coyotes get better.
Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks could be the biggest rivals of the Coyotes right now. While any form of a potential feud starts way back in the inaugural year for the Coyotes, the tale only gets more interesting as time goes on.
The Coyotes and the Ducks have met in the playoffs only once way back in their first season in Arizona. The Ducks welcomed the Coyotes to the playoffs by winning both Games 1 and 2 in Anaheim by identical scores of 4-2. They however came back and won their first-ever playoff game in Game 3. The Coyotes won the next two games as well putting their opponents on the verge of elimination. Coming back from 2-0 down in the second period, the Coyotes forced the game into OT. Unfortunately for them, Paul Kariya scored the OT winner sending the series to a decisive Game 7 in which the Ducks shut out the first-year playoff team to move on to the second round.
The tension hit an all-time high in 2022 during a late-season game. Trevor Zegras was attempting a Michigan-style goal when Coyotes’ goaltender Josef Korenar stopped it. He believed the puck was still loose and attempted to continue poking at Korenar. Jay Beagle crosschecked him and a scrum ensued ending with Beagle sending Troy Terry to the ice which gave him a gruesome makeover. Terry missed a game due to eye swelling which started the two sides making remarks off the ice including Zegras calling Beagle a coward and announcer Tyson Nash saying the Ducks deserved the physical retaliation. The beef didn’t end there as the next season saw Zegras stirring the pot again but this time with Troy Stecher. Zegras said something inappropriate to Stecher which started in another scrum that sent Zegras to the penalty box. With the history behind the two, there’s no doubt that the feud is ending anytime soon.
Anaheim like LA is not that far from Phoenix. It’s about a five-hour drive to the city (one and a half hours via plane). The Coyotes have a record of 63-70-5-13 vs. the Southern California team. Unfortunately for fans of the rivalry, they are no longer in the same division which has decreased the amount of games between the two. They’ll see each other three times this preseason but only twice in the regular season. Both are young rebuilding teams with bright futures ahead. A potential playoff matchup between these two teams who already dislike each other might be right around the corner.
Honorable Mention: Detroit Red Wings
The Coyotes and the Red Wings rivalry might’ve been the most intense in the early era of the Coyotes. The two teams met each other three times in the Coyotes’ history with the Red Wings winning all three series including Game 7 where the team blew out the Coyotes. The reason why the Red Wings are no longer a rival of the Coyotes is their move to the Eastern Conference. After playing in the Central Division, they moved to the Atlantic Division in 2013 ending any potential rivalry with the Coyotes due to the inability to meet in the playoffs unless both make the Stanley Cup Final.
Those are the biggest rivals currently for the Coyotes. The list could grow as the team gets better over time and gets more playoff experience. However, most of the aforementioned rivalries have started without or barely any playoff experiences with the Coyotes. While they might not have any widely recognized rivalries yet, the Coyotes definitely have some hatred from other teams in the league which is good for a growing team and their growing fanbase.
