The saga at Gila River Arena for the Arizona Coyotes was one every team would like to avoid. From countless relocation rumors to false accusations, it wasn’t smooth sailing. After moving out, they needed a new place to play, where fans could easily commute and one that would be far more electric than Gila River Arena. That’s when it was announced Mullett Arena would be the next home for the Coyotes on a year-to-year basis, though the contract expires after the 2024-25 season.
“We’re very grateful that ASU allowed us to be on their campus,” Coyotes president & CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez said. “It’s been great from the business perspective, what you saw last year was Mullett magic. Not only did we have the eighth-best record in the NHL in terms of a home record, and the best home record that we’d had in a very, very long time but off the ice, we had the highest ticket revenue we’d ever had.”
Related: Coyotes Proving Arena Size Doesn’t Matter
Of course, it isn’t typical for an NHL franchise to have just 4,600 seats as their capacity, but it’s providing a tremendous spark leading to wins.
The Stats Alone
There seems to have been no end to the Coyotes’ ridicule around the NHL for what seems like an eternity. Most of that is due to the on-ice disappointment and poor management decisions of the past. However, the tide is swaying, and the record at Mullett Arena backs up how it’s been one of, if not the best, home-ice advantage throughout the entire league.
Looking in the rearview mirror at last season, most remember it being another rebuilding season and seeing the Coyotes finishing in the bottom half of the standings. Despite that, in their first season at Mullett Arena, they were a staggering 21-15-5. Putting that in perspective, the team only won 28 games throughout the 82-game season. Thus, 75 percent of their wins came at home, which says a lot about how it impacts the players every game.
This season, there was speculation if this would carry over to 2023-24. It’s safe to say from the glimpse we’ve gotten so far it has. The Coyotes are 12-6-0 in their home games, and it’s a testament to the product on the ice and the atmosphere in the arena. Those 12 wins tie them for seventh best in the entire NHL, and they have more wins at home than Stanley Cup contenders such as the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes.
The nickname Mullett Magic has seemingly caught on to the entire NHL fandom, and it’s been one of the most electric arenas this season.
Mullett Arena is Not a Permanent Solution, But Providing Spark
Of course, when it comes to how long the Coyotes will be playing there, it won’t be forever. They can’t permanently stay in a 4,600 arena. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t be electric, right? Mullett Arena has slowly become one of the best home ices in the entire NHL, and the atmosphere every night shows that. As mentioned, the record inside the building is one of the best in the NHL, and it’s truly been a phenomenon since the team started playing there last season.
“It’s not a 20,000 seat arena, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t have a good atmosphere, and it can’t be a fun place to play, and it can’t be a hard place for a visiting team to come in and play. Everybody on the team enjoys playing there,” forward Travis Boyd said last season via Coyotes senior writer Patrick Brown. “When we’re at Mullett and we’re going, we’re buzzin, we get the crowd into it, and you feel that home-ice advantage, which maybe we didn’t feel all that much last year.”
The team is starting to find multitudes of success, and it’s hard not to look at Mullett Arena as one of the driving factors.
Playing Good At Home Will Determine Coyotes’ Season
The Coyotes have seen most of their wild comebacks come at home, such as against the Ottawa Senators erasing a three-goal deficit, or more recently, coming back from four down against the Colorado Avalanche. If they can continue their home-ice success, we may be watching meaningful games down the stretch at Mullett Arena, which is exactly what general manager Bill Armstrong wanted before the season started.
