In a recent players poll by The Athletic, Arizona ranked third as the most preferred destination for the next state or city to get an NHL expansion team.
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Of 118 responses from anonymous players, Arizona received 15 votes, finishing behind Houston (48) and Quebec City, Canada (25).
Players in the poll were mainly positive about a potential NHL return to Arizona, with one player calling for a new team to be closer to the metro Phoenix area.
“It’s a great spot — just Glendale had nothing,” one player said. “Like, everything was in Scottsdale. If they could put something closer to downtown, I think it should go back there. I think everyone enjoyed going there.”
Several players listed location as an important decision to make when it comes to the NHL returning to Arizona.
“Do it the right way: Put the arena in the right part of (Phoenix), and I think you’d have an NHL hotspot,” another player said.
Arizona previously hosted the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes for 27 seasons (1996-2024). The Coyotes played at then-America West Arena (now Mortgage Matchup Center) for seven seasons before moving to Glendale Arena (now Desert Diamond Arena) in 2003.
The Coyotes then moved to Mullett Arena in Tempe in 2022 for their final two seasons in Arizona under former owner Alex Meruelo. The team’s move to Tempe came after the team was pushed out of a lease of the then-Gila River Arena.
After Meruelo’s ownership group lost a public vote on a plot of land in Tempe to build a new arena and entertainment district in 2023, the team was sold in April 2024 to Utah Jazz owners Ryan and Ashley Smith. The team was then relocated to Salt Lake City. It has since been rebranded as the Utah Mammoth.
In December 2025, members of an advisory panel were named as part of a group that’s focused on bringing an NHL franchise back to Arizona. The panel is chaired by Andrea Doan, the wife of long-time Arizona Coyotes captain Shane Doan.
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