OffThePost.org

Yep.

According to Mike Johnston at NHL Network (and former Coyote), at this point if the Coyotes even win the auction, it's gonna be three years minimum before the new rink is ready, meaning they'll have been at Mullett for a total of five years. The league more or less promised a minimum of two to three. No way is the PA down with that. The other owners can't possibly be either.

So the team gets sold/relocated and then Meruelo buys an expansion franchise for a hefty amount (he'll likely get a discount but it'll still be a big number) that's a lot of money the league stands to rake in. Everyone wins!

Interesting. I guess the buyer gets a good deal on the Coyotes, knowing they'll lose the existing fan base when the new Coyotes resurrect. And they're getting a pretty shitty team. But an NHL team, none the less.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

According to Craig S. Morgan:

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Zona won their last game at the Mullett. Some crazy bits:

Owner Alex Meruelo didn't show.
Shane Doan's banner was still in Glendale and some fan brought it to him.
They played James Brown's "I Feel Good" after the final whistle.

A dysfunctional trainwreck organization till the end, but I feel for the actual hockey fans of Arizona, who do exist and will now have to wait and see if Meruelo can get an arena built for an expansion team. He won't, but they have to do this to prevent him from suing the league for basically taking his team from him.

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It was even worse than that. They left the banner at Gila River Arena and when the city or whoever went in to clean it out they contacted the Coyotes to come and get it and NO ONE responded, so they threw it in the trash. It was fished out of the dumpster by that fan.

League has no one but themselves to blame for this mess. They just kept trying to prop up a failed franchise and eventually got in bed with a total moron with much more money than sense…and it’s been widely reported he doesn’t have nearly as much money as he claims.

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Posting your political views on social media is like sticking your head up your ass & whispering: You're just as likely to change someone's mind, and you'll always come out looking like a shithead.

Didn’t really see it but by all accounts the Meruelo/Bettman press conference was cringier than the “Scott’s Tots” episode of The Office. The NHL desperately wants to be in Arizona but you’ll never convince me they want Meruelo to spearhead the effort. No way in hell does he make that timeline when he can’t even fucking pay his hotel bills.

I think there's maybe a one per cent chance Meruelo gets that arena done. NHL did their part to avoid a legal battle, now it's Alex's turn to prove he's not a complete fuckup.

Once he's out of the picture, Atlanta, Houston and Phoenix can find real owners to fight over the next two expansion spots.

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