the point is: AZ is a dead city for a performing Hockey team. why do you think AZ been terrible since their creation ? i have nothing to the people there, but it's a terrible city for hockey
Arizona is a hard place for a terrible hockey team. But when the team performs, the fans respond. I always get a kick out of the perspectives of people who have never been to a game in Arizona, or who base their perspectives on context-deprived photos or footage. When the Coyotes went on their run to the Western Conference Final in 2012, it took about half the season for the fans to be convinced that the team wasn't going to fall flat on its face (again). But once they showed they were for real, the fans responded. You may ask, "Why did they need convincing?" How about two truly good seasons in the space of nearly
twenty years?
Having said that, there are only two or three NHL markets in existence right now that would still pack the seats with fans after what the Coyotes franchise has been through over the past decade-plus. The city is a great place for hockey at all levels. What it may not be is a good city for a franchise like the Coyotes, which has been mismanaged by a long, unbroken string of bad actors such as Wayne "Friends of" Gretzky, Jerry "Writeoff For My Trucking Company" Moyes, the incredible conglomeration of small-timers and hustlers known as IceArizona, and even the league itself.
The Coyotes will probably end up moving to Houston or somewhere else. I can't imagine them convincing another Arizona city to provide subsidy handouts like Glendale did. But it should be perfectly clear to anyone with any mental acuity whatsoever that, had Arizona had the benefit of Las Vegas' start (a ticket drive, a well-managed expansion process, and adequate market prep) rather than inheriting a homeless Canadian team that was subsequently kicked around like a deflated soccer ball by everyone involved with it, this team wouldn't be the sad sack that it has been for so long.
