NHLPA boss Walsh 'extremely disappointed' in Coyotes brass
NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh went nuclear on Arizona Coyotes ownership and management Friday for their repeated arena project failures and a lack of communication with the union.
"I have serious concern(s) about Arizona," Walsh said during a press conference at the All-Star festivities in Toronto.
"I'm extremely disappointed in the ownership of Arizona (and) the (team) president. They have not reached out to the (NHLPA) to talk to us about what the situation in Arizona is."
NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh did not mince words in his press conference today when he spoke about the Arizona Coyotes: pic.twitter.com/cSvJCrZOMu
- Leah Merrall (@leahmerrall) February 2, 2024
Walsh noted the Coyotes have missed two unofficial deadlines to advance an arena project.
"It's not just about buying a piece of land, it's like, OK ... how long will it take you to permit the land? Does the land need a referendum? Is there hazardous waste? Do you need to remediate the land? There's lots of questions. So you can talk about buying land in Arizona, and it can be 10 years before a shovel goes in the ground.
"As far as I'm concerned, that's unacceptable on behalf of the players on that team, and it should be unacceptable for the league."
Walsh also took aim at the Coyotes for having to play at Mullett Arena, an NCAA facility that primarily hosts the Arizona State Sun Devils.
"The league feels that Arizona is a good market for hockey, and I can understand that," Walsh said, according to The Athletic's Mark Lazerus. "The issue I have, and the players have, is how long do you wait to get a home? They're playing in a college arena, they're the second tenant in that arena. I'm not criticizing the league for this, this is the team.
"This is not the way to run a business. (Look) at what happened with the (Oakland) A's moving allegedly to Vegas. Leagues are making sure that teams are investing in their facilities. And in this particular case, we have a 5,100-seat college arena that doesn't sell out every night."
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said Friday the league has no active plans to expand despite recent interest from Utah. But Walsh made it clear that relocating the Coyotes to the Beehive State would "absolutely" be supported by the players if Arizona has no plan in place by the end of this season.
Shortly after Walsh's remarks, the Coyotes expressed a vague desire to stay put while notably referring to a hopeful comment from Bettman about team owner Alex Meruelo rather than anything Walsh said.
We are fully committed to Arizona & hope to share exciting news with all of you soon. Arizona is home & the future is incredibly bright here. https://t.co/aGemICtfxG
- Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) February 2, 2024
The Coyotes have explored opportunities in Mesa, Phoenix, and Tempe, but none of them have panned out. They started playing at Mullett Arena last season and are signed on to play there through 2024-25 with an option for the following campaign.
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