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Two re-emergent sports cities are certainly on the table in the quest to relocate the Coyotes: and both have history with the NHL. PIC: NJ Devils
While the Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights are preparing for the Stanley Cup Finals, the Arizona Coyotes still have a sizable predicament on their hands: where will they call home in the future?
To recap our last feature, voters in Tempe, AZ overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to build a new facility for the Arizona Coyotes, who are in dire need of a new venue after playing the last season in Arizona State's Mullett Arena. Although brand new and minted as "some of the best ice in the NHL," Mullet's capacity of under 6,000 is not nearly enough to hold a once-mighty fanbase.
We evaluated Houston and Hartford in the last article. Let's look into the viability of two other major sports market: Kansas City and Portland.
Kansas City, Missouri
It's a fact mostly only known by Devils fans, but the origins of New Jersey's only franchise run through the City of Fountains.
Head back to 1967. The NHL had started its first-ever major expansion period; although they had added teams in the past, the endeavor starting in 1967 saw the league nearly triple its teams from the Original Six that competed for 25 years. KCMO was one of the last of the 7-year period to be awarded a franchise, and the Kansas City Scouts took the ice for the first time in 1974.
But early promise turned to dread. After starting off the 1975-76 season competing for a playoff spot, the Scouts proceeded to go winless from December 30th to February 4th, losing 16 games in the process. Attendance tanked, coaches were turned over routinely, the ownership was described as "undercapitalized," and the Midwest economy started to ramp down. So, a sale it was - a Denver-based group led by oil tycoon Jack Vickers broke out the checkbooks and turned the Scouts to the Colorado Rockies. It wasn't much better for Denver, though; then-head coach Don Cherry essentially held the door open for the team to be sold yet again, this time to become the New Jersey Devils. They've called Newark home since.
So what's changed in Kansas City since then, you ask? For one, they are home to one of the sports world's biggest investors in other leagues - all while being an active player himself - Patrick Mahomes. While it's unclear if he would get involved in an NHL franchise, he's already a minority stakeholder in the KC Royals (MLB), Sporting KC (MLS), and the KC Current (NWSL). It seems like the writing is on the wall, and he'll even tell you the same, per Twitter:
Portland, Oregon
Portland is deceptively one of the largest cities in the Pac Northwest, and it's been floated around that they'd be in the hunt for some sort of expansion team. Many thought it'd be baseball when the MLB eventually decides to expand. Many thought a football team might make sense, creating an instant rivalry with the Seahawks. But it is growing more likely that Portland's best chance to expand is an NHL team.
Of course, in recent years, the Pac Northwest has been a hotbed for hockey; most notably at the NHL level. The Seattle Kraken took America (and maybe some of Canada) by storm when they won their first-ever playoff series just a few weeks ago in April 2023, and you'd never have known their fanbase was merely a few years old. The Vancouver Canucks faced their troubles with the Bruce Boudreau saga this season, but their fanbase remains unwavering in their support of British Columbia's home team. How does an instant rivalry sound with Seattle, or even a Canadian team like Vancouver? Pretty tasty to me.
From a logistical perspective, the Moda Center could easily accommodate a hockey game, where it most recently held the WHL's Portland Winterhawks juniors team until 2021. Portland's history with hockey, although less recent than Kansas City's, can't be written off, either; the Portland Rosebuds were one of very few American teams that played for the Stanley Cup in the 1910's.
The Kraken proved that a large, sports-loving city can thrive in the Pac Northwest. Why not Portland?
A capture of the original Portland Rosebuds. PIC: Oregon Historical Society