Video: Coyotes Players, Employees Salute Fans Ahead of Rumored Salt Lake City Move

After their final game of the 2023-24 season, the Arizona Coyotes used the opportunity to acknowledge their team employees and fans ahead of the franchise's rumored move to Salt Lake City.

The Coyotes brought team employees onto the ice to join in the postgame celebration and acknowledge the fans in attendance at Mullett Arena following a 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.

Barry M. Bloom of Sportico reported Monday that the NHL executive committee approved the Coyotes' move to Utah. The vote will go to the board of governors for final approval.

Per Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet (h/t Josh Gold Smith of The Score), the league is expected to purchase the Coyotes for $1 billion from current owner Alex Meruelo and sell it to Utah Jazz governor Ryan Smith for $1.2 billion to move the franchise to Salt Lake City.

Friedman reported on April 12 that Coyotes players were informed of the move. Meruelo issued a statement on April 13 noting the organization is currently "unable to make any official public comments at this time," but he hopes to address the situation soon.

The franchise's attempts to build a new arena have failed. Voters in Tempe rejected a proposal for a $2.3 billion entertainment district in part because it likely would have cost taxpayers more than $500 million.

The Coyotes have been playing in the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena, which is home to Arizona State's men's hockey team, since 2022.

Amid all of the turmoil off the ice, the Coyotes were able to turn in their most successful season since they last made the playoffs in 2019-20. They finished the 2023-24 campaign with a 36-41-5 record. The 36 wins are their most in a season since 2018-19 (39-35-8).

The Coyotes have been playing in Arizona since the 1996-97 season after they relocated from Winnipeg. They were known as the Phoenix Coyotes for the first 17 seasons following the move before rebranding with Arizona prior to the 2014-15 season.