CALGARY — How do you put together your workforce for their possible closing sport in their home metropolis, simply days after you’ve realized it might be the top?

“How about I digest that one?” Arizona Coyotes head coach Andre Tourigny mentioned when requested. “We’ll figure that out. It’ll be a day off tomorrow, well-earned after that long trip and all the emotion.”

Tourigny and the Coyotes had simply completed their penultimate sport of the season, a 6-5 loss to the Calgary Flames on a mid-April Sunday night. Neither workforce was vying for a playoff spot. Instead, that sport might be marked as the start of the franchise’s closing week in Arizona.

It was revealed Wednesday that the NHL is making ready for the Coyotes’ potential relocation to Salt Lake City earlier than the 2024-25 NHL season. By Friday, Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong instructed his gamers that relocation was possible and that gamers may quickly go to their new home metropolis. Coyotes proprietor Alex Meruelo launched an announcement Saturday afternoon saying the workforce was targeted on a “myriad of issues that are unresolved” and couldn’t remark publicly on the workforce’s future.

“However, you have my commitment that I am going to speak on all of these issues and publicly address all of your concerns as promptly as possible,” Meruelo added.

The Coyotes spent the previous week taking part in out a five-game highway journey alongside the West Coast and thru Alberta, uncertain of their franchise’s destiny past subsequent season whereas attempting to complete their season robust. They accomplished the journey with a 3-2 document, together with extra time victories over the playoff-bound Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers.

“I think our guys showed a lot of character in the last week,” Tourigny mentioned.

Tourigny, nonetheless, declined to reply when requested how he felt the group dealt with the scenario.

“There’s lots of stuff going around the league with every team,” Coyotes ahead Alex Kerfoot mentioned. “There’s always distractions. There’s always stuff that’s going on in people’s minds. So, this is no different. We’ve played 80 games together. This one was no different. Just got to keep it professional out there, go about your business and try to win hockey games.”

Before Armstrong met with gamers on Friday, two different Coyotes gamers — Lawson Crouse and Clayton Keller — addressed the media about their workforce’s scenario earlier than taking part in the Edmonton Oilers later that evening.

“We saw it everywhere just like everyone,” Crouse mentioned. “We don’t know anything more than what everyone else is seeing.”

“We’ve just tried to focus on hockey,” Keller mentioned. “Since I’ve played in Arizona, there’s always been a lot of rumors and stuff like that. So, I think, we’ll try to do as best as we can to focus on hockey.

“Throughout this whole time, there hasn’t been a ton of discussion on what’s going on, I guess. We’ve just kind of taken it day by day, heard different things here and there and none of them are really true. So, we just kind of learn from that and take it day by day.”

The Coyotes have spent the final a number of years in the information for enterprise causes, primarily enviornment and possession considerations. Following the 2021-22 season, the Coyotes have been kicked out of their earlier home, Gila River Arena, by town of Glendale. The transfer got here after failed discussions over lease extensions amid a number of notices regarding excellent balances below their earlier lease settlement. The Coyotes have since made their home at Mullett Arena, a sub-5,000-seat venue on the Arizona State University campus.

“It’s not an NHL rink,” Calgary Flames defenceman Rasmus Andersson mentioned. “That’s how I’m going to put it. Probably good for college. But for the NHL, it’s not an NHL rink.”

While Coyotes possession is bidding on a 110-acre plot of land in North Phoenix to construct their new home, Mullett Arena was anticipated to stay their home via the 2024-25 marketing campaign. If relocation plans are finalized as anticipated, these plans might be moot.

On Sunday morning following his workforce’s morning skate, Andersson expressed sympathy for Coyotes gamers and their sophisticated scenario.

“I’m thinking about the players that have been there a long time,” Andersson mentioned. “(Clayton) Keller and (Nick) Schmaltz and those kinds of guys. Been there a long time, probably bought a house in Arizona and lived there for the most part of their adult life. And then you read that you might be moving without knowing too much. It could be tricky. So, you know, you feel for the guys.”

“For them, it’s got to be kind of weird not knowing much about their future leading into next year,” Flames ahead Connor Zary mentioned. “But I think they’re the same as us, right? They’re just hockey players and they’re normal guys. I’m sure they’re just trying to finish out the season hard, look forward to their summer and hopefully get their stuff sorted out.”

The Coyotes’ closing sport of the season, presumably their final ever in Arizona, might be a Wednesday evening home matchup towards Edmonton.

(Top picture of Lawson Crouse: Leah Hennel / Getty Images)