The Arizona Coyotes were a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area, which competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division and the Pacific Division (1998–2020) in the Western Conference, and the West Division (2020–2021). They played at America West Arena in downtown Phoenix from 1996 to 2003, at Glendale's Gila River Arena from 2003 to 2022, and at Mullett Arena in Tempe from 2022 to 2024.
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926. Although the WHA was not the first league since that time to attempt to challenge the NHL's supremacy, it was by far the most successful in the modern era.
The Winnipeg Jets were a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. They began play in the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1972. The club joined the National Hockey League (NHL) in 1979 after the NHL merged with the WHA. Due to mounting financial troubles, in 1996 the franchise moved to Phoenix, Arizona and became the Phoenix Coyotes. The team played their home games at Winnipeg Arena.
Shane Albert Doan is a Canadian ice hockey executive and former player currently serving as an assistant to Brad Treliving for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). Doan spent the entirety of his 21-season NHL career with the Arizona Coyotes franchise, beginning with the original Winnipeg Jets in 1995 before playing in Arizona for two decades. He was the last remaining player active in the NHL from the original Winnipeg Jets franchise before he announced his retirement in the summer of 2017.
Keith Matthew Tkachuk is an American former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) in a 18-year career with the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues and Atlanta Thrashers, retiring in 2010. He is one of five American-born players to score 500 goals, and is the sixth American player to score 1,000 points. Tkachuk is considered to be among the elite power forwards of his era, and is considered one of the best American-born players to play in the NHL. One of 47 NHL players to have scored 500 goals, Tkachuk remains one of only four eligible players to not be a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Richard Gary Bowness is a Canadian former professional ice hockey coach and player. He was selected in the second round, 26th overall, by the Atlanta Flames in the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft. Bowness has also played for the Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, and the original Winnipeg Jets. As a coach, Bowness has also served as head coach for Boston Bruins, Ottawa Senators, New York Islanders, Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars, the original Winnipeg Jets, and the current Winnipeg Jets. He likewise held the position of associate coach with the Vancouver Canucks and Tampa Bay Lightning.
The 1996–97 NHL season was the 80th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, becoming the Phoenix Coyotes. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Philadelphia Flyers in four games and won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 42 years.
The 1995–96 NHL season was the 79th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Quebec Nordiques relocated to Denver, Colorado, becoming the Colorado Avalanche. The Stanley Cup winners were the Avalanche, who swept the Florida Panthers in the finals, in four games.
Andrew Joseph Ladd is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played for the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Thrashers, Winnipeg Jets, New York Islanders and Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL).
The National Hockey League's Central Division was formed in 1993 as part of the Western Conference in a league realignment. Its predecessor was the Norris Division and its also one of two successors to the Northwest Division. The Chicago Blackhawks have been a member of the Central Division in all of its seasons since the original 1993 realignment. The Arizona Coyotes, Dallas Stars and St. Louis Blues were also original members of the division, but were realigned to a different division for a while before returning; both the Coyotes and Stars were moved to the Pacific Division in 1998, while the Blues were moved to the West Division during the temporary 2021 realignment. Three of its teams—the Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, and Winnipeg Jets —joined the NHL during a league expansion phase between 1998 and 2000. The fourth team in that three-year expansion period, the Columbus Blue Jackets, was once a member of the Central Division, but moved to the Metropolitan Division after the 2013 realignment.
The 1995–96 Winnipeg Jets season was the team's 24th and their final season in Winnipeg before the franchise was moved to Phoenix, Arizona, and renamed the Phoenix Coyotes then the Arizona Coyotes. The NHL returned to Winnipeg following the 2010–11 season, when the Atlanta Thrashers became the "new" Winnipeg Jets.
The 1996–97 Phoenix Coyotes' season was the team's first of 28 seasons in Arizona in the National Hockey League (NHL) since relocating from Winnipeg the season prior. The franchise's 25th season since its founding in 1972, and 18th season in the National Hockey League since 1979.
The 1979 NHL expansion, popularly referred to as the NHL-WHA merger, was the culmination of several years of negotiations between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA). The result of the negotiations was that the WHA folded, and four of its six surviving teams - the Edmonton Oilers, New England Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets – entered the NHL as expansion teams who commenced play in the NHL in the 1979–80 season. The agreement officially took effect on June 22; it ended the seven-year existence of the WHA and re-established the NHL as the sole major league in North American professional ice hockey.
The following is a complete history of organizational changes in the National Hockey League (NHL). The NHL was founded in 1917 as a successor to the National Hockey Association (NHA), starting out with four teams from the predecessor league, and eventually grew to thirty-two in its current state. The NHL has expanded and contracted numerous times throughout its history, including in 1979 when four teams came over from the World Hockey Association (WHA).
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The Jets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The team is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, playing its home games at Canada Life Centre.
True North Sports and Entertainment Limited is a Canadian company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, that owns and operates Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League. The company also owns the Jets' minor league affiliate, the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League. Aside from hockey, TNSE is also involved in real estate with True North Square, and are active in bringing concerts and other acts to Winnipeg.
