Auston Matthews drove past the new home of the Arizona Coyotes this summer.
The 5,000-seat rink nestled on a college campus is a temporary fix — for at least the next three seasons — as the franchise continues to work on a long-term arena proposal.
Matthews, who grew up in the Phoenix area, wants to see the franchise that sparked his hockey obsession – long before the Toronto Maple Leafs sniper scored 60 goals in a season and won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP – succeeding in the wilderness.
He’s also curious what that first trip to Mullett Arena will look like.
“I think it’ll be pretty fun…the vibe and everything,” Matthews said. “It’s going to be fun and interesting to be in the NHL, to play in a rink like that.”
The Coyotes begin life at Arizona State University on Friday when they host the Winnipeg Jets after a six-game road trip to open the schedule.
The team played at Gila River Arena in Glendale beginning in 2003, but attendance issues plagued the Coyotes almost immediately before the suburban town cut ties with the organization at the end of last season.
The Coyotes’ former home was on the west side of the Phoenix metro area, while ASU’s campus and where the club hopes to build is in Tempe — closer to the majority of its fans.
“Everything is new,” Arizona winger Clayton Keller said of the comfortable confines of Mullett Arena. “We’ll just go from there. The atmosphere will be cool…there are standing bleachers behind the net, which no NHL team has.
“It’s unique and brings a different look.”
There were inevitable jokes when Arizona’s move to an arena – named after a major ASU donor family – that’s a fraction of the size of the league’s other 31 venues has been announced, but NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said it would benefit the franchise both now and in the future.
“Building full every night,” he said. “It could help the team and the performance of the players when you have that type of environment.
“It’s not a permanent fix – it could never be a permanent fix – but as a short term fix it will work fine.”
There were times when it appeared the Coyotes would leave Arizona after moving from Winnipeg in 1996.
Daly, however, said that when the league commits to a market, “we commit.”
“The myriad things that have gone wrong for this franchise over time is why people want (it moved),” he said. “None of the (problems) were really in their control and none of them proved that the market was unable to support the team.”
As for playing in a 5,000-seat facility, NHL stars have mixed feelings.
“It will definitely be different,” Edmonton captain Connor McDavid said. “I’m not sure what to expect. I really hope it works out.”
“I don’t know,” added Colorado center Nathan MacKinnon with a smile. “We’ll see, I guess.
Players with ties to the American college game seem the most excited to be back on campus.
“Fiery,” said Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk.
“College barns are some of the best atmospheres in all of hockey,” Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger said. “I hope they wrap it up and have cheap drinks.”
Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski, another NCAA alum, is looking forward to his team’s only trip. He also wonders what it would be like to play at a rink smaller than most junior or college facilities 41 times per season.
“Living in Arizona probably doesn’t get old,” he said. “But going to that rink every day might.”
Max Domi, who was drafted by the Coyotes and played three seasons in Arizona, said if the organization can fix the arena situation, the desert will become a destination.
“Game over,” the Chicago forward said. “Everyone is going to want to play for the Yotes.”
Matthews, who grew up in nearby Scottsdale, wants to see the franchise thrive.
“They’re the reason I started playing hockey,” he said. “I don’t think I would be here if this team wasn’t in Arizona…Hopefully everything will be fine.
“And you never know when we’ll have the next kid coming out of Arizona.”
BRUCE THIS… IS NOT
Vancouver had intended to push into the Pacific Division after a strong finish under head coach Bruce Boudreau to close out 2021-22, but are the only NHL team without a win.
The club set a league record losing four consecutive games after building a multi-goal lead and saw three jerseys thrown onto the ice at Rogers Arena after Saturday’s home opener – one loss 5-1 against Buffalo.
Vancouver (0-5-2) will finally look to enter the win column on Thursday in Seattle.
IDENTIFY PINTO
Ottawa center Shane Pinto has been limited to five games in 2021-22 with a shoulder injury that required surgery.
The 21-year-old is making up for lost time.
Pinto scored in five straight games to break the rookie franchise mark of four previously shared by Mark Stone, Daniel Alfredsson and Alexei Yashin, who did it twice in 1993-94.
He can become the first NHL freshman to score in six consecutive games since 2014-15, when Ottawa hosted Minnesota on Thursday.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on October 26, 2022.
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Joshua Clipperton’s NHL Weekly Diary is published every Wednesday.
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