It appears the National Hockey League has moved yet another step closer to relocating the Arizona Coyotes to northern Utah.
On Monday, Sportico reported the NHL's executive committee approved the team's move to Salt Lake City, which will now be voted on by the league's board of governors, which includes all team owners. It's expected that the Board will vote to approve the relocation before the end of the week to avoid competing against the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which begin Saturday.
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The proposed move would have Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo selling the team to the NHL for $1 billion, which in turn would then sell the franchise to Ryan Smith and the Smith Entertainment Group. The franchise, whatever it will be named, will begin play next season at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City.
Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong informed the team Friday that the franchise will be moving; however, an official announcement has not yet been made. In a now deleted social media post Friday night, Utah Governor Spencer Cox wrote, "Welcome to Utah — the State of Sport — Coyotes."
The NHL's executive board, which has several responsibilities, including vetting potential league owners, is made up of ten current league owners.
This story was originally published by Jeff Tavss at Scripps News Salt Lake City.
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