The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona, just outside of Phoenix. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena.

The Coyotes were founded in 1972 as the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association, joining the NHL in 1979 and moving to Phoenix in 1996. Their home ice was at the US Airways Center (then known as America West Arena) for seven years, until 2003 when Jobing.com Arena opened.

The team began play as the Winnipeg Jets, one of the founding franchises in the World Hockey Association (WHA). The Jets were the most successful team in the short-lived WHA, winning three Avco World Trophies, the league's championship trophy, and making the finals five out of the WHA's seven seasons. It then became one of the four teams admitted to the NHL when the rival leagues merged in 1979.

However, the club was never able to translate that success into the NHL after the merger, in part because they played in the same division as the powerful Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. While they made the playoffs 11 times in 17 seasons, they only won two playoff series. Because of the way the playoffs were structured for much of their Winnipeg run, the Jets were all but assured of having to defeat either the Oilers or the Flames to make it to the conference finals.

The Jets ran into financial trouble when player salaries began spiraling up in the 1990s. This hit the Canadian teams particularly hard. Winnipeg was the second-smallest market in the NHL for most of the Jets' existence and after the Quebec Nordiques were forced to move to Denver as the Colorado Avalanche it became the smallest market. In addition, their home arena, Winnipeg Arena, was one of the smallest in the league. Despite strong fan support, several attempts to keep the team in Winnipeg ultimately fell through. In the spring of 1996, Phoenix businessmen Steven Gluckstern, Richard Burke along with a local investor group bought the team with plans to move it to Phoenix for the 1996–97 season. A name-the-team contest yielded the nickname "Coyotes."

In the summer that the move took place, the franchise saw the exit of Jets stars like Teemu Selanne and Alexei Zhamnov, while the team added established superstar Jeremy Roenick from the Chicago Blackhawks. Roenick teamed up with power wingers Keith Tkachuk and Rick Tocchet to form a dynamic 1–2–3 offensive punch that led the Coyotes through their first years in Arizona. Also impressive were young players like Shane Doan (as of the current season the last remaining Coyote dating to the team's days in Winnipeg), Oleg Tverdovsky, and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, whom the fans nicknamed the "Bulin Wall."

Another key addition to the squad was fleet sniper Mike Gartner, who had come over from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Despite his speed, and scoring his 700th career goal on December 15, 1997, Gartner battled injuries as 1997 became 1998, and the Coyotes did not renew his contract. He retired at the end of the season.

After arriving in Phoenix, the team posted six consecutive .500 or better seasons, making the playoffs in every year but one. They were tremendously popular, in part because of the large number of Northern expatriates in the Phoenix area. The one year they missed the playoffs, the Coyotes became the first team in NHL history to post 90 points — long the standard of excellence in the NHL — and yet still miss the playoffs.

However, their home during their first eight years in Phoenix, America West Arena was completely inadequate for hockey. Although it was considered a state-of-the-art facility (it was built in 1992), the arena's floor was just barely large enough to fit a hockey rink. In several locations, the nets couldn't be seen. As a result, listed capacity had to be cut down to just over 16,000 — the second-smallest in the league at the time — after the first season. Even then, a stretch of the upper deck actually hung over the boards, obstructing the views of around 3,000 spectators. Some fans even claimed that they saw places where the original concrete had been sheared off to create retractable seats for hockey.

Burke bought out Gluckstern in 1998, but was unable to attract more investors to alleviate the team's financial woes (see below). Finally, in 2001, Burke sold the team to Phoenix-area developer Steve Ellman, with Wayne Gretzky as a part-owner and head of hockey operations. Ellman has since sold controlling interest to trucking company executive Jerry Moyes, who is also a part-owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

To this day, however, the Coyotes have never made it out of the first round of the playoffs. The franchise has not won a playoff series since 1987, when it was still in Winnipeg. The closest that they came to advancing past the first round was during the 1999 playoffs, when they lost a heartbreaking Game 7 to the St. Louis Blues. In 2002, the Coyotes posted 95 points, one point behind their best total as an NHL team, but made a rather meek first-round exit from the playoffs, being eliminated in five games by the San Jose Sharks.

However, since then the Coyotes have been barely competitive. Aside from the 2005–06 season, the team hasn't broken the 80–point barrier. Attendance levels dropped considerably, worrying many league executives. In addition, an unfavorable lease with the city of Phoenix (owner of America West Arena) had the team bleeding red ink; the Coyotes have never really recovered from the resulting financial problems.

In 2003, the team opened Glendale Arena (now known as Jobing.com Arena), and moved there in 2003. Ellman had committed to building the new arena after numerous proposals to improve the hockey sight lines in America West Arena came to nothing. Simultaneously, the team changed its logo and uniforms, moving from the previous multi-colored kit to a more streamlined look.
On 6 August 2005, Brett Hull, son of former Jet Bobby Hull, was signed and assigned the elder Hull's retired # 9. Two days later, Gretzky named himself head coach, replacing Rick Bowness, despite the fact that he had never coached at any level of hockey. The Coyotes Ring of Honor was unveiled on 8 October, inducting Gretzky and Bobby Hull. One week later, Brett Hull announced his retirement. On 21 January 2006, Jets great Thomas Steen was the third inductee to the Ring of Honor. On 13 April, Steve Ellman announced an agreement for Jerry Moyes to assume majority ownership control of the Coyotes, Glendale Arena and the National Lacrosse League's Arizona Sting. Also in the 2005–06 season, the Coyotes were planning to host the NHL All-Star Game, which was canceled because of the 2006 Winter Olympics.

The team returned to Winnipeg on 17 September, 2006 to play a pre-season game against the Edmonton Oilers, but were shut-out 5–0 before a sellout crowd of 15,015.

On 11 April 2007, CEO Jeff Shumway announced that general manager Michael Barnett (Gretzky's agent for over 20 years), senior executive vice president of hockey operations Cliff Fletcher, and San Antonio Rampage's general manager and Coyotes' assistant general manager Laurence Gilman "have been relieved of their duties." The Coyotes finished the 2006–2007 season 31–46–5, its worst record since relocating to Phoenix.

On May 29, 2007, Jeff Shumway announced that Don Maloney had agreed to a multi-year contract to become General Manager of the Coyotes. As per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed. However, as has been the case with all general managers since 2001, Maloney serves in an advisory role to Gretzky.

The 2007–08 season has been something of a resurgence for the Phoenix Coyotes. After their disastrous 2006–07 campaign, the Coyotes looked to rebuild the team by relying on their drafted talent such as Peter Mueller and Martin Hanzal to make the team successful as opposed to using free agency. The Coyotes also acquired Radim Vrbata from the Chicago Blackhawks for Kevyn Adams in an effort to provide the team with more offense. The team signed both Alex Auld and David Aebischer to compete for the starting goaltender position with Mikael Tellqvist acting as the backup goaltender. Neither Auld or Aebischer were able to hold on to the starting position, leaving the Coyotes to turn to the waiver wire for assistance. On 17 November 2007, the Coyotes were able to claim Ilya Bryzgalov off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks. Bryzgalov responded by not only starting in goal the day he was acquired, but posing a shutout in his Coyotes debut against the Los Angeles Kings. Bryzgalov was soon given a 3–year contract extension because of his high level of play. Despite predictions of another disastrous season, the Coyotes played competitive hockey for most of the season. However, they finished eight points short of the last playoff spot, with 83 points.

Inside Shots

General manager Don Maloney and his scouting staff, led by Keith Gretzky, the director of amateur scouting, have been meeting over the past several weeks to analyze their draft strategy. The Coyotes have the No. 8 pick in the first round, three in the second and one in the third.
For a surprising team that flirted with a playoff spot without a major offensive threat, it would be easy to assume that Maloney is going to do a lot of wheeling and dealing and grab a big-time free agent.
Not so fast.
Even though the team needs scoring punch, there are options closer to home, and rebuilding mainly from within is the plan. Maloney again emphasized that spending millions for an unrestricted free agent—the name Marian Hossa pops up a lot—is not in his plans.
Maloney said the Coyotes can get a quality player at the No. 8 spot, perhaps someone who could make a splash at training camp and grab a roster spot. The Coyotes probably will draft a defenseman with its first pick.
Moving up in the draft is not in his plans either; that would have been an option, Maloney said if the Coyotes’ first pick was not in the top 10.
Season Highlight:   The acquisition of goalie Ilya Bryzgalov in November gave the team a boost of confidence. The Coyotes’ rookies all turned in quality seasons. Center/right wing Peter Mueller had two hat tricks and left wing Daniel Carcillo had one.
Turning Point:   The Coyotes were very much alive in the Western Conference playoff hunt entering March, and then things began to unravel. They could not find a way to win consistently at home, and that cost them a playoff spot. They won just two of their last 11 games.

Notes & Quotes

• Forward Peter Mueller, who played on the U.S. team in the World Championships, said he will be working on his speed before training camp. He will be focusing on being quicker in his first four or five steps.
• With the team’s stockpile of young players and some question marks at this point on which veterans might not be returning, the Coyotes likely will have at least a half dozen players on two-way contacts.
• The Coyotes will play the Calgary Flames at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg in a preseason game Sept. 24, marking the club’s third visit since relocating to Phoenix in 1996. Coyotes captain Shane Doan played in the Winnipeg Jets’ last season (1995-96) as a rookie.
Quote to Note:   “Philosophically, it is always the best asset available. With our first pick, we’re certainly not going to draft a goaltender—in an ideal world; a defenseman is probably a bigger need… We have a great group of young forwards coming. All things being equal, we’d like a defenseman, but if a better player is a forward, then we’ll certainly go there.”—Coyotes general manager Don Maloney.

Roster Report

Most Valuable Player:   Shane Doan held together the NHL’s youngest team while getting a career high in points. He played most of January with a broken hand and was third in the league in scoring. He played all three forward positions and finished the season anchoring a line with rookies Peter Mueller and Kyle Turris.
Most Disappointing Player:   Left wing Mike York is likely one of the odd men out next season. The veteran, who joined the team as a free agent, was counted on to regain his offensive touch, but he could only muster six goals and eight assists in 63 games. York, an unrestricted free agent, was a healthy scratch multiple times this season.
Free Agent Focus:   One key unrestricted free agent is right wing Radim Vrbata, who had his best offensive season despite tailing off at the end. Another is right wing Craig Weller, who supplied toughness. Both likely will be back. Center Niko Kapanen and left wing Mathias Tjarnqvist also are unrestricted free agents who performed well on special teams. But they might be victims of a numbers game.
Biggest Needs:   The Coyotes need a bona fide 35-to-40 goal scorer. But with a stated mandate of not being a major player in the free agent market, that will have to come either from within or by signing a player in the $1.5 million to $2.5 million range who they think can become that scorer.
Coach Wayne Gretzky has said that Peter Mueller, one of the top rookies in the league a season ago, could be a 30-goal scorer, and a lot of the offensive load could be on his shoulders.

Player Notes: 

• The biggest question mark as the draft nears is the status of RW Radim Vrbata. Obtained in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks before the start of last season and signed to a one-year contract, Vrbata had the best offensive year of his career before tailing off in the last 25 games.
• Blake Wheeler, the Coyotes’ first-round pick (fifth overall) in the 2004 draft, who left the University of Minnesota, has until July 1 to sign or he will be an unrestricted free agent.