The NHL could be back in Arizona sooner than anyone ever imagined!

Earlier this spring, the Arizona Coyotes relocated to Utah after the franchise to the Smith Entertainment Group, controlled by Ryan and Ashley Smith and based in Salt Lake City. When the move was made, the NHL told former Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo he’d have the opportunity to land what would be an expansion team if he located and built a new NHL arena within five years.

And insider Frank Seravalli believes it will happen.

That pretty much echoes the statement that was made by NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly, who recently indicated that Arizona hockey fans should be expecting to get a new franchise in the next 4-5 years.

“(O)bviously, (NHL commissioner) Gary (Bettman) and I like to joke that we’ve spent the last 20 years trying to preserve hockey in Arizona and ultimately we were unsuccessful with this iteration,” Daly told Michael Traikos of the Hockey News. “It doesn’t mean the next one won’t be successful. Given the right circumstances, it can be very successful.”

Along with Seravalli’s report that a team could be back in Arizona in less than five years, Daly had mentioned to Traikos how the Coyotes were informed of the possibility of getting another franchise once they sold and packed up for Utah.

Could you imagine the NHL expanding to at least 33 teams – and to even things out in the two conferences, 34 clubs by 2029? And if reports are correct about Arizona, that ownership group will have to present the land purchase and construction of an NHL-caliber arena, as we’ve seen in recent years with expansion in Las Vegas and Seattle.

“I think the process is kind of the same as Alex Meruelo would have had to deal with anyway,” Daly said. “Having said that, it is a gating factor to go back to that market until we have definitive plans and progress on a state-of-the-art arena, because right now that market doesn’t have one that can house a hockey team. Whether that involves a renovation of an existing arena, I suppose that’s always possible. I would say if you’re writing on a clean slate you’d love to have a hockey-specific arena that’s designed predominantly for hockey. So we’ll see how it plays out.”

Talks on expansion in the NHL have been intense lately with Kevin Weekes recently saying that the NHL could expand by as many as four teams in the coming years, bringing the total up to 36 teams.

It was however confirmed by NHL’s Board of Governors that an expansion is not likely to come for the 2025-26 season and the earliest that the league could approve expansion would be in the 2026-27 season.

Many still believe that if expansion takes place again in the NHL, Houston is the No. 1 choice for NHL owners, but after Daly’s comments and Seravalli’s latest report, you have to imagine Arizona is a close second.

That would be a tough blow to other cities looking for an NHL team, though fans are reluctant to see Atlanta have another go at the market. The Atlanta Flames fizzled out after just eight seasons and relocated to Calgary to great success. Ditto for the Atlanta Thrashers who moved to Winnipeg after 11 failed seasons in Georgia. Meanwhile, Quebec City has been pushing for an NHL team since the 18,000+ seat Videotron Centre opened back in 2015.

But we all know how much Gary Bettman loves the desert and I can’t say that I’m surprised about the NHL wanting another go in Arizona…