The NHL kicks off the new year with a direct insult to Arizona Coyotes fans

The year 2025 is the first year since 1996 that the NHL will not feature the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes.

The Coyotes, of course, moved to Salt Lake City, Utah this past offseason and started the 2024-25 campaign as the Utah Hockey Club, ending nearly 30 years of NHL hockey in the Arizona desert.

Throughout their tumultuous history the Coyotes were up and down the NHL's standings. They never finished atop the league though and they more than often struggled to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs. To put things bluntly: They weren't a very good hockey team.

With the NHL unveiling its "Quarter Century Teams" for the New Year, that sentiment has never been more obvious when it comes to the Coyotes. While teams like the Chicago Blackhawks boast current and future Hall of Famers like Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, the Coyotes' Quarter Century team is a little lacking in high end talent.

I mean just look at this squad:

Yeesh...

Would this team even make the playoffs if all these guys were in their prime?

While I have respect for guys like Jeremy Roenick, Shane Doan and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, there just simply isn't enough talent on these teams for this to be taken seriously. No shade at all but... Zbynek Michalek... on your Quarter Century team? Radim Vrbata? Woof...

As you might imagine, the NHL's social media is getting lit up with angry Coyotes fans. But, in the league's defense it's not like Gary Bettman was making trades and draft selections.