History UsefulNotes / NationalHockeyLeague

An inactive team is one that still legally exists, but is not fielding a roster and does not compete in the regular season (and by extension, can't win the Stanley Cup). Currently, the only inactive team in the NHL are the Arizona Coyotes, who were deactived as part of the roster and front office's relocation to Salt Lake City as part of the new Utah NHL team. They plan on remaining inactive unless they get an arena built and running by the 2029–30 season.

The '''Tampa Bay Lightning''': AKA the Bolts. Currently the Southernmost team to win the Cup, having won in 2004, 2020, and 2021, although all three had some form of controversy attached.[[note]]the "phantom goal" that would have cost Tampa the Cup in '04 is arguably the most controversial call other than Brett Hull's "foot in the crease" in 1999; the 2020 Cup is sometimes questioned due to the unusual circumstances caused by the pandemic (same scenario would've befallen their Finals opponents the Dallas Stars had they won the Cup, making it a lose-lose situation regardless of the victor); the 2021 Cup caused a firestorm amongst fans and even other players due to accusations of LoopholeAbuse to circumvent the salary cap, at least in spirit, and bring an overpowered roster into the playoffs (ironically enough, their 2015 Finals opponents the Chicago Blackhawks pulled the exact same tactic during their 3 Cup runs, and Tampa Bay was one of the teams that attempted to get the rule changed)... Think twice about bringing up these allegations to the Bolts faithful![[/note]] They were the first attempt to market hockey in a former Confederate state since the Atlanta Flames (who moved to Calgary), and helped start a wave of expansion teams and team relocations during TheNineties when they showed a steady fanbase. They set single-game attendance records for a few years due to playing in a then-vacated domed baseball stadium (now Tropicana Field and home to the Rays), which was larger than any hockey arena but also made it hard to keep the ice solid. They quickly turned heads in their first year by having the first female goalie in NHL history in Manon Rhéaume![[note]]She appeared at traing camp and in th3 pre-season, never appearing in a regular season game.[[/note]] They were first led by star players such as Vincent Lecavalier (drafted in 1998 during the Bolts' DarkAges [[note]]where they were used as a part of a money laundering scheme by their first owner Okubo, who was in league with the Yakuza which nearly bankrupt the team due to paying most of their players in the form of loans, the issue got so bad to the point that the League had to get involved to save the team from outright folding[[/note]]), Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards early in the 2000s, later helping lead the Bolts to their first Stanley Cup in 2004. However the NHL lockout happened shortly after which wiped out the entire 04-05 Season preventing the Bolts from properly defending their crown (leading to a brief AudienceAlienatingEra that saw them getting bounced early in the playoffs or in some cases nearly missing the playoffs,[[note]] which lead to the trade of Brad Richards, and wasting the career of Vinny's and Marty's best years[[/note]]). After drafting Steven Stamkos in 2008 with the #1 pick and Victor Hedman #2 the following year (and the eventual drafting of goalie Andre Vasilevesky and perennial scorers Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point), they started to have stretches of good play in the past decade becoming one of the strongest teams of TheNewTens, first including a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011 (during Vincent's twilight years) where due to a lack of a permanent goaltender they lost to the eventual Cup winner Bruins in 7 games ([[note]]it's heavily theorized that had the Bolts won the series, they'd likely would've beaten the powerhouse Vancouver Canucks in the Final that year due to having a stronger offense and defense than Vancouver, despite the lack of a permanent goalie[[/note]]), then later advancing to their second Stanley Cup final in 2015 (eventually losing to the Blackhawks in 6 [[note]]tarnished due to the Kyle Beach scandal (see below)[[/note]]). They then started having a small period of EveryYearTheyFizzleOut where they made 2 Conference Finals appearances ([[note]]first losing to the Crosby-led Penguins in 7 games in 2016 and then losing to the Washington Capitals in 2018 in which both teams would go on to win the Cup, much to the displeasure of the Tampa fanbase[[/note]]). But the failure ultimately peaked in 2018-19 where they won the President's Trophy that year while tying the 1995-96 Red Wings for the then-most dominant regular season in NHL history (62 wins!)... [[EpicFail only to end up becoming the first ever President's Trophy winners in NHL history to be swept in the first round after losing their series to the Columbus Blue Jackets, led by their former coach John Tortorella who had coached them their first Stanley Cup victory back in 2004 no less]], leading many media pundits to question the Bolts' ability to win in the long run. However, they came back with a vengeance in the following year, winning their second cup after the playoffs were delayed till August due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and then their third cup the following year. They then made history in 2022 by making their '''third straight Cup final appearance in a row!''' (Becoming the first team to do so in the current Salary Cap Era since ''Gretzky's legendary 80s Oilers''). However their quest for the first three-peat since the legendary 80's Islanders squad ended in heartbreak as they lost to the far more highly powered offense of the Avalanche in 6 games [[note]]though to be fair, the Bolts were coming off from extremely short Summer off-seasons in-between their 3 straight runs along with key injuries to superstar Brayden Point which severely affected the Lightning's performance during their third run[[/note]]. Set a new standard for stadium RuleOfCool in 2011 when renovations to the St. Pete Times Forum (now Amalie Arena) included the installation of Tesla coils in the rafters that [[ShockAndAwe shoot real lightning]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEm_9IIRitc during the pregame intro and after goals]]. Oh, and despite those aforementioned ''Florida'' Panthers (who play in a suburb of UsefulNotes/{{Miami}}), the Bolts predate them by one year. They outright hate Boston with a passion (arguably moreso than the Montreal Canadians who are the B's longtime rivals), moreso than any American club. They hate them so much so that their fans will often chant "Fuck Boston!" in Amalie Arena even if they aren't playing the Bruins (leading to many cheers from the Bruins' rivals who also hate Boston, sans Toronto) [[note]]this unknown hatred may have formed due in part to the notorious dirty plays and hits from the Bruins during the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals that cut fan favorite Vincent Lecavalier's career short that led to him signing with the Philadelphia Flyers, especially from Chara and Marchand and the NFL Buccaneers signing of Creator/TomBrady away from the Patriots that wrecked Boston's dynasty[[/note]]. In contrast their in-state rivalry with Florida hasn't been much of a thing and barely gets acknowledged, though it has been heating up in recent years (with it now being full blown hatred between the two clubs and their fanbases), with the Bolts and Panthers meeting in the playoffs over the last two years, with Tampa Bay winning both times and are set to meet again in the 2023-24 playoffs [[note]] ensuring that the Panthers will likely remain the Lightning's little brothers[[/note]]. They also dislike both of the New York teams (moreso the Isles than the Rangers), they also hate the Toronto Maple Leafs, [[note]]whom they have split their first round series at 1 apiece following the Bolts' loss in the first round[[/note]] which has begun to heat up in recent years (both of their respective first round matchups featured lots of fighting between the two clubs and dirty plays), and have a mild dislike of the Montreal Canadiens[[note]]due to Tampa's recent defeat of them in the Finals and the accusations of their recent Cup wins, though they both have a shared hatred of Boston and Toronto[[/note]] and have begun to develop (as of their recent Cup loss) a potential new rivalry with the Colorado Avalanche (though much like the Cup loss with the Blackhawks in 2015, it has yet to properly develop), the 2022-2023 season was a massive regression due to the Cup years and injuries finally taking their toll on the team and they bowed out to the hated Maple Leafs in 6 games.

The '''UsefulNotes/{{Montreal}} Canadiens''': AKA the Habs.[[note]]For "Les Habitants", an old term for French-origin inhabitants of Quebec.[[/note]] Older than the NHL; their history begins in the NHL's predecessor league, the National Hockey Association. They're the world's oldest continuously operating professional hockey team.[[labelnote:*]]Not only are the Habs older than the NHL, they also predate every Canadian professional sports team outside the [[UsefulNotes/CanadianFootballLeague CFL]], as well as every American major professional team apart from the 16 pre-expansion Major League Baseball teams and the NFL's Arizona Cardinals.[[/labelnote]] Has won 24 championships, a feat surpassed only by the [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball New York Yankees]] who have 3 more championships than the Habs. Also the last Canadian team to win the Cup (1993, which was the same year that hated Commissioner Gary Bettman took over the league), in which they bested the Gretzky-led Kings in 5 games, their Cup win actually set off riots throughout Montreal following their victory [[note]]which {{Foreshadow}} what was to come the following year and may have placed a curse on all Canadian teams in the process [[/note]]. Goaltender Jacques Plante made the goalie mask regular gear after stopping an Andy Bathgate slapshot with his nose in 1959. Pretty much the team of French Canada with the departure of the Quebec Nordiques to Colorado in 1995. Their long, storied history includes some legendary French-Canadian players: Maurice 'Le Rocket' Richard, Jean Béliveau, Guy Lafleur and Patrick Roy. [[TheRival They hate Toronto with a passion]], they surely don't like Boston, and they ''really'' don't like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jimZ1tSdPY0 Zdeno Chára]], they have a slightly favorable view of the Tampa Bay Lightning due to their shared hatred of the Bruins and the Leafs. In the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs they managed to pull of a ''miraculous'' Cinderella run where, despite coming ''18th'' in the regular season and only ''barely'' making it into the postseason, they beat a heavily favored Maple Leafs team (who won 11 more games in the regular season and opened 3-1 on the series before collapsing), swept the Jets, who swept the equally favourited Oilers, and managed to beat the Golden Knights, who have been favourites to win the Cup ever since they entered the league. This not only led to their first Finals appearance since 1993, but it also led to the first time a Canadian team made it to the Finals in ''ten years'', though it sadly ended in disappointment when they lost to the defending champions Tampa Bay Lightning in 5 games.[[note]]Though the only game they won in the Finals also kept alive an unusual record: the Habs lost 10 finals, but only the 1989 Calgary Flames managed to hoist the Stanley Cup in Montreal.[[/note]] Still, the following season was a massive regression, finishing last overall.

The '''Tampa Bay Lightning''': AKA the Bolts. Currently the Southernmost team to win the Cup, having won in 2004, 2020, and 2021, although all three had some form of controversy attached.[[note]]the "phantom goal" that would have cost Tampa the Cup in '04 is arguably the most controversial call other than Brett Hull's "foot in the crease" in 1999; the 2020 Cup is sometimes questioned due to the unusual circumstances caused by the pandemic (same scenario would've befallen their Finals opponents the Dallas Stars had they won the Cup, making it a lose-lose situation regardless of the victor); the 2021 Cup caused a firestorm amongst fans and even other players due to accusations of LoopholeAbuse to circumvent the salary cap, at least in spirit, and bring an overpowered roster into the playoffs (ironically enough, their 2015 Finals opponents the Chicago Blackhawks pulled the exact same tactic during their 3 Cup runs, and Tampa Bay was one of the teams that attempted to get the rule changed)... Think twice about bringing up these allegations to the Bolts faithful![[/note]] They were the first attempt to market hockey in a former Confederate state since the Atlanta Flames (who moved to Calgary), and helped start a wave of expansion teams and team relocations during TheNineties when they showed a steady fanbase. They set single-game attendance records for a few years due to playing in a then-vacated domed baseball stadium (now Tropicana Field and home to the Rays), which was larger than any hockey arena but also made it hard to keep the ice solid. They quickly turned heads in their first year by having the first female goalie in NHL history in Manon Rhéaume! They were first led by star players such as Vincent Lecavalier (drafted in 1998 during the Bolts' DarkAges [[note]]where they were used as a part of a money laundering scheme by their first owner Okubo, who was in league with the Yakuza which nearly bankrupt the team due to paying most of their players in the form of loans, the issue got so bad to the point that the League had to get involved to save the team from outright folding[[/note]]), Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards early in the 2000s, later helping lead the Bolts to their first Stanley Cup in 2004. However the NHL lockout happened shortly after which wiped out the entire 04-05 Season preventing the Bolts from properly defending their crown (leading to a brief AudienceAlienatingEra that saw them getting bounced early in the playoffs or in some cases nearly missing the playoffs,[[note]] which lead to the trade of Brad Richards, and wasting the career of Vinny's and Marty's best years[[/note]]). After drafting Steven Stamkos in 2008 with the #1 pick and Victor Hedman #2 the following year (and the eventual drafting of goalie Andre Vasilevesky and perennial scorers Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point), they started to have stretches of good play in the past decade becoming one of the strongest teams of TheNewTens, first including a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011 (during Vincent's twilight years) where due to a lack of a permanent goaltender they lost to the eventual Cup winner Bruins in 7 games ([[note]]it's heavily theorized that had the Bolts won the series, they'd likely would've beaten the powerhouse Vancouver Canucks in the Final that year due to having a stronger offense and defense than Vancouver, despite the lack of a permanent goalie[[/note]]), then later advancing to their second Stanley Cup final in 2015 (eventually losing to the Blackhawks in 6 [[note]]tarnished due to the Kyle Beach scandal (see below)[[/note]]). They then started having a small period of EveryYearTheyFizzleOut where they made 2 Conference Finals appearances ([[note]]first losing to the Crosby-led Penguins in 7 games in 2016 and then losing to the Washington Capitals in 2018 in which both teams would go on to win the Cup, much to the displeasure of the Tampa fanbase[[/note]]). But the failure ultimately peaked in 2018-19 where they won the President's Trophy that year while tying the 1995-96 Red Wings for the then-most dominant regular season in NHL history (62 wins!)... [[EpicFail only to end up becoming the first ever President's Trophy winners in NHL history to be swept in the first round after losing their series to the Columbus Blue Jackets, led by their former coach John Tortorella who had coached them their first Stanley Cup victory back in 2004 no less]], leading many media pundits to question the Bolts' ability to win in the long run. However, they came back with a vengeance in the following year, winning their second cup after the playoffs were delayed till August due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and then their third cup the following year. They then made history in 2022 by making their '''third straight Cup final appearance in a row!''' (Becoming the first team to do so in the current Salary Cap Era since ''Gretzky's legendary 80s Oilers''). However their quest for the first three-peat since the legendary 80's Islanders squad ended in heartbreak as they lost to the far more high powered offensive Avalanche team in 6 games [[note]]though to be fair, the Bolts were coming off from extremely short Summer off-seasons in-between their 3 straight runs along with key injuries to superstar Brayden Point which severely affected the Lightning's performance during their third run[[/note]]. Set a new standard for stadium RuleOfCool in 2011 when renovations to the St. Pete Times Forum (now Amalie Arena) included the installation of Tesla coils in the rafters that [[ShockAndAwe shoot real lightning]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEm_9IIRitc during the pregame intro and after goals]]. Oh, and despite those aforementioned ''Florida'' Panthers (who play in a suburb of UsefulNotes/{{Miami}}), the Bolts predate them by one year. They outright hate Boston with a passion (arguably moreso than the Montreal Canadians who are the B's longtime rivals), moreso than any American club. They hate them so much so that their fans will often chant "Fuck Boston!" in Amalie Arena even if they aren't playing the Bruins (leading to many cheers from the Bruins' rivals who also hate Boston, sans Toronto) [[note]]this unknown hatred may have formed due in part to the notorious dirty plays and hits from the Bruins during the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals that cut fan favorite Vincent Lecavalier's career short that led to him signing with the Philadelphia Flyers, especially from Chara and Marchand and the NFL Buccaneers signing of Creator/TomBrady away from the Patriots that wrecked Boston's dynasty[[/note]]. In contrast their in-state rivalry with Florida hasn't been much of a thing and barely gets acknowledged, though it has been heating up in recent years (with it now being full blown hatred between the two clubs and their fanbases), with the Bolts and Panthers meeting in the playoffs over the last two years, with Tampa Bay winning both times and are set to meet again in the 2023-24 playoffs [[note]] ensuring that the Panthers will likely remain the Lightning's little brothers[[/note]]. They also dislike both of the New York teams (moreso the Isles than the Rangers), they also hate the Toronto Maple Leafs, [[note]]whom they have split their first round series at 1 apiece following the Bolts' loss in the first round[[/note]] which has begun to heat up in recent years (both of their respective first round matchups featured lots of fighting between the two clubs and dirty plays from the rival Leafs), and have a mild dislike of the Montreal Canadiens[[note]]due to Tampa's recent defeat of them in the Finals and the accusations of their recent Cup wins, though they both have a shared hatred of Boston and Toronto[[/note]] and have begun to develop (as of their recent Cup loss) a potential new rivalry with the Colorado Avalanche (though much like the Cup loss with the Blackhawks in 2015, it has yet to properly develop), the 2022-2023 season was a massive regression due to the Cup years and injuries finally taking their toll on the team and they bowed out to the hated Maple Leafs in 6 games.

'''Current Owner:''' N. Murray Edwards\\

The '''Calgary Flames''': once home to one of the best mustaches in the league, belonging to Hall of Famer Lanny [=McDonald=]. Major [[TheRival rival]] to the Edmonton Oilers, as part of the Battle of Alberta, and also have another big one in the Vancouver Canucks. The rivalry with the former was most heated in the 1980s, when both teams had stockpiled incredible amounts of talent, the Oilers taking most of the series versus the Flames. (Although in 1986, the Oilers did the Flames a favor by scoring on themselves in Game Seven. They made it to the final round before losing to Montreal. In 1989, the Flames won the Cup without the Oilers on the way... who lost to UsefulNotes/WayneGretzky's new team, the Kings.) They are the only team to defeat the Canadiens at the Montreal Forum for the Stanley Cup. [[note]] Every other time the Canadiens lost the Cup, they lost on the road.)[[/note]] Also broke Canada's heart when they couldn't seal the deal back in 2004 -- although there was a potential Cup-winning goal scored by the Flames late in game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final that is still a sore point for Flames fans today [[note]]making it even more knife-twisting, the replay crew that were on hand that negated the would-be Cup winning goal was based in ''Calgary''[[/note]]. The franchise started as the Atlanta Flames from 1972 to 1980, before moving northwest to join Edmonton in the NHL. Lately, they have been unable to amount to much, qualifying for the playoffs just four times since 2009-10 - with the first two having Calgary getting shown the door by the Anaheim Ducks, against whom they had [[https://www.foxsports.com/nhl/story/calgary-flames-the-decade-long-curse-of-the-honda-center-110616 a spectacularly-long losing streak away from home]] up until 2017 - and winning a round only in half of those. The Flames' long-time home of the Saddledome hosted several events in the [[UsefulNotes/OlympicGames 1988 Winter Olympics]]; however, it is one of the oldest arenas in the league and the oldest among the seven Canadian teams. In April 2023, after several false starts, the city and Flames reached an agreement to build the Saddledome's replacement.

'''Current Head Coach:''' ''vacant''\\

The '''Calgary Flames''': once home to one of the best mustaches in the league, belonging to Hall of Famer Lanny [=McDonald=]. Major [[TheRival rival]] to the Edmonton Oilers, as part of the Battle of Alberta, and also have another big one in the Vancouver Canucks. The rivalry with the former was most heated in the 1980s, when both teams had stockpiled incredible amounts of talent, the Oilers taking most of the series versus the Flames. (Although in 1986, the Oilers did the Flames a favor by scoring on themselves in Game Seven. They made it to the final round before losing to Montreal. In 1989, the Flames won the Cup without the Oilers on the way... who lost to UsefulNotes/WayneGretzky's new team, the Kings.) They are the only team to defeat the Canadiens at the Montreal Forum for the Stanley Cup. [[note]] Every other time the Canadiens lost the Cup, they lost on the road.)[[/note]] Also broke Canada's heart when they couldn't seal the deal back in 2004 -- although there was a potential Cup-winning goal scored by the Flames late in game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final that is still a sore point for Flames fans today. The franchise started as the Atlanta Flames from 1972 to 1980, before moving northwest to join Edmonton in the NHL. Lately, they have been unable to amount to much, qualifying for the playoffs just four times since 2009-10 - with the first two having Calgary getting shown the door by the Anaheim Ducks, against whom they had [[https://www.foxsports.com/nhl/story/calgary-flames-the-decade-long-curse-of-the-honda-center-110616 a spectacularly-long losing streak away from home]] up until 2017 - and winning a round only in half of those. The Flames' long-time home of the Saddledome hosted several events in the [[UsefulNotes/OlympicGames 1988 Winter Olympics]]; however, it is one of the oldest arenas in the league and the oldest among the seven Canadian teams. In April 2023, after several false starts, the city and Flames reached an agreement to build the Saddledome's replacement.

** ''Current holder: Boston Bruins''[[note]]set or tied league records for wins, points, and road wins in a season; blew a 3-1 series lead and lost Game Seven to the Panthers in the first round[[/note]]

'''Current Owner:''' John P. McConnell\\

'''Current Head Coach:''' Peter DeBoer\\

[[UsefulNotes/{{Utah}} Salt Lake City]]'s currently unnamed NHL team is technically the newest team in the league, but the truth of the matter is that they are the result of the Arizona Coyotes' relocation. After years of instability with finding an arena in the Phoenix area, a deal was made between [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation Utah Jazz]] owner Ryan Smith and Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo, where the Coyotes' roster and front office were given to the new Utah team, while the Yotes would be deactivated until they get a new arena up and running within the following five years. For any fans of the UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague, this was essentially a hockey version of what happened between the original Cleveland Browns and the Baltimore Ravens back in 1995. At the current moment, the team [[NoNameGiven doesn't have a name]], with rumored reports saying that might have a temporary name for the 2024-25 season, a la the Washington Football Team. However, it has been confirmed that it will be named after the entire state of Utah (much like the Jazz) instead of Salt Lake City.

The National Hockey League (NHL) is the top-level professional UsefulNotes/IceHockey league in North America, and is the fifth wealthiest sports league in the world.[[note]]The number 1-4 spots go respectively to the UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague, UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball, the UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation, and the UsefulNotes/EnglishPremierLeague.[[/note]] Founded in 1917, it is currently composed of 33 teams (with one inactive): 25 in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates and seven in UsefulNotes/{{Canada}}, with [[UsefulNotes/{{Utah}} Salt Lake City]]'s unnamed team as the league's newest franchise.[[note]]The truth is a bit more complicated than that, since Utah's team is really the relocated UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}} Coyotes. The Coyotes still technically exist however as an inactive franchise. The most recent unambiguously established team was the UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} Kraken in 2021.[[/note]] UsefulNotes/TheStanleyCup represents the league's championship, and is the oldest such trophy in North America; traditionally, each member of the championship team obtains possession of Lord Stanley's Bowl for a day, and due to this it has had [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditions_and_anecdotes_associated_with_the_Stanley_Cup#Misadventures some rather odd misadventures]] in its time.

The National Hockey League (NHL) is the top-level professional UsefulNotes/IceHockey league in North America, and is the fifth wealthiest sports league in the world.[[note]]The number 1-4 spots go respectively to the UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague, UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball, the UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation, and the UsefulNotes/EnglishPremierLeague.[[/note]] Founded in 1917, it is currently composed of 32 active teams: 25 in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates and seven in UsefulNotes/{{Canada}}, with [[UsefulNotes/{{Utah}} Salt Lake City]]'s unnamed team as the league's newest franchise.[[note]]The truth is a bit more complicated than that, since Utah's team is really the relocated UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}} Coyotes. The Coyotes still technically exist however as an inactive franchise. The most recent unambiguously established team was the UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} Kraken in 2021.[[/note]] UsefulNotes/TheStanleyCup represents the league's championship, and is the oldest such trophy in North America; traditionally, each member of the championship team obtains possession of Lord Stanley's Bowl for a day, and due to this it has had [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditions_and_anecdotes_associated_with_the_Stanley_Cup#Misadventures some rather odd misadventures]] in its time.

'''Prior Names/Locations:'''[[labelnote:De Facto]]De Jure, they're an expansion team first forming in 2024.[[/labelnote]] Winnipeg Jets [I] (1972–1996), Phoenix Coyotes (1996–2014), Arizona Coyotes (2014-2024)\\

'''Prior Names/Locations:'''[[labelnote:De Facto]]De Jure, they're an expansion team first forming in 2024.[[/labelnote]] Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996), Phoenix Coyotes (1996–2014), Arizona Coyotes (2014-2024)\\

'''Prior Names/Locations:''' Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996), Phoenix Coyotes (1996–2014)\\

Emerged as an expansion candidate in April 2024 after the league facilitated a sale of the Arizona Coyotes to Utah Jazz and [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueSoccer Real Salt Lake]] owner Ryan Smith, who had made an explicit request to the NHL to open the expansion process that January. Previous Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo will have a five-year option to revive the Coyotes as an expansion team on the condition that he successfully wins the June 27th public land auction and builds the proposed mixed-use arena district.[[note]]While Smith received the franchise rights, the Coyotes' brand and history will remain in Arizona, much to the chagrin of Jets fans, whose original team history is still tied to the Coyotes.[[/note]] Much like Atlanta, traditionalists would rather see the league permanently write off Phoenix as a lost cause than even ''attempt'' to return, believing that the Coyotes' 28-year tenure in Arizona was a complete farce, particularly since the team's 2009 bankruptcy and especially their last two years at Mullett Arena.

%% [[caption-width-right:1000:[[labelnote:Map of NHL teams in the 2024-25 season]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nhl_map_24_25.png The Arizona Coyotes will relocate to Salt Lake City during the 2024 offseason.[[/labelnote]]]]

[[quoteright:1000:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nhl_map_23_24.png]]

[[caption-width-right:1000:[[labelnote:Map of NHL teams in the 2024-25 season]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nhl_map_24_25.png The Arizona Coyotes will relocate to Salt Lake City during the 2024 offseason.[[/labelnote]]]]

The National Hockey League (NHL) is the top-level professional UsefulNotes/IceHockey league in North America, and is the fifth wealthiest sports league in the world.[[note]]The number 1-4 spots go respectively to the UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague, UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball, the UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation, and the UsefulNotes/EnglishPremierLeague.[[/note]] Founded in 1917, it is currently composed of 32 teams: 25 in the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates and seven in UsefulNotes/{{Canada}}, with the UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} Kraken as the league's newest franchise. UsefulNotes/TheStanleyCup represents the league's championship, and is the oldest such trophy in North America; traditionally, each member of the championship team obtains possession of Lord Stanley's Bowl for a day, and due to this it has had [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditions_and_anecdotes_associated_with_the_Stanley_Cup#Misadventures some rather odd misadventures]] in its time.

This division served as the home for the Western Conference's Eastern Time Zone teams over the three decades it had them, but now except for Colorado and Arizona (both of which are in the Mountain Time Zone), it is entirely based in the Central Time Zone. SpiritualSuccessor of the Norris Division.\\

!!!'''Arizona Coyotes'''
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arizona_coyotes.png]]
->'''Year Established:''' 1972\\
'''Year Joined NHL:''' 1979\\
'''Prior Names/Locations:''' Winnipeg Jets (1972–1996), Phoenix Coyotes (1996–2014)\\
'''Future Name/Location:''' Name TBA; will play in Salt Lake City (2024–)\\
'''Colors:''' Process black, brick red, forest green, sand, sienna, purple\\
'''Home Arena:''' Mullett Arena (2022–2024)\\
'''Future Home Arena:''' Delta Center (from 2024)\\
'''Stanley Cups:''' 0\\
'''Stanley Cup Finals Appearances:''' 0\\
'''Presidents' Trophies:''' 0

The '''UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}} Coyotes''': formerly the original Winnipeg Jets and Phoenix Coyotes. After years of being threatened of relocation (helped by a former owner filing the team for bankruptcy in 2009, followed by four years of the Coyotes operated by the NHL itself -- hellbent on keeping them in Arizona, even if Hamilton, UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} (which eventually got the Kraken in 2021), Quebec City, UsefulNotes/KansasCity, UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}, and even Saskatoon were offering to get the team. True North Sports and Entertainment were the frontrunners to acquire the Coyotes, bringing the original Jets home if efforts to keep the team in Arizona fell through before the league convinced True North to buy the Thrashers instead; while the league allowed True North to revive the Winnipeg Jets name, the original Jets' history remains in Arizona) finally got a new owner in 2013. Surprised everybody in 2009–10 as [[EnsembleDarkhorse one of the best teams in the league]], finishing second in their division with 50 wins. They'd then do it again two years later by winning their first ''ever'' divisional championship ... for '''both sides of the franchise'''! That 2011-12 squad also made the first Conference Finals run for either side, only to get drummed out in five games by the Kings and return to perennial basement-dweller status in the years since (except for a very narrow miss with a wild card in 2018-19 and an appearance in the expanded 2020 playoffs where they managed to win their Qualifying Round series over Nashville before being demolished by Colorado in the next round; even in this year, they were eleventh in the Conference and were on a month long skid when the season was paused by the pandemic). As such, they're unsurprisingly the oldest franchise to currently never make it to the Stanley Cup, provided you include their original stay in Winnipeg. The Coyotes were in the Pacific Division from 1998 until the activation of the Seattle Kraken in 2021 moved Arizona back into the Central Division[[note]]the Jets were originally placed in the Smythe in 1979, moving to the Norris in 1981 when the league realigned into more geographically grouped divisions, only to move back to the Smythe in 1982 when the Rockies moved east and became the Devils; the Jets returned to the Norris, now renamed the Central Division, in 1993, remaining in the Central after their move to Phoenix until the league realinged into six divisions in 1998[[/note]]. Rumors of relocation have also re-intensified due to both the impending division switch and the current ownership's insistence on signing one-year deals with their now-former arena (the Gila River Arena), all of which came to a head when the City of Glendale decided not to renew the Coyotes' lease before the 2021–22 season began and forced the team and league to scramble for both a new arena ''and'' city once that season ended. Houston was considered to be the leading candidate since there are interested local parties and possible arena solutions already in place[[note]]Specifically Tilman Fertitta, owner of the NBA's Houston Rockets, and the Toyota Center, home to the Rockets, but was built to also accommodate the NHL as well[[/note]], but the league and franchise seemed determined to stay in the state of Arizona even if they couldn't stay in Glendale, thus they tried to strike a deal with the City of Tempe. The plan started with the Coyotes moving into the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena that was initially built by and for Arizona State University for some of their college teams (including hockey) in 2022, intending to stay there until at least 2025, if not 2026, while a more permanent home in Tempe (with a lot more seats being built by then) got built for them. However, the leading proposal for an arena and surrounding entertainment district was met with immediate opposition and appears to have fallen apart after a public referendum resulted in a lopsided "no" vote in May 2023; after that, the Coyotes needed to ''seriously'' consider leaving the state altogether and relocate, particularly with both the Players' Union and the Board of Governors mounting pressure on the team to find a permanent solution sooner rather than later. The head of the NHLPA, Marty Walsh, expressed his support in moving the Coyotes to Utah, growing impatient with the Coyotes' ownership in finding a long-term solution in the Phoenix area. The ownership made an effort to stay in the area, exploring possible sites in Mesa and north Phoenix, with a public land auction on June 27, 2024 in the latter being the team's last-ditch effort to remain in Arizona. However, given that the arena would have taken at least two years to construct even ''if'' the Coyotes had won the land auction, and the league wasn't too keen on an extended stay at Mullett Arena, the league facilitated a sale to UsefulNotes/{{Utah}} [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation Jazz]] owner Ryan Smith, giving the Salt Lake City market its second Big Four pro franchise.[[note]]While not exactly considered a hockey stronghold, Utah has a storied minor league hockey history. The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Lake_Golden_Eagles Salt Lake Golden Eagles]] existed from 1969-94, winning five league titles and cultivating a loyal fanbase that helped the club twice survive their league ceasing operations, moving to a different league. After the Golden Eagles moved to Detroit, the Denver Grizzlies moved to Salt Lake in 1995, and the Utah Grizzlies (technically two different franchises with the same name: 1995-2005, 2005-present) have remained there since.[[/note]] The NHL has told Smith that the Delta Center, home to the Jazz, will need hockey-specific upgrades. However, with SLC planning a bid for the 2034 Winter Olympics, with a new arena in the works for that event, the Utah government plans to chip in close to $1 billion for the new arena, and Smith also has government support for upgrades to the Delta Center. The sale agreement officially gives Salt Lake City an "expansion" NHL team consisting of the Coyotes' players and front office, while the Coyotes get deactivated and owner Alex Meruelo granted a five-year window to get a new arena built in the Phoenix area; if successful, the Coyotes will get reactivated with a new roster and front office. This [[UsefulNotes/NationalFootballLeague Cleveland Browns-esque]] deal[[note]]A ''very'' similar thing like this happened in the NFL in 1995, where the Cleveland Browns were in the Yotes' spot and the Batlimore Ravens were in the Utah NHL team's spot. The Browns eventually got reactivated for the 1999 season.[[/note]] was formalized on April 18, 2024, when the NHL board of governors unanimously approved the sale and quasi-relocation of the Coyotes. Also notable as the ''only'' NHL team (as of 2021–22) that does not require its players to arrive at the arena on game days in suits and ties.[[note]]The league's current collective bargaining agreement with its players' union requires such apparel unless a team specifies otherwise; so far, only the Coyotes have relaxed their dress code.[[/note]] Also known as of late for, '''even when fielding awful teams''', somehow being a permanent hellish thorn on the Toronto Maple Leafs' side ''for no particular reason'', as it has been more than 20 years since the last time Toronto beat the Coyotes at home in regulation, and Arizona having beat them 18 out of the 25 times they've played one another.

With the addition of Vegas and Seattle as well as the hype surrounding those two teams, expansion has been a hot topic in the NHL. Despite being the second of the four major North American leagues to expand to 32 clubs, there have been rumors that the NHL is looking to expand ''further'', with insiders pointing to UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}} and UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}, the two largest U.S. media markets without an NHL franchise, as the likely frontrunners--before Phoenix became a likely expansion target following the relocation of the UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}} Coyotes to [[UsefulNotes/{{Utah}} Salt Lake City]]. The former NHL markets of Hartford and [[UsefulNotes/{{Quebec}} Quebec City]] have remained perennial favorites among hockey traditionalists, while other possible expansion locations mentioned include [[UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}} Cincinnati]], Halifax, Hamilton, UsefulNotes/{{Milwaukee}}, Omaha, UsefulNotes/KansasCity, UsefulNotes/{{Portland}}, UsefulNotes/SanDiego and Saskatoon. While some traditionalists balk at the idea of expansion in general (with some going as far as saying that the NHL should ''contract'' its financially struggling franchises), in the Sun Belt specifically, and ''especially'' for a third time in Atlanta or a second time in Phoenix over Hartford or Quebec City, some believe that Toronto and/or Montreal could support a second NHL franchise; however, both the Leafs and Habs will likely block any such attempts.

The '''UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}} Coyotes''': formerly the original Winnipeg Jets and Phoenix Coyotes. After years of being threatened of relocation (helped by a former owner filing the team for bankruptcy in 2009, followed by four years of the Coyotes operated by the NHL itself -- hellbent on keeping them in Arizona, even if Hamilton, UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} (which eventually got the Kraken in 2021), Quebec City, UsefulNotes/KansasCity, UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}, and even Saskatoon were offering to get the team. True North Sports and Entertainment were the frontrunners to acquire the Coyotes, bringing the original Jets home if efforts to keep the team in Arizona fell through before the league convinced True North to buy the Thrashers instead; while the league allowed True North to revive the Winnipeg Jets name, the original Jets' history remains in Arizona) finally got a new owner in 2013. Surprised everybody in 2009–10 as [[EnsembleDarkhorse one of the best teams in the league]], finishing second in their division with 50 wins. They'd then do it again two years later by winning their first ''ever'' divisional championship ... for '''both sides of the franchise'''! That 2011-12 squad also made the first Conference Finals run for either side, only to get drummed out in five games by the Kings and return to perennial basement-dweller status in the years since (except for a very narrow miss with a wild card in 2018-19 and an appearance in the expanded 2020 playoffs where they managed to win their Qualifying Round series over Nashville before being demolished by Colorado in the next round; even in this year, they were eleventh in the Conference and were on a month long skid when the season was paused by the pandemic). As such, they're unsurprisingly the oldest franchise to currently never make it to the Stanley Cup, provided you include their original stay in Winnipeg. The Coyotes were in the Pacific Division from 1998 until the activation of the Seattle Kraken in 2021 moved Arizona back into the Central Division[[note]]the Jets were originally placed in the Smythe in 1979, moving to the Norris in 1981 when the league realigned into more geographically grouped divisions, only to move back to the Smythe in 1982 when the Rockies moved east and became the Devils; the Jets returned to the Norris, now renamed the Central Division, in 1993, remaining in the Central after their move to Phoenix until the league realinged into six divisions in 1998[[/note]]. Rumors of relocation have also re-intensified due to both the impending division switch and the current ownership's insistence on signing one-year deals with their now-former arena (the Gila River Arena), all of which came to a head when the City of Glendale decided not to renew the Coyotes' lease before the 2021–22 season began and forced the team and league to scramble for both a new arena ''and'' city once that season ended. Houston was considered to be the leading candidate since there are interested local parties and possible arena solutions already in place[[note]]Specifically Tilman Fertitta, owner of the NBA's Houston Rockets, and the Toyota Center, home to the Rockets, but was built to also accommodate the NHL as well[[/note]], but the league and franchise seemed determined to stay in the state of Arizona even if they couldn't stay in Glendale, thus they tried to strike a deal with the City of Tempe. The plan started with the Coyotes moving into the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena that was initially built by and for Arizona State University for some of their college teams (including hockey) in 2022, intending to stay there until at least 2025, if not 2026, while a more permanent home in Tempe (with a lot more seats being built by then) got built for them. However, the leading proposal for an arena and surrounding entertainment district was met with immediate opposition and appears to have fallen apart after a public referendum resulted in a lopsided "no" vote in May 2023; after that, the Coyotes needed to ''seriously'' consider leaving the state altogether and relocate, particularly with both the Players' Union and the Board of Governors mounting pressure on the team to find a permanent solution sooner rather than later. The head of the NHLPA, Marty Walsh, expressed his support in moving the Coyotes to Utah, growing impatient with the Coyotes' ownership in finding a long-term solution in the Phoenix area. The ownership made an effort to stay in the area, exploring possible sites in Mesa and north Phoenix, with a public land auction on June 27, 2024 in the latter being the team's last-ditch effort to remain in Arizona. However, given that the arena would have taken at least two years to construct even ''if'' the Coyotes had won the land auction, and the league wasn't too keen on an extended stay at Mullett Arena, the league facilitated a sale to UsefulNotes/{{Utah}} [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation Jazz]] owner Ryan Smith, giving the Salt Lake City market its second Big Four pro franchise.[[note]]While not exactly considered a hockey stronghold, Utah has a storied minor league hockey history. The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Lake_Golden_Eagles Salt Lake Golden Eagles]] existed from 1969-94, winning five league titles and cultivating a loyal fanbase that helped the club twice survive their league ceasing operations, moving to a different league. After the Golden Eagles moved to Detroit, the Denver Grizzlies moved to Salt Lake in 1995, and the Utah Grizzlies (technically two different franchises with the same name: 1995-2005, 2005-present) have remained there since.[[/note]] The NHL has told Smith that the Delta Center, home to the Jazz, will need hockey-specific upgrades. However, with SLC planning a bid for the 2034 Winter Olympics, with a new arena in the works for that event, the Utah government plans to chip in close to $1 billion for the new arena, and Smith also has government support for upgrades to the Delta Center. The sale agreement gives former owner Alex Meruelo a five-year window to get a new arena built in the Phoenix area; if successful, the Coyotes will return as an expansion team. The relocation was formalized on April 18, 2024, when the NHL board of governors unanimously approved the sale and relocation of the Coyotoes. Also notable as the ''only'' NHL team (as of 2021–22) that does not require its players to arrive at the arena on game days in suits and ties.[[note]]The league's current collective bargaining agreement with its players' union requires such apparel unless a team specifies otherwise; so far, only the Coyotes have relaxed their dress code.[[/note]] Also known as of late for, '''even when fielding awful teams''', somehow being a permanent hellish thorn on the Toronto Maple Leafs' side ''for no particular reason'', as it has been more than 20 years since the last time Toronto beat the Coyotes at home in regulation, and Arizona having beat them 18 out of the 25 times they've played one another.

The '''UsefulNotes/{{Boston}} Bruins''': the first NHL team south of the border. Famous former players include Bobby Orr, Cam Neely and Ray Bourque. Has one of the most dangerous top lines in the league- the 'Perfection Line' consisting of current captain 'Perfect' Patrice Bergeron, David 'Pasta' Pastrňák, and Brad 'Universally Despised' Marchand. The team throughout its history is known for having very physical, fight heavy games, special mention going to the previously mentioned Neely, and Forward [[BloodKnight Shawn Thornton]] for the most penalty minutes of the last two seasons due to fighting. [[LargeAndInCharge Former captain]] and defenseman [[TheBigGuy Zdeno Chára]] is the tallest guy ever to play in the league, standing six feet, nine inches (2.06 meters). Their 39-year Cup drought ended when they won in 2011. In 2022–23, they set league records for most wins (65!) and points (135) in a season, and tied the record for most road wins (31)...but [[EpicFail couldn't sustain that momentum past Game Four of the first round and blew a 3-1 series lead to the Panthers, being eliminated in overtime of Game Seven]]. Have won more titles than any other American team but Detroit, but they also have lost the most titles in NHL history with 14 (recently losing the Cup to the rival Blues in 2019), surpassing Detroit's losses (13). [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDpKx4w_NIc They REALLY hate Montreal]][[note]]due to having lost a good chunk of their Stanley Cup Finals matchups to them[[/note]], nor do they like the other remaining Original 6 teams[[note]]such as New York, Toronto, Chicago and Detroit[[/note]], they have a mild dislike of the Philadelphia Flyers[[note]]due to their Broad Street Bullies antics of the 70s that led the B's to lose the 74 Finals,

The '''Tampa Bay Lightning''': AKA the Bolts. Currently the Southernmost team to win the Cup, having won in 2004, 2020, and 2021, although all three had some form of controversy attached.[[note]]the "phantom goal" that would have cost Tampa the Cup in '04 is arguably the most controversial call other than Brett Hull's "foot in the crease" in 1999; the 2020 Cup is sometimes questioned due to the unusual circumstances caused by the pandemic (same scenario would've befallen their Finals opponents the Dallas Stars had they won the Cup, making it a lose-lose situation regardless of the victor); the 2021 Cup caused a firestorm amongst fans and even other players due to accusations of LoopholeAbuse to circumvent the salary cap, at least in spirit, and bring an overpowered roster into the playoffs (ironically enough, their 2015 Finals opponents the Chicago Blackhawks pulled the exact same tactic during their 3 Cup runs, and Tampa Bay was one of the teams that attempted to get the rule changed)... Think twice about bringing up these allegations to the Bolts faithful![[/note]] They were the first attempt to market hockey in a former Confederate state since the Atlanta Flames (who moved to Calgary), and helped start a wave of expansion teams and team relocations during TheNineties when they showed a steady fanbase. They set single-game attendance records for a few years due to playing in a then-vacated domed baseball stadium (now Tropicana Field and home to the Rays), which was larger than any hockey arena but also made it hard to keep the ice solid. They quickly turned heads in their first year by having the first female goalie in NHL history in Manon Rhéaume! They were first led by star players such as Vincent Lecavalier (drafted in 1998 during the Bolts' DarkAges [[note]]where they were used as a part of a money laundering scheme by their first owner Okubo, who was in league with the Yakuza which nearly bankrupt the team due to paying most of their players in the form of loans, the issue got so bad to the point that the League had to get involved to save the team from outright folding[[/note]]), Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards early in the 2000s, later helping lead the Bolts to their first Stanley Cup in 2004. However the NHL lockout happened shortly after which wiped out the entire 04-05 Season preventing the Bolts from properly defending their crown (leading to a brief AudienceAlienatingEra that saw them getting bounced early in the playoffs or in some cases nearly missing the playoffs,[[note]] which lead to the trade of Brad Richards, and wasting the career of Vinny's and Marty's best years[[/note]]). After drafting Steven Stamkos in 2008 with the #1 pick and Victor Hedman #2 the following year (and the eventual drafting of goalie Andre Vasilevesky and perennial scorers Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point), they started to have stretches of good play in the past decade becoming one of the strongest teams of TheNewTens, first including a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011 (during Vincent's twilight years) where due to a lack of a permanent goaltender they lost to the eventual Cup winner Bruins in 7 games ([[note]]it's heavily theorized that had the Bolts won the series, they'd likely would've beaten the powerhouse Vancouver Canucks in the Final that year due to having a stronger offense and defense than Vancouver, despite the lack of a permanent goalie[[/note]]), then later advancing to their second Stanley Cup final in 2015 (eventually losing to the Blackhawks in 6). They then started having a small period of EveryYearTheyFizzleOut where they made 2 Conference Finals appearances ([[note]]first losing to the Crosby-led Penguins in 7 games in 2016 and then losing to the Washington Capitals in 2018 in which both teams would go on to win the Cup, much to the displeasure of the Tampa fanbase[[/note]]). But the failure ultimately peaked in 2018-19 where they won the President's Trophy that year while tying the 1995-96 Red Wings for the then-most dominant regular season in NHL history (62 wins!)... [[EpicFail only to end up becoming the first ever President's Trophy winners in NHL history to be swept in the first round after losing their series to the Columbus Blue Jackets, led by their former coach John Tortorella who had coached them their first Stanley Cup victory back in 2004 no less]], leading many media pundits to question the Bolts' ability to win in the long run. However, they came back with a vengeance in the following year, winning their second cup after the playoffs were delayed till August due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and then their third cup the following year. They then made history in 2022 by making their '''third straight Cup final appearance in a row!''' (Becoming the first team to do so in the current Salary Cap Era since ''Gretzky's legendary 80s Oilers''). However their quest for the first three-peat since the legendary 80's Islanders squad ended in heartbreak as they lost to the far more high powered offensive Avalanche team in 6 games [[note]]though to be fair, the Bolts were coming off from extremely short Summer off-seasons in-between their 3 straight runs along with key injuries to superstar Brayden Point which severely affected the Lightning's performance during their third run[[/note]]. Set a new standard for stadium RuleOfCool in 2011 when renovations to the St. Pete Times Forum (now Amalie Arena) included the installation of Tesla coils in the rafters that [[ShockAndAwe shoot real lightning]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEm_9IIRitc during the pregame intro and after goals]]. Oh, and despite those aforementioned ''Florida'' Panthers (who play in a suburb of UsefulNotes/{{Miami}}), the Bolts predate them by one year. They outright hate Boston with a passion (arguably moreso than the Montreal Canadians who are the B's longtime rivals), moreso than any American club. They hate them so much so that their fans will often chant "Fuck Boston!" in Amalie Arena even if they aren't playing the Bruins (leading to many cheers from the Bruins' rivals who also hate Boston, sans Toronto) [[note]]this unknown hatred may have formed due in part to the notorious dirty plays and hits from the Bruins during the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals that cut Vincent Lecavalier's career short that led to him signing with the Philadelphia Flyers, especially from Chara and Marchand and the NFL Buccaneers signing of Creator/TomBrady away from the Patriots that wrecked Boston's dynasty[[/note]]. In contrast their in-state rivalry with Florida hasn't been much of a thing and barely gets acknowledged, though it has been heating up in recent years (with it now being full blown hatred between the two clubs and their fanbases), with the Bolts and Panthers meeting in the playoffs over the last two years, with Tampa Bay winning both times and are set to meet again in the 2023-24 playoffs [[note]] ensuring that the Panthers will likely remain the Lightning's little brothers[[/note]]. They also dislike both of the New York teams (moreso the Isles than the Rangers), they also hate the Toronto Maple Leafs, [[note]]whom they have split their first round series at 1 apiece following the Bolts' loss in the first round[[/note]] which has begun to heat up in recent years (both of their respective first round matchups featured lots of fighting between the two clubs and dirty plays from the rival Leafs), and have a mild dislike of the Montreal Canadiens[[note]]due to Tampa's recent defeat of them in the Finals and the accusations of their recent Cup wins, though they both have a shared hatred of Boston and Toronto[[/note]] and have begun to develop (as of their recent Cup loss) a potential new rivalry with the Colorado Avalanche (though much like the Cup loss with the Blackhawks in 2015, it has yet to properly develop), the 2022-2023 season was a massive regression due to the Cup years and injuries finally taking their toll on the team and they bowed out to the hated Maple Leafs in 6 games.

as well as being reverse-swept in the 2010 ECF [[/note]], they also don't like the St. Louis Blues[[note]]on top of having historic battles with the Baseball Cardinals (with whom the Red Sox have split 4 World Series titles), and the iconic Flying Orr goal that helped the B's complete a sweep of the Blues in the 1970 Finals (which ironically enough was the main inspiration for the Blues' own Cup run in 2019), to whom the B's lost their recent Cup after an infamous no call in Game 5 that completely changed the series momentum to the Blues' favor.[[/note]] and they also dislike the Tampa Bay Lightning [[note]]due to their many playoff battles in recent years where the two teams have kicked each other out a few times and the Bolts' then-recent Stanley Cup allegations[[/note]]; in fact, they are in the running for the most ''hated'' team in the NHL up there with the Toronto Maple Leafs [[note]]due to the pro Boston/New England's teams dominance in the Big 4 sport leagues, which the Bruins contributed to by winning the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals[[/note]].

The '''UsefulNotes/{{Montreal}} Canadiens''': AKA the Habs.[[note]]For "Les Habitants", an old term for French-origin inhabitants of Quebec.[[/note]] Older than the NHL; their history begins in the NHL's predecessor league, the National Hockey Association. They're the world's oldest continuously operating professional hockey team.[[labelnote:*]]Not only are the Habs older than the NHL, they also predate every Canadian professional sports team outside the [[UsefulNotes/CanadianFootballLeague CFL]], as well as every American major professional team apart from the 16 pre-expansion Major League Baseball teams and the NFL's Arizona Cardinals.[[/labelnote]] Has won 24 championships, a feat surpassed only by the [[UsefulNotes/MajorLeagueBaseball New York Yankees]] who have 3 more championships than the Habs. Also the last Canadian team to win the Cup (1993, which was the same year that hated Commissioner Gary Bettman took over the league), in which they bested the Gretzky-led Kings in 5 games, their Cup win actually set off riots throughout Montreal following their victory [[note]]which {{Foreshadow}} what was to come the following year and may have placed a curse on all Canadian teams in the process [[/note]]. Goaltender Jacques Plante made the goalie mask regular gear after stopping an Andy Bathgate slapshot with his nose in 1959. Pretty much the team of French Canada with the departure of the Quebec Nordiques to Colorado in 1995. Their long, storied history includes some legendary French-Canadian players: Maurice 'Le Rocket' Richard, Jean Béliveau, Guy Lafleur and Patrick Roy. [[TheRival They hate Toronto with a passion]], they surely don't like Boston, and they ''really'' don't like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jimZ1tSdPY0 Zdeno Chára]]. In the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs they managed to pull of a ''miraculous'' Cinderella run where, despite coming ''18th'' in the regular season and only ''barely'' making it into the postseason, they beat a heavily favored Maple Leafs team (who won 11 more games in the regular season and opened 3-1 on the series before collapsing), swept the Jets, who swept the equally favourited Oilers, and managed to beat the Golden Knights, who have been favourites to win the Cup ever since they entered the league. This not only led to their first Finals appearance since 1993, but it also led to the first time a Canadian team made it to the Finals in ''ten years'', though it sadly ended in disappointment when they lost to the defending champions Tampa Bay Lightning in 5 games.[[note]]Though the only game they won in the Finals also kept alive an unusual record: the Habs lost 10 finals, but only the 1989 Calgary Flames managed to hoist the Stanley Cup in Montreal.[[/note]] Still, the following season was a massive regression, finishing last overall.

The '''Tampa Bay Lightning''': AKA the Bolts. Currently the Southernmost team to win the Cup, having won in 2004, 2020, and 2021, although all three had some form of controversy attached.[[note]]the "phantom goal" that would have cost Tampa the Cup in '04 is arguably the most controversial call other than Brett Hull's "foot in the crease" in 1999; the 2020 Cup is sometimes questioned due to the unusual circumstances caused by the pandemic (same scenario would've befallen their Finals opponents the Dallas Stars had they won the Cup, making it a lose-lose situation regardless of the victor); the 2021 Cup caused a firestorm amongst fans and even other players due to accusations of LoopholeAbuse to circumvent the salary cap, at least in spirit, and bring an overpowered roster into the playoffs (ironically enough, their 2015 Finals opponents the Chicago Blackhawks pulled the exact same tactic during their 3 Cup runs, and Tampa Bay was one of the teams that attempted to get the rule changed)... Think twice about bringing up these allegations to the Bolts faithful![[/note]] They were the first attempt to market hockey in a former Confederate state since the Atlanta Flames (who moved to Calgary), and helped start a wave of expansion teams and team relocations during TheNineties when they showed a steady fanbase. They set single-game attendance records for a few years due to playing in a then-vacated domed baseball stadium (now Tropicana Field and home to the Rays), which was larger than any hockey arena but also made it hard to keep the ice solid. They quickly turned heads in their first year by having the first female goalie in NHL history in Manon Rhéaume! They were first led by star players such as Vincent Lecavalier (drafted in 1998 during the Bolts' DarkAges [[note]]where they were used as a part of a money laundering scheme by their first owner Okubo, who was in league with the Yakuza which nearly bankrupt the team due to paying most of their players in the form of loans, the issue got so bad to the point that the League had to get involved to save the team from outright folding[[/note]]), Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards early in the 2000s, later helping lead the Bolts to their first Stanley Cup in 2004. However the NHL lockout happened shortly after which wiped out the entire 04-05 Season preventing the Bolts from properly defending their crown (leading to a brief AudienceAlienatingEra that saw them getting bounced early in the playoffs or in some cases nearly missing the playoffs,[[note]] which lead to the trade of Brad Richards, and wasting the career of Vinny's and Marty's best years[[/note]]). After drafting Steven Stamkos in 2008 with the #1 pick and Victor Hedman #2 the following year (and the eventual drafting of goalie Andre Vasilevesky and perennial scorers Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point), they started to have stretches of good play in the past decade becoming one of the strongest teams of TheNewTens, first including a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2011 (during Vincent's twilight years) where due to a lack of a permanent goaltender they lost to the eventual Cup winner Bruins in 7 games ([[note]]it's heavily theorized that had the Bolts won the series, they'd likely would've beaten the powerhouse Vancouver Canucks in the Final that year due to having a stronger offense and defense than Vancouver, despite the lack of a permanent goalie[[/note]]), then later advancing to their second Stanley Cup final in 2015 (eventually losing to the Blackhawks in 6). They then started having a small period of EveryYearTheyFizzleOut where they made 2 Conference Finals appearances ([[note]]first losing to the Crosby-led Penguins in 7 games in 2016 and then losing to the Washington Capitals in 2018 in which both teams would go on to win the Cup, much to the displeasure of the Tampa fanbase[[/note]]). But the failure ultimately peaked in 2018-19 where they won the President's Trophy that year while tying the 1995-96 Red Wings for the then-most dominant regular season in NHL history (62 wins!)... [[EpicFail only to end up becoming the first ever President's Trophy winners in NHL history to be swept in the first round after losing their series to the Columbus Blue Jackets, led by their former coach John Tortorella who had coached them their first Stanley Cup victory back in 2004 no less]], leading many media pundits to question the Bolts' ability to win in the long run. However, they came back with a vengeance in the following year, winning their second cup after the playoffs were delayed till August due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and then their third cup the following year. They then made history in 2022 by making their '''third straight Cup final appearance in a row!''' (Becoming the first team to do so in the current Salary Cap Era since ''Gretzky's legendary 80s Oilers''). However their quest for a three-peat ended in heartbreak as they lost to the far more high powered offensive Avalanche team in 6 games [[note]]though to be fair, the Bolts were coming off from extremely short Summer off-seasons in-between their 3 straight runs along with key injuries to superstar Brayden Point which severely affected the Lightning's performance during their third run[[/note]]. Set a new standard for stadium RuleOfCool in 2011 when renovations to the St. Pete Times Forum (now Amalie Arena) included the installation of Tesla coils in the rafters that [[ShockAndAwe shoot real lightning]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEm_9IIRitc during the pregame intro and after goals]]. Oh, and despite those aforementioned ''Florida'' Panthers (who play in a suburb of UsefulNotes/{{Miami}}), the Bolts predate them by one year. They outright hate Boston. So much so that their fans will often chant "Fuck Boston!" even if they aren't playing the Bruins. In contrast their in-state rivalry with Florida hasn't been much of a thing and barely gets acknowledged, though it has been heating up in recent years, with the Bolts and Panthers meeting in the playoffs over the last two years, with Tampa Bay winning both times [[note]] ensuring that the Panthers will likely remain the Lightning's little brothers[[/note]]. They also dislike both of the New York teams, they also hate the Toronto Maple Leafs, [[note]]whom they have split their first round series at 1 apiece following the Bolts' loss in the first round[[/note]] which has begun to heat up in recent years (both of their respective first round matchups featured lots of fighting between the two clubs and dirty plays from the rival Leafs) and the Montreal Canadiens[[note]]due to Tampa's recent defeat of them in the postseason and the accusations of their recent Cup wins[[/note]] and have begun to develop (as of their recent Cup loss) a potential new rivalry with the Colorado Avalanche, the 2022-2023 season was a massive regression due to the Cup years and injuries finally taking their toll on the team and they bowed out to the hated Maple Leafs in 6 games.

The '''UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}} Maple Leafs'''; known for bad declension,[[note]]Technically, it's correct because the team isn't named after the things that grow on trees but the Canadian Maple Leaf Regiment that fought in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.[[/note]] being hated by the rest of Canada and all of the United States ([[ArchEnemy especially among Montreal fans]]), being [[TheEmpire the most valuable franchise in the league]], [[EveryYearTheyFizzleOut and not having won the Cup since 1967, which may or may not be due to the lingering effects of their former deceased owner Harold Ballard]] implying that Ballard placed a curse on the team, (as of 2022 and their First Round defeat at the hands of Tampa Bay, it is now the longest Cup drought in NHL history), or before 2013, a drought of seven seasons not even ''qualifying'' for the playoffs, and since 2013, not having won a playoff round since 2004 (ironically enough since 2013:[[note]] the teams that have bested them in the first round have all gone on to lose the Stanley Cup in the end with the hated Bruins losing both the 2013 and 2019 Cup Finals after defeating the Leafs in the first round during both runs with fellow rival Montreal following suit losing the 2021 Cup (coming back from a 3-1 deficit no less in which Toronto was the ''heavy favorites'') and Tampa Bay doing the same the following year (though the Leafs injuring Lightning star Brayden Point indirectly played a role in the Bolts' Cup loss that year) with Washington averting it in 2017 as they lost in the 2nd round to the eventual defending Cup Champs Penguins and the rival Bruins would do the same following year to the Lightning, all but ensuring that Toronto gets the last laugh[[/note]]), which was finally broken in 2023 when they took out the rival Tampa Bay Lightning in 6 Games. Their rivalry with the Canadiens is the oldest in the league. They hate their provincial rivals, the Ottawa Senators, a lot ever since their rebirth in 1993 (as part of the big wave of TheNineties expansion teams) and have kicked them out of the playoffs on multiple occasions, they also despise the Boston Bruins and the Detroit Red Wings (due to historic matchups) and are a notable rival of the Buffalo Sabres (due to the teams' close proximity to each other) and have begun a new more hateful rivalry with the Tampa Bay Lightning that has been heating up in recent years. The Toronto Maple Leafs are by far and away ''the'' most profitable and popular team in the sport, with season tickets to Scotiabank Arena (their home rink) unavailable for a minimum of ''ten years'', and home games rarely ''not'' sold out, they are also tied for being the most ''hated'' team in the NHL with the ''Boston Bruins'' [[note]] this is primarily due to their loyal fans, which most teams fans south of the border see them as highly egoistical, entitled and very annoying, though the same could be said for the rest of the Canadian teams' fanbases once their teams start winning. Though Toronto's far more hated simply because of how ''popular'' they are throughout Canada, though other Canadian fans will begrudgingly root for them if their teams' aren't in it[[/note]]. Their immense profitability and popularity has ensured that, despite their losing streak (going on fifty years), they are not in any danger of closing shop any time soon. With big names like Brendan Shanahan, Mike Babcock and Lou Lamoriello joining the front office staff over recent years, leading to a heavy influx of young talent on the ice that culminated in the 2016 1st overall selection of Auston Matthews and the 2018 offseason acquisition of former Islanders centerpiece John Tavares, there's finally some hope in "Leafs Nation" and early predictions are that they could make a serious run for the Cup for the first time in decades (though they still have yet to win a first round series with said core until ''2023''), though the young team also picked up a reputation for playing dirty when things don't go their way (especially in the playoffs), leading many opposing fans to hate the Maple Leafs even more. [[NeverLiveItDown They also quite infamously lost against]] [[MemeticMutation a 42-year-old Zamboni driver who works for them]]. [[MemeticMutation Even worse after said game when Toronto lost to their Zamboni driver]], their attempt at changing the Emergency Backup Goaltender (commonly shortened to EBUG) rule to make it so the visiting team had to bring one of their own instead of relying on the host team to provide one didn't fly with the league, for obvious logistical reasons.

The '''Winnipeg Jets''': formerly the UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}} Thrashers. On May 31, 2011, the team was sold and moved to Winnipeg[[note]]The ''[[HistoryRepeats second]]'' time a team moved from Atlanta, the first being the Flames in 1980. While many Atlanta hockey fans were not necessarily against the Coyotes staying in Arizona or even the return of an NHL team to Winnipeg (at least before True North came knocking on the Thrashers' door), most believe that the wrong team moved to Winnipeg in 2011, as the league had nearly two years to resolve the Coyotes' situation post-bankruptcy, yet they allowed the Thrashers to move to Winnipeg with practically no good faith efforts to keep the team in Atlanta beforehand. Since then, the Coyotes have remained under the near-perennial threat of relocation, particularly since being evicted from Glendale and are on the verge of relocating to Utah.[[/note]] for the next season, resurrecting the previous team's name due to overwhelming fan support for it (this has also led to a ''massive'' ContinuitySnarl, as the history of the original Winnipeg Jets is now entrenched in the backstory of the Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes,[[note]]Meanwhile, the NFL's Cleveland Browns, the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, MLS' San Jose Earthquakes, and NLL's Philadelphia Wings all either retained (Browns, Earthquakes, and Wings) or retroactively reclaimed (Hornets) the history of their original franchises after their relocations to Baltimore, New Orleans, Houston, and Connecticut, respectively. Additionally, Seattle retains the rights to the history of its former NBA team, the [=SuperSonics=], after that team's move to Oklahoma City, making matters worse, the Coyotes are expected to retain the original history of the Jets upon their deactivation in a similar manner to the Cleveland Browns and Seattle [=SuperSonics=].[[/note]] a severely contentious issue among Jets purists). The Jets play in the smallest ''standalone'' market among the Big Four sports leagues and are one of two teams based in a metropolitan area with less than one million residents.[[note]]While the Green Bay metropolitan area is roughly half the size of Winnipeg's, the Packers are also part of the larger UsefulNotes/{{Milwaukee}} media market.[[/note]] Season tickets for Winnipeg's 2011–12 season sold out in ''17 minutes''. The team then remained two years geographically miscast in the now-defunct Southeast Division[[note]]OK, Winnipeg ''is'' in the southeastern part of Manitoba.[[/note]] before the league and the players' union accepted a new realignment. Prior to the 2017-18 season, the franchise only made the playoffs twice, getting swept both times, once in their only appearance as the Thrashers in 2007 against the Rangers and again in their first appearance as the Jets in 2015 against the Ducks. The Jets ''finally'' won their first playoff game against the Wild on April 11, 2018, and the Jets subsequently won the series 4-1, marking the first time since ''1987'' that a Winnipeg-based team advanced to the Second Round, which it did win against the Predators, making it to the Western Conference Finals (and thus the league semi-finals) for the first time in the history of either incarnation of the Jets. Even better, the Jets managed to score a massive upset in the 2021 play-offs by ''sweeping'' the [=McDavid=]/Draisaitl-led Oilers in a series that went so well for the Jets that it ''caused serious concerns about the Oilers as a franchise'' - although being swept by the Canadiens in the following round raised questions as for whether the Jets were good or simply lucky. Those questions have deepened in the seasons since due to them straddling the playoff line[[note]]missed by a handful of points in '21-'22; squeaked in as the Second Wild Card in '22-'23, only to get crushed by Vegas, the eventual Cup champs, in the opening round[[/note]] while the coaching staff turned over,[[note]]the head coach that oversaw their 2018 and 2021 successes, Paul Maurice, resigned his post in fall 2021 (he later joined the Panthers and helped engineer their 2023 Finals run); interim Dave Lowry was let go at season's end; Rick Bowness took the reins for 2022-23 after an attempt to hire Barry Trotz fell through[[/note]] rumors of locker room strife swirled and multiple top players insinuated their desires to leave the team. Compounding the locker room drama, the Jets have been struggling with declining attendance since the COVID-19 pandemic; from 2021--24, the Jets lost over a quarter of its pre-pandemic season ticket base, many of them individuals, putting the long term viability of the Jets into question, implying that they too could relocate elsewhere much like the original Jets.

With the addition of Vegas and Seattle as well as the hype surrounding those two teams, expansion has been a hot topic in the NHL. Despite being the second of the four major North American leagues to expand to 32 clubs, there have been rumors that the NHL is looking to expand ''further'', with insiders pointing to UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}} and UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}, the two largest U.S. media markets without an NHL franchise, as the likely frontrunners--before Phoenix became a likely expansion target following the relocation of the UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}} Coyotes to [[UsefulNotes/{{Utah}} Salt Lake City]]. The former NHL markets of Hartford and [[UsefulNotes/{{Quebec}} Quebec City]] have remained perennial favorites among hockey traditionalists. Other possible expansion locations mentioned include [[UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}} Cincinnati]], Halifax, Hamilton, UsefulNotes/{{Milwaukee}}, Omaha, UsefulNotes/KansasCity, UsefulNotes/{{Portland}}, UsefulNotes/SanDiego and Saskatoon. While some traditionalists balk at the idea of expansion in general, in the Sun Belt specifically, and ''especially'' for a third time in Atlanta or a second time in Phoenix over Hartford or Quebec City, some believe that Toronto and/or Montreal could support a second NHL franchise; however, both the Leafs and Habs will likely block any such attempts.

Kansas City was previously home to the Scouts, who only lasted two seasons in KC before moving to Denver in 1976, becoming the Colorado Rockies, and subsequently to New Jersey in 1983 as the Devils. In 2007, a new NHL-sized arena, the T-Mobile (née Sprint) Center, opened in downtown KC. Shortly after its opening, T-Mobile Center was used as a bargaining chip by the Pittsburgh Penguins to replace the aging Pittsburgh Civic Arena, ultimately opening what's now known as PPG Paints Arena in 2010. With the Coyotes' arena proposal in Tempe voted down, Kansas City was seen as a potential landing spot before Salt Lake City emerged as that team's future location.

The '''UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}} Coyotes''': formerly the original Winnipeg Jets and Phoenix Coyotes. After years of being threatened of relocation (helped by a former owner filing the team for bankruptcy in 2009, followed by four years of the Coyotes operated by the NHL itself -- hellbent on keeping them in Arizona, even if Hamilton, UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} (which eventually got the Kraken in 2021), Quebec City, UsefulNotes/KansasCity, UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}, and even Saskatoon were offering to get the team. True North Sports and Entertainment were the frontrunners to acquire the Coyotes, bringing the original Jets home if efforts to keep the team in Arizona fell through before the league convinced True North to buy the Thrashers instead; while the league allowed True North to revive the Winnipeg Jets name, the original Jets' history remains in Arizona) finally got a new owner in 2013. Surprised everybody in 2009–10 as [[EnsembleDarkhorse one of the best teams in the league]], finishing second in their division with 50 wins. They'd then do it again two years later by winning their first ''ever'' divisional championship ... for '''both sides of the franchise'''! That 2011-12 squad also made the first Conference Finals run for either side, only to get drummed out in five games by the Kings and return to perennial basement-dweller status in the years since (except for a very narrow miss with a wild card in 2018-19 and an appearance in the expanded 2020 playoffs where they managed to win their Qualifying Round series over Nashville before being demolished by Colorado in the next round; even in this year, they were eleventh in the Conference and were on a month long skid when the season was paused by the pandemic). As such, they're unsurprisingly the oldest franchise to currently never make it to the Stanley Cup, provided you include their original stay in Winnipeg. The Coyotes were in the Pacific Division from 1998 until the activation of the Seattle Kraken in 2021 moved Arizona back into the Central Division[[note]]the Jets were originally placed in the Smythe in 1979, moving to the Norris in 1981 when the league realigned into more geographically grouped divisions, only to move back to the Smythe in 1982 when the Rockies moved east and became the Devils; the Jets returned to the Norris, now renamed the Central Division, in 1993, remaining in the Central after their move to Phoenix until the league realinged into six divisions in 1998[[/note]]. Rumors of relocation have also re-intensified due to both the impending division switch and the current ownership's insistence on signing one-year deals with their now-former arena (the Gila River Arena), all of which came to a head when the City of Glendale decided not to renew the Coyotes' lease before the 2021–22 season began and forced the team and league to scramble for both a new arena ''and'' city once that season ended. Houston was considered to be the leading candidate since there are interested local parties and possible arena solutions already in place[[note]]Specifically Tilman Fertitta, owner of the NBA's Houston Rockets, and the Toyota Center, home to the Rockets, but was built to also accommodate the NHL as well[[/note]], but the league and franchise seemed determined to stay in the state of Arizona even if they couldn't stay in Glendale, thus they tried to strike a deal with the City of Tempe. The plan started with the Coyotes moving into the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena that was initially built by and for Arizona State University for some of their college teams (including hockey) in 2022, intending to stay there until at least 2025, if not 2026, while a more permanent home in Tempe (with a lot more seats being built by then) got built for them. However, the leading proposal for an arena and surrounding entertainment district was met with immediate opposition and appears to have fallen apart after a public referendum resulted in a lopsided "no" vote in May 2023; after that, the Coyotes needed to ''seriously'' consider leaving the state altogether and relocate, particularly with both the Players' Union and the Board of Governors mounting pressure on the team to find a permanent solution sooner rather than later. The head of the NHLPA, Marty Walsh, expressed his support in moving the Coyotes to Utah, growing impatient with the Coyotes' ownership in finding a long-term solution in the Phoenix area. The ownership made an effort to stay in the area, exploring possible sites in Mesa and north Phoenix, with a public land auction on June 27, 2024 in the latter being the team's last-ditch effort to remain in Arizona. However, given that the arena would have taken at least two years to construct even ''if'' the Coyotes had won the land auction, and the league wasn't too keen on an extended stay at Mullett Arena, the league facilitated a sale to UsefulNotes/{{Utah}} [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation Jazz]] owner Ryan Smith. The NHL has told Smith that the Delta Center, home to the Jazz, will need hockey-specific upgrades. However, with SLC planning a bid for the 2034 Winter Olympics, with a new arena in the works for that event, the Utah government plans to chip in close to $1 billion for the new arena, and Smith also has government support for upgrades to the Delta Center. The sale agreement gives former owner Alex Meruelo a five-year window to get a new arena built in the Phoenix area; if successful, the Coyotes will return as an expansion team. The relocation was formalized on April 18, 2024, when the NHL board of governors unanimously approved the sale and relocation of the Coyotoes. Also notable as the ''only'' NHL team (as of 2021–22) that does not require its players to arrive at the arena on game days in suits and ties.[[note]]The league's current collective bargaining agreement with its players' union requires such apparel unless a team specifies otherwise; so far, only the Coyotes have relaxed their dress code.[[/note]] Also known as of late for, '''even when fielding awful teams''', somehow being a permanent hellish thorn on the Toronto Maple Leafs' side ''for no particular reason'', as it has been more than 20 years since the last time Toronto beat the Coyotes at home in regulation, and Arizona having beat them 18 out of the 25 times they've played one another.

The '''UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}} Coyotes''': formerly the original Winnipeg Jets and Phoenix Coyotes. After years of being threatened of relocation (helped by a former owner filing the team for bankruptcy in 2009, followed by four years of the Coyotes operated by the NHL itself -- hellbent on keeping them in Arizona, even if Hamilton, UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} (which eventually got the Kraken in 2021), Quebec City, UsefulNotes/KansasCity, UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}, and even Saskatoon were offering to get the team. True North Sports and Entertainment were the frontrunners to acquire the Coyotes, bringing the original Jets home if efforts to keep the team in Arizona fell through before the league convinced True North to buy the Thrashers instead; while the league allowed True North to revive the Winnipeg Jets name, the original Jets' history remains in Arizona) finally got a new owner in 2013. Surprised everybody in 2009–10 as [[EnsembleDarkhorse one of the best teams in the league]], finishing second in their division with 50 wins. They'd then do it again two years later by winning their first ''ever'' divisional championship ... for '''both sides of the franchise'''! That 2011-12 squad also made the first Conference Finals run for either side, only to get drummed out in five games by the Kings and return to perennial basement-dweller status in the years since (except for a very narrow miss with a wild card in 2018-19 and an appearance in the expanded 2020 playoffs where they managed to win their Qualifying Round series over Nashville before being demolished by Colorado in the next round; even in this year, they were eleventh in the Conference and were on a month long skid when the season was paused by the pandemic). As such, they're unsurprisingly the oldest franchise to currently never make it to the Stanley Cup, provided you include their original stay in Winnipeg. The Coyotes were in the Pacific Division from 1998 until the activation of the Seattle Kraken in 2021 moved Arizona back into the Central Division[[note]]the Jets were originally placed in the Smythe in 1979, moving to the Norris in 1981 when the league realigned into more geographically grouped divisions, only to move back to the Smythe in 1982 when the Rockies moved east and became the Devils; the Jets returned to the Norris, now renamed the Central Division, in 1993, remaining in the Central after their move to Phoenix until the league realinged into six divisions in 1998[[/note]]. Rumors of relocation have also re-intensified due to both the impending division switch and the current ownership's insistence on signing one-year deals with their now-former arena (the Gila River Arena), all of which came to a head when the City of Glendale decided not to renew the Coyotes' lease before the 2021–22 season began and forced the team and league to scramble for both a new arena ''and'' city once that season ended. Houston was considered to be the leading candidate since there are interested local parties and possible arena solutions already in place[[note]]Specifically Tilman Fertitta, owner of the NBA's Houston Rockets, and the Toyota Center, home to the Rockets, but was built to also accommodate the NHL as well[[/note]], but the league and franchise seemed determined to stay in the state of Arizona even if they couldn't stay in Glendale, thus they tried to strike a deal with the City of Tempe. The plan started with the Coyotes moving into the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena that was initially built by and for Arizona State University for some of their college teams (including hockey) in 2022, intending to stay there until at least 2025, if not 2026, while a more permanent home in Tempe (with a lot more seats being built by then) got built for them. However, the leading proposal for an arena and surrounding entertainment district was met with immediate opposition and appears to have fallen apart after a public referendum resulted in a lopsided "no" vote in May 2023; after that, the Coyotes needed to ''seriously'' consider leaving the state altogether and relocate, particularly with both the Players' Union and the Board of Governors mounting pressure on the team to find a permanent solution sooner rather than later. The head of the NHLPA, Marty Walsh, expressed his support in moving the Coyotes to Utah, growing impatient with the Coyotes' ownership in finding a long-term solution in the Phoenix area. The ownership made an effort to stay in the area, exploring possible sites in Mesa and north Phoenix, with a public land auction on June 27, 2024 in the latter being the team's last-ditch effort to remain in Arizona. However, given that the arena would have taken at least two years to construct even ''if'' the Coyotes had won the land auction, and the league wasn't too keen on an extended stay at Mullett Arena, the league facilitated a sale to UsefulNotes/{{Utah}} [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation Jazz]] owner Ryan Smith, with the official announcement of the sale and move to Salt Lake City to be made immediately after the end of the 2023–24 regular season. The NHL has told Smith that the Delta Center, home to the Jazz, will need hockey-specific upgrades. However, with SLC planning a bid for the 2034 Winter Olympics, with a new arena in the works for that event, the Utah government plans to chip in close to $1 billion for the new arena, and Smith also has government support for upgrades to the Delta Center. The sale agreement gives former owner Alex Meruelo a five-year window to get a new arena built in the Phoenix area; if successful, the Coyotes will return as an expansion team. The relocation was formalized on April 18, 2024, when the NHL board of governors unanimously approved the sale and relocation of the Coyotoes. Also notable as the ''only'' NHL team (as of 2021–22) that does not require its players to arrive at the arena on game days in suits and ties.[[note]]The league's current collective bargaining agreement with its players' union requires such apparel unless a team specifies otherwise; so far, only the Coyotes have relaxed their dress code.[[/note]] Also known as of late for, '''even when fielding awful teams''', somehow being a permanent hellish thorn on the Toronto Maple Leafs' side ''for no particular reason'', as it has been more than 20 years since the last time Toronto beat the Coyotes at home in regulation, and Arizona having beat them 18 out of the 25 times they've played one another.

[[caption-width-right:1000:[[labelnote:Map of NHL teams in the 2024-25 season]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nhl_map_24_25.png The Arizona Coyotes plan to relocate to Salt Lake City during the 2024 offseason.[[/labelnote]]]]

[[caption-width-right:1000:[[labelnote:Map of NHL teams in the 2024-25 season]] https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nhl_map_24_25.png The Arizona Coyotes are expected to relocate to Salt Lake City during the 2024 offseason.[[/labelnote]]]]

The '''UsefulNotes/{{Arizona}} Coyotes''': formerly the original Winnipeg Jets and Phoenix Coyotes. After years of being threatened of relocation (helped by a former owner filing the team for bankruptcy in 2009, followed by four years of the Coyotes operated by the NHL itself -- hellbent on keeping them in Arizona, even if Hamilton, UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} (which eventually got the Kraken in 2021), Quebec City, UsefulNotes/KansasCity, UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}, and even Saskatoon were offering to get the team. True North Sports and Entertainment were the frontrunners to acquire the Coyotes, bringing the original Jets home if efforts to keep the team in Arizona fell through before the league convinced True North to buy the Thrashers instead; while the league allowed True North to revive the Winnipeg Jets name, the original Jets' history remains in Arizona) finally got a new owner in 2013. Surprised everybody in 2009–10 as [[EnsembleDarkhorse one of the best teams in the league]], finishing second in their division with 50 wins. They'd then do it again two years later by winning their first ''ever'' divisional championship ... for '''both sides of the franchise'''! That 2011-12 squad also made the first Conference Finals run for either side, only to get drummed out in five games by the Kings and return to perennial basement-dweller status in the years since (except for a very narrow miss with a wild card in 2018-19 and an appearance in the expanded 2020 playoffs where they managed to win their Qualifying Round series over Nashville before being demolished by Colorado in the next round; even in this year, they were eleventh in the Conference and were on a month long skid when the season was paused by the pandemic). As such, they're unsurprisingly the oldest franchise to currently never make it to the Stanley Cup, provided you include their original stay in Winnipeg. The Coyotes were in the Pacific Division from 1998 until the activation of the Seattle Kraken in 2021 moved Arizona back into the Central Division[[note]]the Jets were originally placed in the Smythe in 1979, moving to the Norris in 1981 when the league realigned into more geographically grouped divisions, only to move back to the Smythe in 1982 when the Rockies moved east and became the Devils; the Jets returned to the Norris, now renamed the Central Division, in 1993, remaining in the Central after their move to Phoenix until the league realinged into six divisions in 1998[[/note]]. Rumors of relocation have also re-intensified due to both the impending division switch and the current ownership's insistence on signing one-year deals with their now-former arena (the Gila River Arena), all of which came to a head when the City of Glendale decided not to renew the Coyotes' lease before the 2021–22 season began and forced the team and league to scramble for both a new arena ''and'' city once that season ended. Houston was considered to be the leading candidate since there are interested local parties and possible arena solutions already in place[[note]]Specifically Tilman Fertitta, owner of the NBA's Houston Rockets, and the Toyota Center, home to the Rockets, but was built to also accommodate the NHL as well[[/note]], but the league and franchise seemed determined to stay in the state of Arizona even if they couldn't stay in Glendale, thus they tried to strike a deal with the City of Tempe. The plan started with the Coyotes moving into the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena that was initially built by and for Arizona State University for some of their college teams (including hockey) in 2022, intending to stay there until at least 2025, if not 2026, while a more permanent home in Tempe (with a lot more seats being built by then) got built for them. However, the leading proposal for an arena and surrounding entertainment district was met with immediate opposition and appears to have fallen apart after a public referendum resulted in a lopsided "no" vote in May 2023; after that, the Coyotes needed to ''seriously'' consider leaving the state altogether and relocate, particularly with both the Players' Union and the Board of Governors mounting pressure on the team to find a permanent solution sooner rather than later. The head of the NHLPA, Marty Walsh, expressed his support in moving the Coyotes to Utah, growing impatient with the Coyotes' ownership in finding a long-term solution in the Phoenix area. The ownership made an effort to stay in the area, exploring possible sites in Mesa and north Phoenix, with a public land auction on June 27, 2024 in the latter being the team's last-ditch effort to remain in Arizona. However, given that the arena would have taken at least two years to construct even ''if'' the Coyotes had won the land auction, and the league wasn't too keen on an extended stay at Mullett Arena, the league facilitated a sale to UsefulNotes/{{Utah}} [[UsefulNotes/NationalBasketballAssociation Jazz]] owner Ryan Smith, with the official announcement of the sale and move to Salt Lake City to be made immediately after the end of the 2023–24 regular season. The NHL has told Smith that the Delta Center, home to the Jazz, will need hockey-specific upgrades. However, with SLC planning a bid for the 2034 Winter Olympics, with a new arena in the works for that event, the Utah government plans to chip in close to $1 billion for the new arena, and Smith also has government support for upgrades to the Delta Center. The sale agreement gives former owner Alex Meruelo a five-year window to get a new arena built in the Phoenix area; if successful, the Coyotes will return as an expansion team. Also notable as the ''only'' NHL team (as of 2021–22) that does not require its players to arrive at the arena on game days in suits and ties.[[note]]The league's current collective bargaining agreement with its players' union requires such apparel unless a team specifies otherwise; so far, only the Coyotes have relaxed their dress code.[[/note]] Also known as of late for, '''even when fielding awful teams''', somehow being a permanent hellish thorn on the Toronto Maple Leafs' side ''for no particular reason'', as it has been more than 20 years since the last time Toronto beat the Coyotes at home in regulation, and Arizona having beat them 18 out of the 25 times they've played one another.