Alex Meruelo has signed the papers to relinquish his rights to the Coyotes

This news comes as a relief to hockey fans in Arizona.

We knew Alex Meruelo wasn’t going to reactivate the Coyotes club…

But today we learn that he has agreed to (and signed) all the agreements and documents necessary to relinquish his rights to the Coyotes.

If you’re wondering what people’s overall reaction to the news is, I invite you to click here to go to the replies to Craig Morgan’s tweet, which made the announcement.

Obviously, the popular reaction is: it’s about time this happened.

Even Frank Seravalli invited himself to the party, saying “good riddance”:

Good riddance https://t.co/2NkI8ICnkY

– Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 10, 2024

In the end, it’s a victory for the National League.

Alex Meruelo didn’t have what it took to be the owner of an NHL club… Because he didn’t give a damn about what was going on with his organization.

At a certain point, it all came back to bite the league in the ass, and the whole image of the NHL took a hit.

Meruelo, after all, had made a string of bad decisions in recent years, and it looked like a circus before the Utah HC bought the Coyotes’ assets.

Let’s not forget that all this doesn’t mean that hockey will never be back in Arizona.

Gary Bettman loves the market there, but it’s going to take a serious investor or investors to make it happen.

Because at this point, it’s hard to believe that Bettman and his associates haven’t learned from their mistakes.

If the project goes ahead, J.J. Watt would like to see Shane Doan involved to make it happen one day.

Watt played a long time in Arizona for the Cardinals (NFL), and knows the former Coyotes captain well.

And for the former NFL player, it’s not that complicated:

All you have to do is raise a few billion dollars, ask the people of Arizona to approve the construction of a new stadium and ask Gary Bettman to approve it. – J.J. Watt

If for no reason other than this logo alone, the franchise needs to be revived properly.

And Shane Doan should be involved.

Just gotta gather up a couple billion dollars, have the people of Arizona approve a new stadium build & get Gary Bettman to approve it.

Easy right? https://t.co/2OElqG2DLk pic.twitter.com/C9Rrd1QJY3

– JJ Watt (@JJWatt) June 26, 2024

Overtime

– Hard to ask for more!

Quinn Hughes this season:

– 17g | 75a | 92pts in 82 games
– +38 (4th in NHL)
– 54 points at even strength
– 43 takeaways (19th in NHL)
– $16.4m market value via The Athletic
– 6.84 xGA/60 on the penalty kill (39th out of 178 defensemen w/ 40+ minutes played on PK | best on… pic.twitter.com/kvNTgmG4qy

– Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) July 10, 2024

– Not his best.

Former Raptor Jontay Porter has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a case tied to the betting scandal that got him banned from the NBA. pic.twitter.com/Zgv5ivrTf1

– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) July 10, 2024