What Utahns should know about being an Arizona Coyotes fan

Congratulations, Utah hockey fans.

You finally have an NHL franchise.

With this addition, Utah is showing it shouldn’t be written off as a small sports market.

But this franchise comes at a great cost — and no, I’m not talking about the $1.2 billion Ryan Smith paid to purchase the Coyotes.

I’m referring to the now hockey-less fanbase you inherited the beloved Coyotes from. Hence, the “Salt Lake sucks” chants heard Wednesday at the team’s last game in the desert before moving to Deseret.

You should not be under the impression that Arizona didn’t care about the Coyotes. The fans clearly did — they packed the arena one last time and didn’t want to leave. Coyotes players signed and tossed hats to those who stayed behind after the game.

The Coyotes players reciprocated the love of their fans.

Why else would they be sad to move on from numerous stadium woes and unstable ownership?

Here are three things you need to know as a new Coyotes — er, Utah Yetis or Utah whatever fan.

Lack of success on the ice

You’re not inheriting a team known for winning. It’s been a rough 28 years for Arizona Coyotes fans.

In the past five years, the Coyotes have lost 186 games, plus an additional 40 overtime losses, and only won 146 games.

The Coyotes have qualified for the playoffs only nine times in the team’s history, which isn’t much more than the number of owners the team has had.

They never made it to the Stanley Cup final. The closest they came was in 2012, when they won the Pacific Division title but lost in the Western Conference finals.

Since that conference final loss, they have qualified for the playoffs only once.

So, when the Utah Yetis — or whatever the team is named — experience even just the smallest amount of success, be grateful. It’s something that has eluded the franchise.

The famous Kachina jersey

The Coyotes have one of the most unique jerseys in the NHL: the Kachina jersey.

“I’ve had the opportunity over the years to build a lot of brands, a lot of sports brands,” Greg Fisher, the logo’s designer, told the Coyotes. “The Coyotes Kachina we created has its own cult following, and not just in this local market, but with fans across the country.”

The jersey, which is based on the beliefs of the Pueblo people, first launched in 1996 and was used until 2003, when the team rebranded with the logo of a howling coyote. But the Kachinas made their long-awaited return in 2018 and have been a staple ever since.

With the team name and logo staying in Arizona, the favorite jersey will now become a piece of vintage clothing.

Coyotes fans love Shane Doan

Shane Doan is beloved by Coyotes fans. He was the long-time face of the franchise.

Doan spent the first season of his NHL career with the Winnipeg Jets before the team relocated to Arizona to become the Coyotes, and he spent the next 20 years with the team.

He served as the team’s captain from 2003 to his retirement in 2017 and is the only Coyote to have their number retired.

Doan became so beloved and engrained in the Arizona community that he returned to the team to work in the front office four years after retiring. He has since moved on and is the special adviser to the general manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The fans’ love of Doan was evident Wednesday when a Coyotes fan returned Doan’s retirement banner to him. When the Coyotes left Gila River Arena in 2022, the banner was left behind. One fan has held onto it since and was able to finally reunite it with Doan.

Doan’s impact on the state of Arizona was so great that he was a pallbearer at the late Sen. John McCain’s memorial service.

Utah will now have the chance for its own Doan legacy.

In 2021, the Coyotes drafted Doan’s son, Josh Doan. The younger Doan made his debut for the Coyotes only three weeks ago with his dad in attendance, making the most of his debut by scoring two goals.

The young right winger was optimistic about the move Wednesday despite it spoiling the fairy tale his career could have become — playing in his home state for his dad’s old team.

“There’s no hate towards Salt Lake City because they’re welcoming us with open arms. We don’t want there to be hate across the board from fans here towards them cause the people there had nothing really to do with it. They’ve been welcoming and supportive of us, too,” he said, per KSL Sports’ Sam Farnsworth.

Could Josh Doan become as beloved in Utah as his dad was in Arizona? Only time will tell, and consider yourself lucky if he does.