The NHL confirms Utah's team will play in the Central division

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Graham Montgomery
April 18, 2024 (10:01 PM)

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The NHL finalized the deal that will move the Arizona Coyotes to Salt Lake City next season. As part of the announcement, the league confirmed that there will be no realignment of the divisions as the Utah team will remain in the Central.

It has certainly been a sad few days for Coyotes hockey fans as the team has been rendered defunct. Furthermore, the NHL has stated that the team's history and legacy will remain in Arizona as the new team will be an entirely new entity. This is likely so the league can explore the option of bringing back the Coyotes as an expansion team in the upcoming years. After all, there is a clause included in the transaction that gives former owner Alex Meruelo the opportunity to do exactly that.

With the team being relocated, some fans were interested in hearing about possible realignment of the divisions. There were even rumors that Calgary and Edmonton could be moved to the central division. However, the league has confirmed that that will not be the case, the the Utah club remaining in the Central Division as the Coyotes had been.

"The Coyotes Franchise is transferring its hockey assets (including its full reserve list, roster of players and draft picks, and its hockey operations department) to Utah. Utah is starting as a new franchise. The history of the Coyotes will stay behind."

Of course, should the league expand back to Arizona, that could bring up the possibility of realignment once again. However, the layout of the league could be very different by then, so we will just have to wait and see what happens.