Who wants the Arizona Coyotes?

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but rumors have started that the Arizona Coyotes could be sold and moved to Houston. I know, it’s been a whole 12 minutes since the last one:

This was met by a denial by the Coyotes ownership group, and it was sort of an upset that this current kindergarten recess of executives could manage a tweet, much less a full statement, spelled correctly.

The Yotes still have the problem of having nowhere to play after this season. Glendale has basically evicted them from the arena they’ve called home because they’ll make more money hosting concerts and Motocross or some low-grade Cirque De Whatever show there more often than having hockey games. They’ve been trying to hash out a deal to build a new arena in Tempe, but like all of the Coyotes’ plans or play on the ice, it’s more of a theory right now than something tangible. There’s even been a rumor that they might decamp to the Diamondbacks’ stadium (hey, it has a roof!) while they sort out a permanent solution.

Certainly the current product isn’t winning over anyone, as they’re the worst team in the Western Conference as only the Ottawa Senators are looking up at them overall. There’s maybe one player that could be considered a building block in Jakob Chychrun, and they’re years from even being watchable. Like they’ve been for almost their entire existence, they’ve got miles to go before they’re scenery. And that includes when they were first in Winnipeg (though #TeppoNumminenForever)

The Yotes aren’t the biggest pockmark on Gary Bettman’s record as commissioner, which is saying something, but they’re in the team photo. The rest of the league must be hoping this calamity is close to being over, no matter the denials the Coyots put forth. The players would certainly like to have another team that actually sells tickets and creates interest to drive up hockey-related revenue. Houston already has a building and a huge (sprawling) metropolitan area, and Dallas has proven that if you make it worth its while, Texans will show up for hockey. The only reason to keep this patient on life support is pure stubbornness. It’s never too late to correct a mistake, no matter how long it’s taken.