Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
TEMPE, Ariz. — "Salt Lake sucks!" "Salt Lake sucks!" "Salt Lake sucks!"
The chant rang out through Mullett Arena in the closing minutes of the second period Wednesday night.
Much of the night of the Arizona Coyotes' final game was a celebration. It was filled with nostalgia and reflection. Arizona fans came together to remember the good times, laugh about the bad ones and commiserate over a soon-to-be lost team.
But there were a few moments where the fans let out some pent-up frustration.
Their team, they felt, had been stolen. The Coyotes' owner had failed them — an owner (Alex Meruelo) who reportedly didn't even have the courtesy of showing up Wednesday — and an opportunistic billionaire from Utah took advantage.
One week, they had their beloved team; the next, they were paying hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars just for a chance to say goodbye.
So those fans let the Coyotes know just how they felt about their future home. Misguided anger? Maybe, but consider it a reflection of how they felt about the entire situation.
With the Coyotes' 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers, the sun set on hockey in the desert. In a short time, the news will be official; The Arizona franchise will move to Salt Lake City, rebrand as a different team, and the Coyotes will be no more.
As the excitement builds in Utah for the new team, the pain has hit Arizona.
"We enjoyed living here. We enjoyed being here," head coach André Tourigny said.
His use of past tense put a finality on the moment, but those words didn't come until nearly an hour after the Coyotes wrapped up the win. Why the delay? No one wanted to leave.
As the final seconds ticked away, the fans rose and gave their team one last ovation — an ovation that refused to end.
The fans cheered as the Coyotes formed a line so each could hug their longtime equipment manager. They cheered when the players circled at center ice and raised their sticks in a salute. They cheered when the team returned to the ice to sign autographs and pose for pictures.
A half hour after the game ended, the crowd began chanting: "Don't move Coyotes" — a final plea that fell on deaf ears.
Wednesday represented the dark side of relocation. Coaches and staffers wiped tears away, players hugged and fans refused to leave. It was as if they believed that if they could just keep cheering their team would somehow stay in Arizona.
"It all came pretty fast," said promising rookie forward Logan Cooley said. "I was planning on leaving all my clothes and stuff here, thinking I was gonna come back and have another year in the desert, but, obviously, it's not the way it went."
When Rich Teake walked into Mullet Arena Wednesday, he checked an item off his bucket list. Teake is from Ohio, but when he was 8, the Coyotes grabbed him and never let go. He fell in love with the team, but he had never made it out to the desert for a game. When he heard about the relocation move, he quickly realized that there was just one last chance to do just that.
Thousands of dollars later, he could finally see the team he loved play on home ice — for the only time.
Will his fandom follow to Utah?
"I don't know yet," he said. "More than likely, but it's not going to be the same."
Teake wasn't the only fan who traveled on a moment's notice to catch the final game. A young fan held a sign that read, "I came from Boston to see your last game." A college-aged fan had a sign that said she had flown from Florida to see her team one last time.
Those fans — along with the thousands more who packed into the small arena — came to cheer, cry, and say thank you for the last 27 years of hockey.
Now, the team will move to Utah where a new opportunity awaits.
"Amongst this group, obviously, there's no hate toward Salt Lake City, because they're welcoming us with open arms," said forward Josh Doan, whose father, Shane, was a Coyotes legend. "We don't want there to be hate across the board from the fans here towards them. The people there had nothing really to do with it."
Most of the fans at Mullet Arena understood that.
As Barbara Meeks was leaving her final Arizona Coyotes game, she had a request; the 72-year-old grandmother of three has been to hundreds of Coyotes games over the last 27 years. She's grown to love every iteration of the team, but this current roster ... well, that might just have been her favorite.
She loved how they grew together, how they played fast and free, and how they were so full of potential. When she was asked if she had a message for the fans up in Utah, she smiled as tears began to form in her eyes.
"Please, oh please, take care of our boys."
