Long-time Philadelphia Flyers winger Jakub Voráček has announced his retirement from playing in an exclusive March interview with Martina Jandová of Czechia’s Showtime Program. The 1,000-game veteran cited 12 concussions as the reason he can no longer play, describing four of the injuries as, “heavy”. This announcement brings an official end to Voracek’s career, something many speculated would happen after he accepted a job supporting Jaromir Jagr’s Kladno at the start of the season. Voráček said, “I started helping with the A team. [Jagr] called me in September to ask if I could help. So ..read more

With the franchise being relocated to Utah for next season, there aren’t many too transactions coming in the near-term future for the Coyotes.  However, there was one today as the team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve re-assigned center Conor Geekie to AHL Tucson. The 19-year-old was the 11th overall pick two years ago by Arizona, giving them another potential core piece up front.  Geekie got off to a dominant start this season with WHL Wenatchee, notching 20 goals and 29 assists in just 26 games before leaving to play for Canada at the World Juniors where he had three points in ..read more

Half the league has played their last games for the 2023-24 campaign, while the other half is gearing up for postseason action starting tomorrow. Either way, squads are making roster adjustments today, whether it’s assigning players back to the minors after their NHL seasons came to a close or recalling reinforcements for their playoff runs. We’ll keep track of all of today’s moves here: The Bruins have recalled center John Beecher and defenseman Mason Lohrei from AHL Providence. Both will be available for tomorrow’s Game 1 of Boston’s first-round series against the Maple Leafs ..read more

The sale of the Arizona Coyotes to Utah has been formally approved by the NHL’s Board of Governors, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli (Twitter link). The vote received unanimous support from the board, shares The Athletic’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link). The NHL has promptly released their first statement on this transition (Web link). This news brings a quiet end to the long-running saga surrounding the Coyotes search for a home in Arizona. The team has been pushing to build a new arena since their lease ended at Gila River Arena at the end of the 2021-22 season. They searched through many ..read more

Short of an official announcement from the league, the Coyotes are relocating to Salt Lake City next season and being sold to Smith Entertainment Group, the ownership of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, with the league as an intermediary. GM Bill Armstrong traveled to Edmonton yesterday to inform the team of the relocation while on their road trip, and players and staff are expected to travel to Utah sometime next week. Over the next few days, when a sale announcement comes, it will become clear how complex this transaction will be. One rumored piece of the sale appears to be set in stone, per John Gambad ..read more

A relocation to Salt Lake City for 2024-25 seems the overwhelmingly likely end to a years-long solution to the Coyotes’ long-term future in Arizona. Reporting yesterday indicated significant progress had been made between Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo, the NHL, and prospective Salt Lake owner Smith Entertainment Group on an agreement to sell the club. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman also told PHNX Sports that a move to Utah had a “90 to 95 percent chance” of going through. What’s less certain is a timeline. Speaking on “Insider Trading” on Thursday, TSN’s Pierre ..read more

The Coyotes, in conjunction with the NHL, have made “significant progress” today on an agreement to relocate the team to Salt Lake City and sell the club to Smith Entertainment Group, owners of the NBA’s Utah Jazz, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports. The league reportedly sent a memo to its Board of Governors today after a report from Seravalli this morning said the NHL was preparing a contingency plan for a Coyotes relocation, including two distinct schedule matrices. A relocation is not final, but reports indicate the tide is turning that way. Neither the Coyotes nor the league, who ha ..read more

The NHL is preparing a contingency plan in the event the Arizona Coyotes relocate to Salt Lake City as soon as this offseason, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports. Multiple sources indicate the league is drafting two different schedule matrices for next season, one with the Yotes remaining in Tempe’s Mullett Arena and the other with the franchise moving to the Delta Center in Salt Lake, Seravalli says. Relocation is a less likely outcome after the plot of land the Coyotes intend to use for a new arena and entertainment district in north Phoenix was officially listed for auction last week ..read more

The Arizona Coyotes have announced that defenseman Travis Dermott will be sidelined for the rest of the season with an upper-body injury. Forward Nick Bjugstad is also facing an upper-body injury, carrying a day-to-day designation (Twitter link). The Coyotes have five games remaining in their season, including a Tuesday night matchup with the Seattle Kraken. Dermott has been limited to just 50 games this season, with a month-long absence in November headlining an injury-plagued year. It’s been a disappointing start to Dermott’s time in Arizona after he signed a one-year deal with the team this ..read more

Before the team’s game tonight against the Seattle Kraken, the Arizona Coyotes have recalled forward Jan Jenik from their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, on an emergency loan. The news of Jenik’s call-up likely means that forward Barrett Hayton will not be able to make his return to the lineup in tonight’s contest. This transaction will mark Jenik’s third call-up of the season, with the last coming in mid-November. During that callup, Jenik was able to play in his first and only game of the season for Arizona, registering zero points in just 8:21 of ice time. In what has become a recurr ..read more