hockey's business and legal

Hockey’s Business And Legal Headlines April 8-14 With an Arizona Coyotes Move to Salt Lake City

It’s that time again when we take a look at what’s been happening in hockey’s business and legal world. Once a week we cover the big and not so big stories in this arena. We also include a featured story of the period. Let’s take a look at what has been happening this period.

Hockey’s Business and Legal News

Hazing Lawsuit Moving Forward Against the QMJHL and Its Member Teams

A Quebec Superior Court ruled that a hazing lawsuit brought against the QMJHL, its member teams, and the CHL may move forward as a class action lawsuit. This is yet another example of a former player coming forward about alleged hazing and abuse against a hockey league. While this lawsuit is specific in its facts, it more or less alleges similar claims brought in previous hazing lawsuits such as the one in 2020 brought by former NHLer Daniel Carcillo. We covered that lawsuit in detail in a two-part article here and here. For any lawsuit brought as a class action, a judge has to approve the certification of the class. The parties may not argue the merits of this case for a while, but it will move forward.

NHL NHLPA 4 Nations Tournament Locations Reportedly Named

As we covered in a previous hockey’s business and legal updates article, the NHL and NHLPA agreed to a 4 Nations Faceoff Tournament to be held in 2025 (in lieu of a World Cup of Hockey for that year). With the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland participating it was announced that it would have a Canadian and U.S. location. Those will reportedly be Boston and Montreal.

Team USA Assistants Named

Speaking of the 4 Nations Tournament, Team USA named Chris Drury, Tom Fitzgerald, and Bill Zito as assistant general managers to Bill Guerin. They will also serve as assistant GMs for Team USA in the 2026 Olympics. Additionally, Chris Kelleher will be the director of player personnel.

Hockey’s Business and Legal Headlines Featured Story: The Arizona Coyotes are on the Move to Salt Lake City

In this period’s hockey’s business and legal updates featured story we take a look at a huge update in the NHL. We have all seen numerous rumors over and over about both the Arizona Coyotes struggles and Salt Lake City’s strong push to get an NHL team. Now, both have come to a head. What started as reports and “likelihoods” throughout the week ended with the news that the Coyotes will officially be moving to Salt Lake City, Utah next season.

The Deal

This deal will involve a sale to Ryan Smith’s group with the normal buy-sell and relocation requirements we previously covered in a three-part article here (Part III with links to Parts I and II). But this deal has some interesting ancillary aspects. For example, the NHL is reportedly giving Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo the right to get an NHL expansion team IF an NHL size arena is built within five years. The sale has a reported price tag of $1 billion. It also features an arrangement where the NHL will buy the team and then turn around and sell it to Smith’s group.

It’s another major move in the NHL that comes not entirely as a surprise. The NHL has a commitment to Arizona, as seen by the long leash on them securing an arena as well as the expansion guarantee. But the reality is that the Coyotes, as currently operating, is not sustainable. With a more than willing buyer, the move came to fruition. It is important to think about the wide impact of this type of move as players, staff, and families all feel the effects. It’s part of the business but not always an enjoyable one. The parties will reportedly close the deal this upcoming week.

Post image attribution by: Supertoff, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Alec Roberson

Alec Roberson grew up in coastal North Carolina, taking a somewhat unconventional path to hockey. With hockey being almost nonexistent in that area, Alec found his passion for the game following the success of the Carolina Hurricanes in 2001 and 2006 and later played club hockey in college. After going through law school and practicing for some time, he now continues his love for the game through writing. Find him on twitter @roberson_alec