The pre-season is an opportunity to play in locations that wouldn't otherwise host NHL games. The Coyotes will take that to a different level while two other squads face off in Salt Lake City.
With two of their top prospects in the fold and a number of savvy new free-agent signings, the Arizona Coyotes' roster is set to look decidedly different this fall.
But one thing remains the same. After spending all of the 2022 pre-season effectively on the road while they were waiting for the completion of Mullett Arena, the Coyotes don't hit home ice for the first time this year until they host the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 21 for Game 5 of their 2023-24 regular season.
Including exhibition play, that'll be 14 games away from home, stretching from Australia to New York City and kicking off with three different split-squad games on a single day of the pre-season — in Melbourne, St. Louis and Wichita, Kan.
Australia is the highlight, of course — the NHL's first-ever foray into the Southern Hemisphere, for a pair of games between the Coyotes and the Los Angeles Kings at Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park, the home site for tennis' Australian Open.
This will be the farthest the NHL has ever ventured to mount a game — a flight of more than 15 hours from L.A., which beats out past trips to Japan and China.
The equipment that's needed to construct and maintain Melbourne's temporary rink, including the Zambonis, arrived in Australia by freighter in late July. The NHL's senior director of facilities operations, Derek King, is scheduled to arrive on site on Sept. 14, and the teams will practise in a rink in Melbourne from Sept. 18 to 21.
The games will take place on Sept. 23 and 24, with puck drop at 2 p.m. local time — which is 9 p.m. on Sept. 22 and 23 back in the Pacific Time Zone, and midnight ET.
Though the travel will be gruelling, most of the Coyotes and Kings' top stars are expected to make the trip. In Arizona's case, that will likely include newly signed top prospect Logan Cooley, 2021 first-rounder Dylan Guenther and free-agent acquisitions Matt Dumba, Jason Zucker and Alexander Kerfoot.
The organization will also have to leave enough players at home to fill out rosters for three stateside games in 27 hours. The Coyotes will play two games against the St. Louis Blues on Sept. 23 — at Enterprise Center in St. Louis at 3 p.m. ET, then 450 miles west in Wichita at 8:00 p.m. ET. The next day, they'll suit up in Cedar Park, Texas, to take on the Dallas Stars at 6 p.m. ET, while the Kings' second team faces the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center.
With those five games out of the way, Arizona will then reconvene to finish out their pre-season schedule closer to home. They'll visit the Vegas Golden Knights on Sept. 29 and the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 5, sandwiched between two neutral-site 'home' games against Anaheim — on Oct. 1 at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, the home of the AHL's Coachella Valley Firebirds, and on Oct. 7 in Tuscon where their farm team, the Roadrunners, plays their games.
After catching their breath and cutting down their roster to 23 players, the Coyotes will then head to New York City. They'll start their new season on Oct. 13 with a trio of games against the Devils, Rangers and Islanders. Finally, after one more stop in St. Louis, they'll see the Ducks again for their home-opener on Oct. 19.
If there's a silver lining, it's that they'll see their fans nine days earlier than last season. The Coyotes played their first-ever game in Mullett Arena on Oct. 28, 2022, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Winnipeg Jets, and quickly headed back out for more than a month after completing a four-game homestand while final touches were added to the new barn.
This year, their early season is more balanced. By the end of November, Arizona will have played 10 of its 22 games on home ice.
The Coyotes are the only one of the NHL's 32 teams that won't play a true home game during pre-season. All told, they'll skate in five of this year's 12 neutral-site locations. In addition to Melbourne, Wichita, Cedar Park, Palm Desert and Tucson, the league is also mounting games in St. Thomas, Ont., and Sydney, N.S., to celebrate the winners of the 2022 and 2023 Kraft Hockeyville contests. Other neutral-site games are being held in San Diego, Independence, Mo., Halifax, Orlando and Salt Lake City.
This year, Salt Lake City carries a little extra intrigue. The site of the 2002 Winter Olympics has been a frequent pre-season host in recent years, even though the home of the NBA's Utah Jazz at the recently rechristened Delta Center is not exactly ideal for hockey. But Utah entrepreneur Ryan Smith, who owns the Jazz and Real Salt Lake of MLS, has made it clear he's very interested in acquiring an NHL franchise after seeing the out-of-the-box success of the expansion squads in Vegas and Seattle.
"My message has been consistent to Gary (Bettman) and Bill (Daly)," he said on the 32 Thoughts podcast in June. "Look, we’re a willing partner. We’re here. We’re ready."
With its proximity to Arizona, Salt Lake City could be an easy move if the Coyotes do end up needing to relocate at some point. But the Arizona ownership remains committed to finding a new property that will allow it to stay in the desert. And in terms of timing, expansion might make more sense for Smith and company.
Utah is a growing state with good demographics for sports, and a new hockey-first arena should be on the way if the region successfully completes its bid to re-mount either the 2030 or 2034 Winter Olympics.
This year, the Kings and the San Jose Sharks will bring the NHL show to the Delta Center during the final weekend of the pre-season on Oct. 5.
All told, 111 exhibition games will be played in 44 venues between Sept. 23 and Oct. 7 before the puck drops on the 2023-24 season, with a tripleheader on Tuesday, Oct. 10.