NHL's Coyotes in flux while Seattle in limbo

The Arizona Coyotes served notice today that they are leaving Glendale as soon as humanly possible.

"Simply put, the Arizona Coyotes have every intention of leaving Glendale as soon as practicable," the letter read.

According to 12 News, Glendale and the city of Phoenix have been involved in a minor spat over the team's future. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said he would like to see the Coyotes join the Phoenix Suns and Mercury downtown.

LeBlanc said the main reason the team will leave the West Valley was the Glendale City Council's decision to cancel the team's arena lease with no warning.

The Coyotes are likely to wind up in Phoenix or some other location in Arizona, but their situation has been unstable for years now and one just never knows what events will transpire. One cause for doubt in Phoenix, for example, is today's revelation the the NBA's Phoenix Suns have little interest in sharing an arena with an NHL team.

So, knowing full well that Stanton wants to build him an arena downtown, why would Sarver say that same night that the Suns intend to fulfill the remaining five years on their lease? Why isn't he running to City Hall to sign on the dotted line and get this process rolling?

The answer is simple. Sarver doesn't want to partner with the Coyotes — not on equal footing. He doesn't want to split the revenue from a new arena, and he is banking on the belief that he can manipulate this situation in his favor.

This is one more example of why street vacation should have been approved last week. One more reason to have a shovel-ready arena. Because you just never know what opportunities might arise.

No one knew the Los Angeles Clippers would be for sale until they were. Nor with the Atlanta Hawks. The Charlotte Hornets are in the middle of a hornet's nest in North Carolina right now due to that state's stance on gender neutral public restrooms. This has led to speculation that that the NBA may consider removing the All-Star game from Charlotte next season. Could it get to a point that the team is forced to relocate? Doubtful, but not impossible.

This reinforces Matt Tucker's call for local arena investors and pertinent local officials to come forward with a solution if they have one. Opportunity doesn't usually knock from the sidewalk. It usually waits until it's on your porch.

If we're not there to open the door when it knocks, it usually moves on.