For the umpteenth time, the home of the Arizona Coyotes was publicly mocked.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies became the youngest National Hockey League (NHL) player to send an Arrow to the Yotes.
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The 21-year-old will meet the desert team for the first time on Wednesday evening. Knies is an Arizona native and several of his relatives will appear at the game at Mullett Arena, the 4,600-seat university amphitheater that has hosted the Coyotes since the 2022-2023 season.
In comments to The Hockey News magazine, the Leafs skater explained that between 50 and 60 people came to cheer him on for the game.
“It’s probably a whole section in that area,” Knies joked, without straying too far from reality.
The home of the “Yotes” has been in the headlines for a long time. Earlier this month, NHL Players' Association chief Marty Walsh minced his words and loudly called for a change of scenery for the team while expressing disappointment with the work done by its leaders.
Recent efforts to build an arena in Tempe, Arizona were unsuccessful. The plan to build an entertainment complex was rejected by locals in a referendum in May 2023.