The solution to the Coyote Ugly that is the NHL in Phoenix is to share this troubled team with everyone who wants it. How so you say? Send them on the road, forever.
Rather than saddling another Sun Belt settlement with a perennial loser or forgoing lucrative expansion fees by relocating the desert dogs to a hockey rich pasture, the NHL should find an ownership group willing to be bound by a two-year movement clause for the club. That's right, you must agree to move the team every two years.
It's a simple plan. Second tier hockey hungry cities would bid for the right to host the Coyotes for a two season stint. Beauty contests headlined with season ticket deposits would determine the team's next 730 day residency before moving again on a biennial basis.
With a short fuse on each stay fans would embrace the novelty and excitement of a time limited team praying for playoff success during their terse tenure. Hamilton, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Quebec, Las Vegas, Portland, Seattle, eat your heart out. If you pay, they will come.
Undoubtedly laughable at first blush the concept of the roaming Coyotes deserves a serious look. The ability to test numerous potential markets without a major commitment while turning a tidy profit is invaluable. Moreover the transient nature of the team would yield fans across the continent for the franchise from everywhere and nowhere at once.
Circusesque perhaps, but didn't the league cross that line years ago? How different, after all, is Barnum & Bailey from Bettman & Daly.
We'll run 'til we drop, baby we'll never go back.
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