Phoenix's NHL franchise, entered the league in 1979 as the Winnipeg Jets as part of the demise of the World Hockey Association. Moved to Phoenix in the summer of 1996. They have never won a Stanley Cup, but as the Jets won the WHA's AVCO World Trophy in 1976, 1978, and 1979 as part of their 7-year run in that league.
The introduced new uniforms for the 2003-04 season. The first logo, a sort of cartoon-cum-cyborg coyote, was always looked at askance by the hockey community. The new logo, a howling coyote's head, is more in keeping with the game's traditions. "We wanted to create a classic jersey that our players and fans could be proud of" said Coyotes managing partner Wayne Gretzky, tacitly admitting that the old unis failed that test.
The team is moving to the Glendale Arena in December 2003, prior to which they played in the "Cellular One Ice Den" of all places. Famous players: Sean Burke. Player alumi: Bobby Hull (WHA Jets), Teemu Selanne (NHL Jets), Jeremy Roenick, Keith Tkachuk, Nikolai Khabibulin. Famous owners: Wayne Gretzky.
Milestones: In 1997, Mike Gartner scored his 700th career NHL goal as a Coyote. In 2000, Brad May received an NHL record-tying 20-game suspension for a slashing incident. In 2002, Head coach Bob Francis won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year.
Team colors: Brick red, desert sand, and black. (The old palette of colours included Green, Sienna, and Purple as well.) The team maintains the old Jets tradition of asking fans to attend pivotal playoff games wearing white, the so-called 'White Out', said to bring good luck.
Retired Numbers: