Deal Approved for Arizona Coyotes

Late last night, the Glendale City Council approved a deal that will keep the Phoenix Coyotes in town for the foreseeable future — but with a new name. The team will take the ice at Jobing.com Arena this fall as the Arizona Coyotes.

That was part of the agreement with the new buyer, Renaissance Sports and Entertainment. And it's been in the works a while. You can read more about it all here.

As far as logos and jerseys go, I wouldn't expect any major changes before October. Obviously, we'll see a new wordmark — which could be a simple as swapping out Phoenix for Arizona in the existing wordmark. Though there's plenty of time to come up with something entirely new if they wanted.

More interesting is the "PHX" patch on the left shoulder of the home and road jerseys. It's in the shape of Arizona and the design is inspired by the state flag. But will it be changed or removed for next season? My bet is it will. It's pretty late in the calendar for Reebok, but there may still be enough time to get it changed rather than to drop it entirely. One thing's for sure, though. That PHX patch just became a collectible.

I'll keep you apprised of anything I hear as the summer goes on.

And for the record, as a Seattleite, I'm only the slightest bit disappointed by the deal because it means our town will be without the NHL for at least another year. And that's not right. On the other hand, I'm happy for Coyotes fans, who can finally put this mess behind them.