The Arizona Coyotes have named Steve Patterson as the team’s newest President and CEO, while adding President of Hockey Operations to GM John Chayka’s title. Patterson replaces the outgoing Anthony LeBlanc that moved on after selling his share of the team to the now sole-owner Andrew Barroway along with all of the other minority owners. Barroway released a statement along with the announcement:
We are very pleased to name Steve as our new President and CEO. Steve has a wealth of experience and has served as an innovative and successful executive in the NFL, NBA, professional hockey, professional baseball and college athletics for over 30 years. He’s built championship teams and organizations and has managed stadiums, ballparks and arenas across the United States. Most importantly, he previously worked in our market and has the necessary corporate and political relationships to help us secure a long-term home for the Coyotes in the Valley. We’re thrilled to have him join us.
Patterson has worked with the Houston Texans, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers, University of Texas, Arizona State University and other professional and amateur sports franchises. His experience in finding new stadiums and arenas is paramount to the Coyotes franchise, as they look for a new home and a real solid foundation to keep them in Arizona into the future. That search has been ongoing for years, and is clearly not working in their current situation of playing in Glendale.
Earlier this year, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman wrote in a letter that the team “cannot and will not” remain in Glendale much longer, and since then there has been plenty of speculation about a potential relocation. Now with a sole owner and an extremely experienced and competent Patterson on board, the Coyotes seem to be positioned better than they have been in quite some time. That doesn’t mean they are guaranteed to stay in the desert, as it’s still an extremely difficult market to succeed in, but with a clear directive to compete this season—trades for Niklas Hjalmarsson, Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta signal an end of any tear down or tank—and new leadership they will try to force themselves into the market in a way rarely seen since their move from Winnipeg.
That focus on winning will come with a new head coach after the hiring of Rick Tocchet to lead the team, and a clear voice at the top of hockey operations in the 28-year old Chayka. After moving Dave Tippett out, Chayka will continue to try and build a winner through a blend of analytics and heavy scouting presence. With young players like Max Domi, Christian Dvorak and Dylan Strome expected to take another step forward the Coyotes could find themselves crawling out of the basement as soon as this season to compete for a playoff spot.
Seattle or Kansas City bound