The Arizona Coyotes went out on a high note, prevailing 5-2 over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday in what's likely the final game of this iteration of the franchise.

The crowd at Mullett Arena in Tempe cheered throughout the final minute, and the Coyotes broadcasters went silent for roughly the final 20 seconds.

The players took turns embracing a veteran team staffer and then gathered at center ice to salute the fans who held on until the end.

The players also stayed on the ice to give their jerseys to some fans.

Defenseman Sean Durzi potted an empty-netter with 4:15 remaining to score the Coyotes' final goal before the franchise relocates. Young phenom Dylan Guenther netted the club's last goal against a netminder, burying a power-play marker just over a minute earlier.

Lawson Crouse, Matias Maccelli, and Liam O'Brien produced the other goals for Arizona. Sam Carrick and Warren Foegele tallied for the Oilers.

The Coyotes finish the season sitting second last in the Central Division at 36-41-5.

Earlier Wednesday, Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith essentially confirmed the Coyotes' impending move to Salt Lake City and his imminent purchase of the club. The NHL Board of Governors is reportedly scheduled to meet Thursday at 3 p.m. ET to approve the sale.

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The Arizona Coyotes went out on a high note, prevailing 5-2 over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday in what's likely the final game of this iteration of the franchise.

The crowd at Mullett Arena in Tempe cheered throughout the final minute, and the Coyotes broadcasters went silent for roughly the final 20 seconds.

The players took turns embracing a veteran team staffer and then gathered at center ice to salute the fans who held on until the end.

The players also stayed on the ice to give their jerseys to some fans.

Defenseman Sean Durzi potted an empty-netter with 4:15 remaining to score the Coyotes' final goal before the franchise relocates. Young phenom Dylan Guenther netted the club's last goal against a netminder, burying a power-play marker just over a minute earlier.

Lawson Crouse, Matias Maccelli, and Liam O'Brien produced the other goals for Arizona. Sam Carrick and Warren Foegele tallied for the Oilers.

The Coyotes finish the season sitting second last in the Central Division at 36-41-5.

Earlier Wednesday, Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith essentially confirmed the Coyotes' impending move to Salt Lake City and his imminent purchase of the club. The NHL Board of Governors is reportedly scheduled to meet Thursday at 3 p.m. ET to approve the sale.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Arizona Coyotes went out on a high note, prevailing 5-2 over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday in what's likely the final game of this iteration of the franchise.

The crowd at Mullett Arena in Tempe cheered throughout the final minute, and the Coyotes broadcasters went silent for roughly the final 20 seconds.

The players took turns embracing a veteran team staffer and then gathered at center ice to salute the fans who held on until the end.

The players also stayed on the ice to give their jerseys to some fans.

Defenseman Sean Durzi potted an empty-netter with 4:15 remaining to score the Coyotes' final goal before the franchise relocates. Young phenom Dylan Guenther netted the club's last goal against a netminder, burying a power-play marker just over a minute earlier.

Lawson Crouse, Matias Maccelli, and Liam O'Brien produced the other goals for Arizona. Sam Carrick and Warren Foegele tallied for the Oilers.

The Coyotes finish the season sitting second last in the Central Division at 36-41-5.

Earlier Wednesday, Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith essentially confirmed the Coyotes' impending move to Salt Lake City and his imminent purchase of the club. The NHL Board of Governors is reportedly scheduled to meet Thursday at 3 p.m. ET to approve the sale.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Arizona Coyotes went out on a high note, prevailing 5-2 over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday in what turned out to be the final game of this iteration of the franchise.

The crowd at Mullett Arena in Tempe cheered throughout the final minute, and the Coyotes broadcasters went silent for roughly the final 20 seconds.

"It was a great atmosphere, and the fans really made it unbelievable," star forward Clayton Keller said, per Coyotes team reporter Patrick Brown. "They've supported us through a lot of ups and downs, and through all the noise they've always had our backs. We're super thankful for that."

The players took turns embracing a veteran team staffer and then gathered at center ice to salute the fans who held on until the end.

The players also stayed on the ice to give their jerseys to some fans.

"It's super surreal," rookie Logan Cooley said. "There were a lot of emotions coming to the rink, and coming to Mullett for the last time. It was a little sad, (I) started my career here. It's pretty special, and the fans showed out so I'm happy we got the win for them."

Defenseman Sean Durzi potted an empty-netter with 4:15 remaining to score the Coyotes' final goal before the franchise relocates. Young phenom Dylan Guenther netted the club's last goal against a netminder, burying a power-play marker just over a minute earlier.

Lawson Crouse, Matias Maccelli, and Liam O'Brien produced the other goals for Arizona.

"It was a great effort," Coyotes head coach Andre Tourigny said. "Those guys were unbelievable. In the toughest environment, against top teams in the league, with a lot of adversity, a lot of questions, a lot of wondering, a lot of worries. ... The way they played, the way they fought, the way they focused on every game, and they played structured, they played with heart, and they played with passion. I'm impressed, and I'm really proud of them."

Sam Carrick and Warren Foegele tallied for the Oilers.

The Coyotes finish the season sitting second last in the Central Division at 36-41-5.

Earlier Wednesday, Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith essentially confirmed the Coyotes' impending move to Salt Lake City and his purchase of the club.

The NHL Board of Governors met Thursday and formally approved the move.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Arizona Coyotes went out on a high note, prevailing 5-2 over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday in what's likely the final game of this iteration of the franchise.

The crowd at Mullett Arena in Tempe cheered throughout the final minute, and the Coyotes broadcasters went silent for roughly the final 20 seconds.

The players took turns embracing a veteran team staffer and then gathered at center ice to salute the fans who held on until the end.

The players also stayed on the ice to give their jerseys to some fans.

Defenseman Sean Durzi potted an empty-netter with 4:15 remaining to score the Coyotes' final goal before the franchise relocates. Young phenom Dylan Guenther netted the club's last goal against a netminder, burying a power-play marker just over a minute earlier.

Lawson Crouse, Matias Maccelli, and Liam O'Brien produced the other goals for Arizona. Sam Carrick and Warren Foegele tallied for the Oilers.

The Coyotes finish the season sitting second last in the Central Division at 36-41-5.

Earlier Wednesday, Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith essentially confirmed the Coyotes' impending move to Salt Lake City and his imminent purchase of the club. The NHL Board of Governors is reportedly scheduled to meet Thursday at 3 p.m. ET to approve the sale.

Copyright © 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jeff Carter is calling it a career after nearly two decades.

The 39-year-old helped the Los Angeles Kings win the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014. Over his largely productive career, he played 10 seasons with the Kings, six with the Philadelphia Flyers, four with the Penguins, and part of one with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Carter notched 442 goals and 409 assists in 1,321 regular-season games. He netted the Penguins' final tally of this campaign in a 5-4 loss to the New York Islanders on Wednesday night.

Carter confirmed postgame that he's hanging up his skates for good.

"Not sure (what I'm going to do now)," Carter said. "I'm going to be a dad. You miss a lot being a hockey player. You're in and out and away ... My family - all hockey families - sacrificed a lot for us to leave out our dream. So I'm going to be home and be a dad for a while, and then we'll figure it out from there."

The Canadian added 47 tallies and 37 helpers in 133 playoff contests.

Carter tied for the league lead with eight playoff goals over 20 games during the Kings' 2012 championship run, then racked up 25 points (including 10 goals) across 26 postseason contests in 2014. Carter trailed only teammate Anze Kopitar for the playoff points lead and fellow King Marian Gaborik for the postseason lead in goals during that second Cup run.

Carter amassed a career-high 46 goals and 38 assists with the Flyers in 2008-09. He topped the team in goals and points that season.

The Ontario-born center was a two-time All-Star who won gold with Canada at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi and the World Junior Championship in 2005.

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The Arizona Coyotes' impending relocation has been widely reported, but the man who appears to be acquiring the team has now essentially provided confirmation.

"There's no secret on what's out there online," Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith said Wednesday at the World Congress of Sports, according to Sports Business Journal's Alex M. Silverman. "Normally, not everything on the internet is true, but in this case, it's pretty true."

The NHL's Board of Governors will meet Thursday at 3 p.m. ET to vote on the sale, per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

On Saturday night, Friedman reported that the NHL plans to buy the Coyotes from owner Alex Meruelo for $1 billion, then sell them to Smith for $1.2 billion. Arizona's hockey operations staff would relocate to Salt Lake City with the Coyotes, and Meruelo would have five years to secure a new arena, at which point he'd be granted a team of his own if he's successful.

On Friday, Friedman said the players were informed before that night's win over the Edmonton Oilers that the club is moving to Utah.

Two days before that, ESPN's Emily Kaplan and Greg Wyshynski reported the league was prepping a contingency plan that could move the Coyotes to the Beehive State for next season.

No deal for the sale of the franchise has yet been finalized.

Arizona's last game of the season is Wednesday night against the Oilers at Mullett Arena, the 5,000-seat NCAA building the team was forced to move into for the 2022-23 campaign after its lease at Gila River Arena in Glendale - now known as Desert Diamond Arena - expired.

Smith is also the co-owner of MLS' Real Salt Lake. He's a 45-year-old billionaire who co-founded Qualtrics, an experience management company based in Provo, Utah.

This isn't the first time he's acknowledged the possibility of landing an NHL squad. Earlier this month, Smith asked fans for team name ideas.

In January, Smith submitted a formal request to the NHL to bring a franchise to Utah. He's been beating that drum since last June when he told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun that "hockey would thrive here." NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly acknowledged at the time that the league had spoken to Smith about his interest.

The original Winnipeg Jets relocated to Phoenix to become the Coyotes in 1996.

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The Florida Panthers clinched first place in the Atlantic Division with their victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins' loss to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.

Florida will face the cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round, while the second-place Boston Bruins will meet the third-ranked Toronto Maple Leafs in the other divisional matchup.

Shortly before the Panthers clinched the division, the Washington Capitals secured the final postseason berth in the Eastern Conference. They'll face the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers in Round 1. The Carolina Hurricanes will take on the New York Islanders in the other Metropolitan Division series.

The Atlantic crown is the Panthers' second in three years and fourth in franchise history.

Florida finished this regular season at 52-24-6 for 110 points. The Panthers wrapped up the 82-game slate with one point more than the Bruins and eight points more than the Maple Leafs. The Lightning nabbed the first wild-card spot in the East by finishing fourth in the Atlantic.

The Rangers (114) and Hurricanes (111) end the campaign with more points in the standings than the Panthers.

Florida finished fourth in the Atlantic last season but pulled off a shocking upset of the historically dominant Bruins over seven games in the first round. The Cats went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final last spring before losing to the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Panthers won the Presidents' Trophy in 2021-22 - the last time they won the division - but the Lightning swept them out of the second round.

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The Anaheim Ducks got one of the top collegiate players under contract Sunday, signing Cutter Gauthier to a three-year, entry-level pact beginning this season.

Gauthier starred for Boston College in 2023-24, leading the nation with 38 goals - the most by an NCAA player since 1999-2000 - and tying for the most in a campaign in program history.

The 20-year-old winger was one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the top men's college hockey player.

Anaheim acquired Gauthier in a shocking trade with the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick on Jan. 8. The Flyers drafted Gauthier fifth overall in 2022, but he later requested a trade. Philadelphia general manager Daniel Briere said Gauthier told the organization he didn't want to be a part of it.

Gauthier helped top-ranked Boston College reach the national championship game Saturday, but the Eagles lost to third-seeded Denver.

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The Anaheim Ducks got one of the top collegiate players under contract Sunday, signing Cutter Gauthier to a three-year, entry-level pact beginning this season.

Gauthier starred for Boston College in 2023-24, leading the nation with 38 goals - the most by an NCAA player since 1999-2000 - and tying for the most in a campaign in program history.

The 20-year-old winger was one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the top men's college hockey player.

Anaheim acquired Gauthier in a shocking trade with the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick on Jan. 8. The Flyers drafted Gauthier fifth overall in 2022, but he later requested a trade. Philadelphia general manager Daniel Briere said Gauthier told the organization he didn't want to be a part of it.

Gauthier helped top-ranked Boston College reach the national championship game Saturday, but the Eagles lost to third-seeded Denver.

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