The Jets were one of the founding members of the World Hockey Association (WHA). They were very successful in the WHA, as they won three Avco World Trophies. In 1979, when the two leagues merged, the Jets were amongst the four WHA teams that joined the NHL.

The Move

After the merger, the team did not enjoy as much success as they had earlier. This was partly because they had to play in the same division as the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers, who were very powerful teams. They made eleven playoffs, but could not get through to the conference finals. Due to financial constraints, the team was sold to Richard Burke and Steven Gluckstern. The team moved to Arizona in 1996 and was named the Coyotes.

The Coyotes had an impressive line up of players like Jeremy Roenick, Rick Tocchet, Keith Tkachuk, Shane Doan, Nikolai Khabibulin, Oleg Tverdovsky and Mike Gartner. In 1997, Gartner scored his 700th goal but due to niggling injuries, he retired after the end of the season. The team made the playoffs in five of their first six years in Phoenix. In 2001, Steve Ellman and Wayne Gretzky bought the Coyotes from Burke who had taken the team over from Gluckstern in 1998.

The Coyotes have never been able to make it beyond the first round of the playoffs. The last playoff series they ever won was in 1987, as the Winnipeg Jets. The team’s performance deteriorated and attendance for their games dropped significantly. They played at the America West Arena for the first eight years. In 2003, the Coyotes moved to the Glendale Arena, which is now known as the Jobing.com Arena. Along with the move, the team also changed their uniforms and logo.

In 2005, Wayne Gretzky was made the new head coach of the Coyotes and replaced Rick Bowness. Gretzky had no coaching experience and was also part owner of the team. He is the current head coach of the team. The Coyotes are the only former team of the WHA that has not reached the Stanley Cup Finals. They are also the oldest team in the NHL to not make the Finals. In 2007, Don Maloney became the General Manager of the Coyotes. Wayne Gretzky owns the team along with Jerry Moyes.

The Coyotes have retired the jersey numbers of a few players. These include Bobby Hull 9, Dale Hawerchuk 10 and Thomas Steen 25. Wayne Gretzky’s number 99 was retired throughout the league.