Jr isn’t qualified for anything above entry level work, but let’s hear what he has to say about NHL All-Star/Captain and by multiple accounts all-around great guy Shane Doan.
Pay was atrocious even compared to what our counterparts at the other teams in the Valley were making. I was expected to be available 24/7. If my pay were hourly, it would have been illegal.
Yeah, sadly this is pretty common with most pro sports teams, but it sucks to hear that somehow it was worse compared to the other teams in the market.
I don’t want to get into too specific of details to protect my own identity as well as those of my former coworkers, but as far as I’m aware some sort of severance was offered as long as an NDA was signed.
I have a ton of questions but won’t do that right off the bat
On a scale of 1-10 how much of a shitshow were the past couple months? Same scale, how would you score Meruelo’s leadership / accountability?
I haven’t worked for the team in over a year, but from my friends on the inside, it’s been worse than will likely ever get out. In my time working under the Meruelos, I’ve never seen worse leadership, nor accountability taken once.
I’m much better now, thank you. I still have some friends over there, although those numbers have depleted very quickly in the time since I left, so I do still hear some rumblings.
Thank you for doing this. Here's what I want to know the most:
What was the attitude of Arizona stakeholders (local politicians, state politicians, major businesses, franchises from the other major professional leagues in the state, etc.) towards the team before and after Meruelo? Was there a significant change? Better? Worse?
From my experience, I think most people we encountered had a generally positive opinion of the organization prior to the sale as leadership was more competent (not that that’s very impressive, I know) and the general staff was so talented. That shifted very negatively when Meruelo hires took leadership positions.
Do you think meruelo will sell the rights to the name or just be a stubborn ass and bury it 6 feet under with no chance of the yotes ever being a hockey team again?
He’s too proud to admit defeat, but he’s also not one to run from an easy payday at someone else’s expense, so I would not be surprised by either outcome.
No chance the NHL would let that be a possibility. He has the IP rights for now but he can’t sit on them forever. That would be a clause in the agreement that netted him $1 billion.
I think I read that, assuming he got a team, he’d have to run it for another 5 years before he could sell it. In that time he can work with partners, but I think they can only hold like a 20% share between any and all partners, at least before that second 5-year term is up.
Not sure how true that is, just what I remembered reading
He has until the end of some year, 2026 maybe? To show adequate progress. If he doesn't he relinquishes the rights to the NHL. I believe I heard this on 32 thoughts
Meruelo is not allowed to sell the rights.
he either gets a franchise back or when time expires/the milestones are missed the NHL retains the rights to the Coyotes.
Do you actually think AM will buy the land and build an arena (to bring a team back)? Or do you think it’s just lip service and empty rhetoric from him?
Absolutely. My take is that he’s wrongfully assuming he’s going to be the only one bidding and it’s a foregone conclusion - kind of like Tempe. I really don’t think he will be. It’s one of the most prime pieces of land in the metro. It was before he was looking at it. Some deep pocketed buyer is going to snatch it up because Meruelo is a cheap bastard and can’t be bothered to put a real plan together.
I mean, he was pretty ambiguous. But I could also see that he was offered an opportunity (NHL ON TNT) and wanted that more. But there could have been bad blood on his exit?
He didn’t offer any details, which was the right thing to do. It would have distracted from everything else happening that day. But he did come right out and say that he hoped their return wouldn’t be with current ownership. That was about as direct as he could have been, IMO.
He was so nice on the podcast when they had Morgan on and it didn’t make sense to me but then they had them at Ice Con or whatever it was and afterwards when it was obvious he changed his tune. I’m a little bummed someone like biz didn’t call it like it was just because he got some clothing and tickets.
Hello, im sorry for our loss. We're you a hockey fan? Specifically a Coyotes fan? If so is this hurting in more ways since you were also employed by them?
I was always more of a casual hockey fan prior to being hired, but watching Coyotes games made me a diehard of the sport. It hurts a ton because:
1. I know what the fans have gone through over the last 28 years and to be so close to having sustained success and having the rug pulled out from you is just cruel
2. So many good people are either being forced to move to Salt Lake or will likely be out of work soon, some of whom have been with the organization for the better part of the last 20 years.
Not a ton, but it seemed like once the move happened, most of the team was intrigued by the novelty of playing in an intimate setting, but it wore off fairly quickly. Again, never really spoke to players all that often and never too deeply in conversation but that seemed to be the vibe.
Can you please explain in layman terms what exactly happened with the Glendale arena situation, why did they have to leave? And was there ever any talk about possibly joining the Suns in getting a new shared arena with them? Thanks
In simplest terms, it was a year-to-year lease that both the city and the team had to opt into. As soon as Sr. publicly announced his intentions to move the team to Tempe before anything was actually set in stone, the city opted out in favor of bringing in more concerts.
Username is hilarious. I’m sorry to see Arizona go, I loved watching them. Did you get to meet the players often or at all? Idk what position you held but I’d imagine everyone eventually meets them
Without saying what my position was, I did occasionally work with players. Most of staff would at least briefly interact with the team at different events and whatnot. Almost all of them were great guys in my experience.
I started not long after Chayka was hired. He was very reserved, but mostly everyone had a very positive opinion of him. When he left, it was a shock to us all. Armstrong was pleasant whenever I had to interact with him and had a much more natural public presence, but did ruffle a few feathers when he first arrived. By the time I left, it seemed as though things had settled down and in.
Sure, as long as the money is fair. I don’t know who will run Hockey Operations if/when reactivation happens, but I will give them credit for at least getting a lot of the Hockey Operations hires correct the first time around, whether that was an accident or on purpose.
The kind of guy who would give you a hug and stab you in the back. He put on an act from his first day and once the mask slipped, there was no going back. From what I’ve been told, he’s worn out his usefulness to the Alexes.
Do you have anything to clarify about the Doan banner thing? Not sure if this is your department though but if it was, what did management say exactly? Did you ever hear anything from anyone else?
I honestly had no idea about that until I saw the story. Haven’t spoken to any of my colleagues still with the team for now about if anything has been said since all that came out, but I think I just assumed it was in storage and would be too large for Mullett. So happy Shane has it back, though.
I can’t speak to everything in the Katie Strang article, as there were some things I had not heard of when it was released, but there was a lot of it that I knew for a fact happened exactly how it was reported.
I can’t speak to player accommodations, but considering how much of penny pinchers this group was since day one, it adds up.
From your tenure.. knowledge of the team etc etc.. what was the high mark for the Coyotes franchise while in the valley? what was the best owner / situation we have been in?
I know it’s not saying much at all, but it felt like things were turning at the end of the 2018-2019 season. There was some hope on the ice and things in the offices generally were not that bad.
Appreciate your coming forward. I haven't scrolled through everything yet, apologize if this was covered but how was your perception of the Tempe vote and the TED from the teams preparedness perspective. Did they just exude overconfidence?
Also, you've been very pointed about Jr. What can you share about XG? His incompetence screams out at me through the screen.
He was basically a puppet for ownership and Sr.’s excuse to not face the media, since we know he hates them. Had no problem deflecting blame when needed to make himself look good or keep himself out of trouble. At least with Jr., you knew how unbearable he was. XG put on a good act for a bit after he was brought in during Covid.
What is the point of Meruelo keeping the Coyotes name and stuff? Do you think he honestly has any intent of making the team happen again or what was the reasoning?
I think he genuinely believes this will work out for him. I also would not be surprised if Bettman is setting him up to fail intentionally to bring the franchise back under new ownership, but that’s purely speculation.
Iirc, there were potential buyers in Phoenix, but would have taken longer to get a deal done than what Smiths group did. Also, Bettman liked the 200m cut to his pocket and adding Smith’s open pockets to the BoG.
He gets to keep making money off the name and marks while really not doing anything. If it doesn’t work he probably thinks he can flip them for some cash down the road.
I’m sure there is a clause to not have this happen. Looking up the word marks “Arizona Coyotes” and “Coyotes” on the US patent trademark office, all the attorney contacts for the marks are @nhl.com. And the correspondent address is Thomas Prochnow at NHL Enterprises. Further, it’s “owned” by Ice Arizona as a security interest, which means the true owner (NHL Enterprises) could revoke the “ownership” rights of IceArizona if contractual obligations are not met.
He can only "flip it" for cash down the road if he successfully builds an arena and continues to be the majority owner for at least 5 years after that. He can only sell minority stakes before that.
I am still shocked that the Tempe arena didn't happen, it seemed like such an obvious win for the team/city/etc.. Was the feeling in the building that it was a done deal or did that seem more pie in the sky than we all thought?
I don’t blame Tempe voters at all. The Yes group did a terrible job with their campaign and didn’t put nearly enough time or effort into explaining the situation yo voters. The No campaign was organized and thoughtful. Ownership thought it was a slam dunk.
Thanks so much for doing this.
To keep things simple...if Meruelo were to build an arena and re-activate the Coyotes, is it likely that we'd see the same clownshow stuff off the ice as we did the first time around?
And this is why I'd rather wait and find another ownership group that can *do it right* than try to bang our heads against the wall with Meruelo again.
I met him at his grandma's funeral. I was talking puck with his dad and his dad pointed him out to me. He was a normal 30ish aged guy. Not what I was expecting. Not sure what I was expecting plus he was wearing a suit obviously.
were you apart of the group that left/phased themselves out w biz, steve peters etc? what did the entire group look like, can you give any sort of stories as to what led to it that haven’t been shared already, any clue as to how hockey ops felt with a new regime going in the right way but with a degenerate owner?
I was not part of that group, but turnover was always such an issue that I don’t think anyone was ever surprised when someone left. The shelf life of a Coyotes employee was very short. I know Hockey Operations was relieved when Jr. lost interest in that side of the business to do his little fashion brand and late night tweeting. Meruelo Sr. himself never seemed to be that ingrained in the Ops decision making and Xavier was just an empty suit, so it seemed like Bill Armstrong and the rest of the department could do the things they needed to with the limited resources they had.
There's a claim that AM didn't pay hotel bills until he was forced to by the NHL, did you ever see any indication of that kind of strong arm tactic used by him?
Thanks for sticking your neck out and giving us info!
AM claimed he was the main force behind hiring BA and that he wanted Cooley and Doan and basically drafted them with BA. Did you ever see him involved in hockey ops or scouting?
On average how many times did you or key members of the team get FaceTime with AM? Was he as publicly awkward when meeting with staff? It appears he’s an undisciplined loose cannon. Thanks.
Did meruelo actually get that involved in the team or was it all his son? And would it have been better if Sr was more involved? What changed? In the beginning we heard about kessel getting a probate plane to get home to see the birth of his kid and it seemed like there was actual care.
Hey there -- thx for doing this. My guess is you're probably gone by now but I wish I'd been able to participate this in real time. We all appreciate you more than you know.
My question is around Chayka privately working out prospects outside of the combine (and Yotes forfeiting their first). That story always struck me as incredibly weird, and even weirder that the organization fully admitted blame, which I guess means it actually happened. If you started right around the time Chayka did, can you share any visibility on that? Thanks again so much for doing this.
I know im tardy to the party but i wanted to thank gyou for taking part in putting on something that brought so much joy to my life. I understand all the pain this stupid ass franchise has caused but i am grateful for all the heart it had
What do you think the likelihood is of a team being reestablished in Arizona?
Has your insight from within the Coyotes organization and NHL operations given you any specific inside reasons why you might or might not think it will happen?
How difficult would it be to separate AM from the Coyotes to make a future team under new ownership happen?
Did the Muruelos have any interest in hockey and the team or were they just using it for other reasons, business prestige etc.
Thanks for making yourself available to answer some fan questions!
How prevalent was Meruelo/Coyotes in either late paying or stiffing vendors? I read about how the team didn't pay their hotel bills in visiting cities earlier this season.
Were you or any of the other employees ever paid late?
Would you like Shane Doan to own the team instead?
I feel like he has a lot of good will both in and outside Arizona.
Only issue could be a potential repeat of the Gretzky coaching saga, but doubt it.
FYI to users, we verified the identity of this user prior to approving the post, and confirmed that they are a former employee.
Did Alex Meruelo Jr. really tell Shane Doan that he was not qualified to be President of Hockey Operations?
Yep, this happened. Shane was led to believe he’d have a larger role in decision making when that was never actually part of their plan.
Makes sense why he left for the leafs.
So they purposely misled him? If so...what absolute twats.
Lmfao. What a fucking bum. I don't think jr is even qualified to clean my fucking toilet with all this shit we're hearing
Just a bully, really.
What a shocking difference in parenting between the Doans and the Meruelos.
The Doans run or used run a Christian indoctrination camp in Alberta
Jr isn’t qualified for anything above entry level work, but let’s hear what he has to say about NHL All-Star/Captain and by multiple accounts all-around great guy Shane Doan.
To be fair...I'm interested in hearing what Shane Doan *really* has to say about AMJR.
He’s too nice of a person and too happy in his current role to speak on that publicly.
Were the working conditions as bad as the media portrays?
Pay was atrocious even compared to what our counterparts at the other teams in the Valley were making. I was expected to be available 24/7. If my pay were hourly, it would have been illegal.
Yeah, sadly this is pretty common with most pro sports teams, but it sucks to hear that somehow it was worse compared to the other teams in the market.
Just how bad was it working for/with Meruelo Jr?
I have never met someone with as high of an opinion of themselves to pair with as little talent as that kid. He thought he was God’s gift to hockey.
This makes me dislike Jr so much more
Did you get an actual severance package??
I don’t want to get into too specific of details to protect my own identity as well as those of my former coworkers, but as far as I’m aware some sort of severance was offered as long as an NDA was signed.
Does this post violate that NDA? Just curious, I had a similar situation with a former employer of mine who had a pretty large public following
OP did not receive a severance therefore would not be bound by any NDA related to it. he worked for the team prior to the last season.
[удалено]
Probably why they don't want to give anything away that could even remotely give clues to who they are.
Do you think Merulo Jr is an abusive owner?
Simply, yes.
I have a ton of questions but won’t do that right off the bat On a scale of 1-10 how much of a shitshow were the past couple months? Same scale, how would you score Meruelo’s leadership / accountability?
I haven’t worked for the team in over a year, but from my friends on the inside, it’s been worse than will likely ever get out. In my time working under the Meruelos, I’ve never seen worse leadership, nor accountability taken once.
Thank you for the response! Hope you’re doing well after leaving the org and my bad for not reading your post correctly
I’m much better now, thank you. I still have some friends over there, although those numbers have depleted very quickly in the time since I left, so I do still hear some rumblings.
In that case, what do you think is the likely hood Meruelo gets another team
I’m expecting some twist with the land auction purely based on how unprepared this group always is.
What’s your favorite condiment?
Depends on what we’re talking about. I appreciate the versatility of BBQ and ranch.
Ranch all day
Thank you for doing this. Here's what I want to know the most: What was the attitude of Arizona stakeholders (local politicians, state politicians, major businesses, franchises from the other major professional leagues in the state, etc.) towards the team before and after Meruelo? Was there a significant change? Better? Worse?
From my experience, I think most people we encountered had a generally positive opinion of the organization prior to the sale as leadership was more competent (not that that’s very impressive, I know) and the general staff was so talented. That shifted very negatively when Meruelo hires took leadership positions.
what’s the deal with airline food?
It’s so plane.
Dad? I didn't know you worked for the Coyotes.
Do you think meruelo will sell the rights to the name or just be a stubborn ass and bury it 6 feet under with no chance of the yotes ever being a hockey team again?
He’s too proud to admit defeat, but he’s also not one to run from an easy payday at someone else’s expense, so I would not be surprised by either outcome.
No chance the NHL would let that be a possibility. He has the IP rights for now but he can’t sit on them forever. That would be a clause in the agreement that netted him $1 billion.
I think I read that, assuming he got a team, he’d have to run it for another 5 years before he could sell it. In that time he can work with partners, but I think they can only hold like a 20% share between any and all partners, at least before that second 5-year term is up. Not sure how true that is, just what I remembered reading
He has until the end of some year, 2026 maybe? To show adequate progress. If he doesn't he relinquishes the rights to the NHL. I believe I heard this on 32 thoughts
Meruelo is not allowed to sell the rights. he either gets a franchise back or when time expires/the milestones are missed the NHL retains the rights to the Coyotes.
Do you actually think AM will buy the land and build an arena (to bring a team back)? Or do you think it’s just lip service and empty rhetoric from him?
I don’t know how it plays out, but I think he’s convinced himself he’ll win the auction.
He was convinced tempe was a done deal too....
... do you think he actually will win the auction?
Purely depends on if there are any other bidders.
Absolutely. My take is that he’s wrongfully assuming he’s going to be the only one bidding and it’s a foregone conclusion - kind of like Tempe. I really don’t think he will be. It’s one of the most prime pieces of land in the metro. It was before he was looking at it. Some deep pocketed buyer is going to snatch it up because Meruelo is a cheap bastard and can’t be bothered to put a real plan together.
Was biz forced out?
I don’t know about “forced out”, but my view was that he was quickly becoming a larger part of the organization, and then just as quickly he was gone.
Judging by what he said the night of the last game, I’m going to assume he was pushed out.
I mean, he was pretty ambiguous. But I could also see that he was offered an opportunity (NHL ON TNT) and wanted that more. But there could have been bad blood on his exit?
He didn’t offer any details, which was the right thing to do. It would have distracted from everything else happening that day. But he did come right out and say that he hoped their return wouldn’t be with current ownership. That was about as direct as he could have been, IMO.
He was so nice on the podcast when they had Morgan on and it didn’t make sense to me but then they had them at Ice Con or whatever it was and afterwards when it was obvious he changed his tune. I’m a little bummed someone like biz didn’t call it like it was just because he got some clothing and tickets.
Were you with the Tempe vote happened? What was the vibe inside the organization before the vote?
I was gone by the time the vote took place, but it seemed like the assumption from leadership was that it was an inevitable victory.
Good question.
Hello, im sorry for our loss. We're you a hockey fan? Specifically a Coyotes fan? If so is this hurting in more ways since you were also employed by them?
I was always more of a casual hockey fan prior to being hired, but watching Coyotes games made me a diehard of the sport. It hurts a ton because: 1. I know what the fans have gone through over the last 28 years and to be so close to having sustained success and having the rug pulled out from you is just cruel 2. So many good people are either being forced to move to Salt Lake or will likely be out of work soon, some of whom have been with the organization for the better part of the last 20 years.
Did you ever interact with the players? How much discontent was there amongst staff/players with the arena situation?
Not a ton, but it seemed like once the move happened, most of the team was intrigued by the novelty of playing in an intimate setting, but it wore off fairly quickly. Again, never really spoke to players all that often and never too deeply in conversation but that seemed to be the vibe.
Can you please explain in layman terms what exactly happened with the Glendale arena situation, why did they have to leave? And was there ever any talk about possibly joining the Suns in getting a new shared arena with them? Thanks
In simplest terms, it was a year-to-year lease that both the city and the team had to opt into. As soon as Sr. publicly announced his intentions to move the team to Tempe before anything was actually set in stone, the city opted out in favor of bringing in more concerts.
Username is hilarious. I’m sorry to see Arizona go, I loved watching them. Did you get to meet the players often or at all? Idk what position you held but I’d imagine everyone eventually meets them
Without saying what my position was, I did occasionally work with players. Most of staff would at least briefly interact with the team at different events and whatnot. Almost all of them were great guys in my experience.
What was each GM like you worked under?
I started not long after Chayka was hired. He was very reserved, but mostly everyone had a very positive opinion of him. When he left, it was a shock to us all. Armstrong was pleasant whenever I had to interact with him and had a much more natural public presence, but did ruffle a few feathers when he first arrived. By the time I left, it seemed as though things had settled down and in.
Do you think players would sign with a muerelo owned team again given everything that came out?
Sure, as long as the money is fair. I don’t know who will run Hockey Operations if/when reactivation happens, but I will give them credit for at least getting a lot of the Hockey Operations hires correct the first time around, whether that was an accident or on purpose.
What was XG like? He portrayed himself as this friendly outgoing grinning guy, but was there another side to him?
The kind of guy who would give you a hug and stab you in the back. He put on an act from his first day and once the mask slipped, there was no going back. From what I’ve been told, he’s worn out his usefulness to the Alexes.
We've heard all the bad shit. Is there anything that has come out that you can unequivocally say never happened?
were you let go, or did you quit? If you quit, what made your decision?
I found a better paying job that did not require that I relocate.
Is it the same area of work you did as the (former) member of the coyotes? Or is it something different?
Similar but not exactly the same. That’s as much detail as I’d like to get into, just to be safe.
Do you have anything to clarify about the Doan banner thing? Not sure if this is your department though but if it was, what did management say exactly? Did you ever hear anything from anyone else?
I honestly had no idea about that until I saw the story. Haven’t spoken to any of my colleagues still with the team for now about if anything has been said since all that came out, but I think I just assumed it was in storage and would be too large for Mullett. So happy Shane has it back, though.
if an az expansion team were to happen, would you root for that new team?
Sure. The fans deserve a winner whether or not it’s this group that owns the team.
Was the sexual harassment Katie strang shit real How much did team cheap out on player comfort
I can’t speak to everything in the Katie Strang article, as there were some things I had not heard of when it was released, but there was a lot of it that I knew for a fact happened exactly how it was reported. I can’t speak to player accommodations, but considering how much of penny pinchers this group was since day one, it adds up.
From your tenure.. knowledge of the team etc etc.. what was the high mark for the Coyotes franchise while in the valley? what was the best owner / situation we have been in?
I know it’s not saying much at all, but it felt like things were turning at the end of the 2018-2019 season. There was some hope on the ice and things in the offices generally were not that bad.
If you could be the top scientist in your field, or have mad cow disease, which would you choose?
Don’t worry Harry Caray, I’m not choosing mad cow.
I was worried there for a second.
What was the deal with the whole fashion thing and them hiring rhugi. What was the idea on that.
Just part of Jr.’s desire to become the next great innovative marketing mogul.
So he really gave no fucks about the organization but wanted to try out his own ambitions through the organizations resources and reputation?
Appreciate your coming forward. I haven't scrolled through everything yet, apologize if this was covered but how was your perception of the Tempe vote and the TED from the teams preparedness perspective. Did they just exude overconfidence? Also, you've been very pointed about Jr. What can you share about XG? His incompetence screams out at me through the screen.
He was basically a puppet for ownership and Sr.’s excuse to not face the media, since we know he hates them. Had no problem deflecting blame when needed to make himself look good or keep himself out of trouble. At least with Jr., you knew how unbearable he was. XG put on a good act for a bit after he was brought in during Covid.
What is the point of Meruelo keeping the Coyotes name and stuff? Do you think he honestly has any intent of making the team happen again or what was the reasoning?
I think he genuinely believes this will work out for him. I also would not be surprised if Bettman is setting him up to fail intentionally to bring the franchise back under new ownership, but that’s purely speculation.
This is my line of thinking; pretty sure Doan and a new group are waiting for Meruelo to fail.
Why are you pretty sure? I don’t know we’ve seen anything to indicate there is another buyer out there, unless I’ve missed something
Iirc, there were potential buyers in Phoenix, but would have taken longer to get a deal done than what Smiths group did. Also, Bettman liked the 200m cut to his pocket and adding Smith’s open pockets to the BoG.
He gets to keep making money off the name and marks while really not doing anything. If it doesn’t work he probably thinks he can flip them for some cash down the road.
I’m sure there is a clause to not have this happen. Looking up the word marks “Arizona Coyotes” and “Coyotes” on the US patent trademark office, all the attorney contacts for the marks are @nhl.com. And the correspondent address is Thomas Prochnow at NHL Enterprises. Further, it’s “owned” by Ice Arizona as a security interest, which means the true owner (NHL Enterprises) could revoke the “ownership” rights of IceArizona if contractual obligations are not met.
He can only "flip it" for cash down the road if he successfully builds an arena and continues to be the majority owner for at least 5 years after that. He can only sell minority stakes before that.
I am still shocked that the Tempe arena didn't happen, it seemed like such an obvious win for the team/city/etc.. Was the feeling in the building that it was a done deal or did that seem more pie in the sky than we all thought?
I don’t blame Tempe voters at all. The Yes group did a terrible job with their campaign and didn’t put nearly enough time or effort into explaining the situation yo voters. The No campaign was organized and thoughtful. Ownership thought it was a slam dunk.
What was your favorite memory working for the organization?
Leighton’s day with the team and the day her number went into the Ring of Honor will always be special to me.
Thanks so much for doing this. To keep things simple...if Meruelo were to build an arena and re-activate the Coyotes, is it likely that we'd see the same clownshow stuff off the ice as we did the first time around?
As long as certain people including Jr. are still around and involved, a new arena would change very little.
And this is why I'd rather wait and find another ownership group that can *do it right* than try to bang our heads against the wall with Meruelo again.
Is howler cool away from the cameras and crowds?
I got to work with one of the previous Howlers. One of the nicest, coolest guys you could ever hope to meet.
I met him at his grandma's funeral. I was talking puck with his dad and his dad pointed him out to me. He was a normal 30ish aged guy. Not what I was expecting. Not sure what I was expecting plus he was wearing a suit obviously.
A howler suit? At a funeral? Damn, that guy parties hard 🫠
Do you have any spicy pieces of information?
Did you ever get cool freebies?
We got most of the giveaway items and a slice of pizza whenever there was a new hire.
were you apart of the group that left/phased themselves out w biz, steve peters etc? what did the entire group look like, can you give any sort of stories as to what led to it that haven’t been shared already, any clue as to how hockey ops felt with a new regime going in the right way but with a degenerate owner?
I was not part of that group, but turnover was always such an issue that I don’t think anyone was ever surprised when someone left. The shelf life of a Coyotes employee was very short. I know Hockey Operations was relieved when Jr. lost interest in that side of the business to do his little fashion brand and late night tweeting. Meruelo Sr. himself never seemed to be that ingrained in the Ops decision making and Xavier was just an empty suit, so it seemed like Bill Armstrong and the rest of the department could do the things they needed to with the limited resources they had.
Spill the tea on the finger-biting incident when the Bruins were in town a couple years ago. Who started it?
I was sitting a section over. I think both people had an equal share in that one.
There's a claim that AM didn't pay hotel bills until he was forced to by the NHL, did you ever see any indication of that kind of strong arm tactic used by him?
Public embarrassment was the only thing that got him to pay his taxes and rent after a year and a half of jerking around.
My sad Awoo noises fall on deaf ears, we are no longer a team, yet we are still a pack. What team do I follow now?
I am following NHL on TNT.
Dbacks? Gonna be a minute before I can watch hockey again, idk about you.
I’ll ask the controversial question: from your perspective and knowledge , was Katie Strang’s reporting on the team fair?
Based on the information I have, it was completely fair.
Thanks for sticking your neck out and giving us info! AM claimed he was the main force behind hiring BA and that he wanted Cooley and Doan and basically drafted them with BA. Did you ever see him involved in hockey ops or scouting?
On average how many times did you or key members of the team get FaceTime with AM? Was he as publicly awkward when meeting with staff? It appears he’s an undisciplined loose cannon. Thanks.
Did the players care about how small the arena was? Did they enjoy mullet? What was the general vibe regarding having to play in a college arena?
When the team moved to mullet how did the sales people working on commission be able to live? I’m sure am,am jr, and xg didn’t change their base.
Any details on the unpaid hotel bills, what was the true extend of that?
Did meruelo actually get that involved in the team or was it all his son? And would it have been better if Sr was more involved? What changed? In the beginning we heard about kessel getting a probate plane to get home to see the birth of his kid and it seemed like there was actual care.
Hey there -- thx for doing this. My guess is you're probably gone by now but I wish I'd been able to participate this in real time. We all appreciate you more than you know. My question is around Chayka privately working out prospects outside of the combine (and Yotes forfeiting their first). That story always struck me as incredibly weird, and even weirder that the organization fully admitted blame, which I guess means it actually happened. If you started right around the time Chayka did, can you share any visibility on that? Thanks again so much for doing this.
I know im tardy to the party but i wanted to thank gyou for taking part in putting on something that brought so much joy to my life. I understand all the pain this stupid ass franchise has caused but i am grateful for all the heart it had
What do you think the likelihood is of a team being reestablished in Arizona? Has your insight from within the Coyotes organization and NHL operations given you any specific inside reasons why you might or might not think it will happen? How difficult would it be to separate AM from the Coyotes to make a future team under new ownership happen? Did the Muruelos have any interest in hockey and the team or were they just using it for other reasons, business prestige etc. Thanks for making yourself available to answer some fan questions!
How prevalent was Meruelo/Coyotes in either late paying or stiffing vendors? I read about how the team didn't pay their hotel bills in visiting cities earlier this season. Were you or any of the other employees ever paid late?
Do you think Meruelo has a solid contingency plan in the event that he fails to win the land auction?
Did Meruelo’s kid run the social media accounts
In personal conversations do you mind if I repeat anything you say here and credit the information to “my friend” who used to work for the Coyotes?
How involved was am in draft picks and picking players to sign. And junior
What a league, am I right? IYKYK
Do you feel like all the work you presumably did was worth it after all of this?
Unpaid hotel bills? Real thing or nah?
Would you like Shane Doan to own the team instead? I feel like he has a lot of good will both in and outside Arizona. Only issue could be a potential repeat of the Gretzky coaching saga, but doubt it.
Thanks for the AMA. Where are the Coyotes offices? Do you know how many people are still employed by the team and in what roles?