Like many parents in Arizona, Tom Galvin faced a tough conversation with his child when the Arizona Coyotes relocated in 2024.
Galvin, a lifelong hockey fan himself, became a hockey parent to a son who wanted to get on skates as soon as he could.
"Telling him that the Coyotes were leaving to go to another state, that was a difficult conversation," Galvin told The Arizona Republic. "What kid thinks his favorite team is going to leave town?"
"I said to myself, if he's feeling this way, I'm sure a ton of kids are feeling this way. I'm sure fans who have been invested in the Coyotes for decades are feeling this way," Galvin said.
The only difference was that Galvin could do something about it.
After he was sworn in as the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors
Chairman in January 2025, he vowed to bring the NHL back to Arizona.
Since then, he's gained ground through several strategic decisions, including forming an advisory committee with Andrea Doan, wife of Coyotes great, Shane, as the chair of that group.
The Doan name not only gave fans hope that the right people were involved, as Shane had tirelessly worked to save the team throughout his playing career and beyond. According to Galvin, Andrea's involvement legitimized the effort to the NHL.
"The Doan name is synonymous with hockey in Arizona, and Andrea Doan wouldn't just lend her name to an effort unless she thought it was serious and there was a lot of thought and care put into it," Galvin said. "I think the NHL really appreciated that and frankly, it got their attention. They might've been looking into other cities and moved on past Phoenix, but seeing that Andrea Doan was the chairman was key and crucial."
Galvin has met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman three times over the last 20 months, with the last meeting coming in early summer.
The most recent meeting went "really well" and was a "really good, frank discussion."
"We were both candid on each side with what we expect and what we think is necessary," Galvin said. "Obviously, the NHL has been through a lot with what they experienced here in the Valley."
Galvin understood that the last few ownership efforts in Arizona were "abysmal" and held the meeting with Bettman "to show him I intend to have a different framework."
Bringing in an expansion franchise will cost billions and will require an extensive search for someone with deep pockets and the ability to secure an arena in the right spot.
NHL expansion has been a popular topic, with cities like Houston, Austin and Atlanta being floated as potential markets. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman shared on the 32 Thoughts podcast on Aug. 25 that the league does want to return to Arizona, but will need to see plans for an arena to move ahead of the other cities.
In his meeting with Bettman, Galvin said the conditions for bringing a team back in the Phoenix area are "much better" than when the team left in 2024, and since he started the committee.
Doan provides an extensive list of contacts in the hockey world and in Arizona to help with the ownership search. Galvin's experience as a land use attorney helps with finding viable locations for an arena.
According to Galvin, there's more support from businesses now that they've experienced the loss of "millions, if not billions, of economic development throughout the region."
"I was hearing from different companies that have done business with the Coyotes," Galvin said. "They said they were so happy to hear that someone was trying to bring them back."
As far as the ownership search goes, Galvin confirmed that there are potential ownership candidates.
"What's been encouraging for me is now we're having serious conversations with serious parties," Galvin said.
How youth hockey is faring in Arizona
Galvin's son wasn't the only youth hockey player affected by the Coyotes' move and the subsequent loss of funding from the NHL.
Olympian Lyndsey Fry and other stakeholders made sure that youth hockey wouldn't take a bigger hit and co-founded a grassroots effort with the Matt Shott Arizona Hockey Legacy Foundation.
The MSAHLF is a nonprofit with a range of programs for hockey players, including the Learn to Play program, which has remained "massively successful."
Fry said her small committee has been to every rink in the Phoenix area, except Scottsdale, and has visited both Tucson and Flagstaff.
"They've put over 700 kids through Learn to Play, and last season, we put more kids through our programs than some NHL teams put for their Learn to Play program," Fry said.
According to Fry, the numbers demonstrate "the level of commitment and the overall effort that our crew is putting in."
The group has received donations from partners and sponsors, along with help from the Utah Mammoth and the NHL's pilot program through USA Hockey, but they've had to be "scrappy" for funding at times.
"The biggest challenge right now is that the way we always did it through the Coyotes was that all the kids get a free set of equipment," Fry said. "It's really accessible and affordable, and then they have that set of equipment to continue to play and helps with retention. We wanted to make sure we could replicate that, but not having that direct and consistent funding from an NHL team makes it hard."
Fry shared that a big sponsor will be announced officially in February, which will help the foundation. But until then, the group will continue to help the community as the area waits for the NHL to potentially return.
Reach the reporter or send tips for stories at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com, as well as @jennarortiz on X.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Will Arizona Coyotes come back? What one group is doing | Exclusive
