The Arizona Coyotes suffered another major blow today even after they were relocated as the state cancelled the land auction that would have provided the location for their next home arena. When the NHL sold the Coyotes to Ryan Smith, part of the deal was that former owner Alex Meruelo would be given the rights to the Coyotes branding and namesake for five years. The league stipulated that if Meruelo could get a new building in line within those five years, he would be next in line for an expansion team, effectively bringing the Coyotes back from the dead. Unfortunately, that now looks like it may not happen as their plan for the next building site just fell through. <q>BREAKING Arizona Land Department cancels June 27 auction for land sought by former owner of Arizona Coyotes.</q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/brahmresnik/status/1804241639537545354'> </a></blockquote></div> The Arizona State Land Department (ASLD) released a full statement announcing the cancellation of the auction as well as their reasoning behind it. Apparently, Meruelo needs a special use permit to build the proposed arena district on the land, which he has not yet obtained. The ASLD requires permits to be in place before the auction can be held. <q>According to ASLD press release, Meruelo first has to obtain a special use permit allowing an arena to be built on the land BEFORE he can be permitted to buy the land. A total ******, again, by the AM crew who seem to have misinterpreted the existing zoning restrictions.</q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/NhLplayer123/status/1804244951791710314'> </a></blockquote></div> Fans universally took this as an opportunity to dunk on the Coyotes. After all, the franchise has been a disaster. Even after being officially disbanded, they are still taking losses. One fan pointed out that Gary Bettman must be chuckling after the news was announced. <q>Somewhere Gary Bettman is smirking. His brokered sale to Smith is going to be studied in business schools as the perfect way to extract a sports league from a failed owner.</q> <div align='center'><blockquote class='twitter-tweet' data-lang='en'><a href='https://twitter.com/toddinphx/status/1804263326698082692'> </a></blockquote></div> Could this mean the end of the Coyotes for good? Perhaps not quite, but the franchise is certainly on life support at this point. Be sure to stay up to date on the team over the next few months to see whether or not Meruelo will continue his efforts to bring the NHL back to Arizona. Source: HouseofHockey <a href='https://www.houseofhockey.net/nhl-team/arizona-coyotes/terrible-news-confirmed-for-nhl-expansion-in-arizona' class='lien_marqueur' target='_blank' rel='noopener'>Terrible news confirmed for NHL expansion in Arizona</a>