Gov. Ned Lamont said Friday that he plans to meet with the commissioner of the NHL about the possibility of moving the league’s Arizona Coyotes franchise to Hartford, the Associated Press reported.
He’d like the meeting with Commissioner Gary Bettman to take place next week, the AP reported. Talks of a relocation for the Coyotes have come up following voters in Tempe, Arizona rejecting a referendum for a $2.3 billion entertainment district that would allow the franchise to build a new arena there, the AP reported.
Lamont and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin in recent days have been promoting on social media their desire to land an NHL franchise in the Capital City. In a tweet on Friday, Bronin highlighted the fact that the Hartford and New Haven area are the largest TV markets with no teams in the four major leagues.
In response to one of Bronin’s tweets promoting the Coyotes’ relocation to Hartford, Lamont replied: “Let’s do this.”
Connecticut was formerly home to the Hartford Whalers NHL franchise, which relocated to North Carolina in 1997, a move that hurt the city of Hartford.
