This story originally appeared on Page 5 (The Five Hole) of the Nov. 12, 2019 edition of the St. Louis Game Time paper, sold outside of every Blues home game. For more information or to subscribe, email gtbradlee@gmail.com
It was sometime in 2012, although it might’ve been 2013 or ’14. Doesn’t matter. I was streaming a city-council meeting on my laptop. The Coyotes, once again, were in trouble. Glendale, the suburb where their arena is located, was unwilling to upgrade the arena, or was unwilling to let the team out of its lease, or the team wanted the city to divert a higher percentage of tax revenue toward this or that — again, doesn’t matter, I’ve long since lost track of the maneuverings of the league, various Coyotes owners, and the power-hungry, self-interested politicians (redundant, I know) of Glendale.