• Loading stock data...
Monday, October 6, 2025

The Dysfunctional Family Affair That Poisoned Arizona Coyotes

  • Alex Meruelo Jr.’s power played a major part in the team’s undoing.
  • ‘He was involved in everything, all the decision-making,’ a former employee says.
Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo speaks to the media at a press conference announcing his new ownership of the Coyotes at Gila River Arena in Glendale on July 31, 2019. Alex Meruelo
Thomas Hawthorne/The Republic
Ballers in Philadelphia
Exclusive

Backer of SlamBall, Ballers Armed With $150M for New Fund

The fund will offer sports and entertainment companies deals that don’t involve equity.
Read Now
October 6, 2025 |

The Arizona Coyotes needed a savior after more than two decades of distress. Instead, they got Alex Meruelo. 

The owner of the now defunct franchise came to Phoenix to cement a future for professional hockey in the desert, but the era has ended in calamity as the billionaire businessman walked away in June. As more details surface from former employees, Meruelo (above) has sealed a legacy of an almost unfathomable level of dysfunction and mismanagement. The saga has thrust him into the ranks of worst owners in professional sports history. And his son also quietly played his own part, making the organization’s downfall a family affair. 

Meruelo, who purchased the team for $300 million in 2019, is a billionaire—but he managed the Coyotes like he was the head of a private equity firm with a distressed asset. Financial obligations were left unaddressed as he tried to renegotiate commitments including paying the team’s travel costs and reimbursing area vendors, a team that already ranked in the bottom-third in player salary commitments sank further, and his gruff nature irked local political leaders and fellow NHL owners alike. 

“He wasn’t paying bills,” says one former team employee who spoke to Front Office Sports on condition of anonymity. “He can deny it all he wants, but that stuff is true. His reputation was horrible. No one wanted to work with him. He didn’t treat employees very well and he was just a cheap ass. That was the reality of the situation.”

After years of strife under six prior primary owners, the Coyotes required a hands-on approach to reassure fans and area politicians that Meruelo had a vision (and the money) to stabilize the franchise. But multiple former employees describe Meruelo as an absentee owner.

The most active and vocal presence, instead, came from another member of the organization.

Alex Meruelo Jr., who graduated from USC weeks before his father purchased the team, was quickly promoted through the ranks of the Coyotes organization. Within a couple of years, he would soon have a say on business across several arms of the franchise, including player personnel decisions. According to former employees who spoke to FOS, Meruelo Jr. had a larger role in the team’s day-to-day operations than he did.

Although the sources say some staffers held their ground against Meruelo Jr., including general manager Bill Armstrong, many others found themselves overruled. Desperate employees went to the top to appeal for intervention. 

“Numerous people told his dad how bad his son was, but [Meruelo Sr.] had blind faith, blind trust, or blind love for his son,” one former employee says. “He responded by saying that it was his [Meruelo Jr.’s] team and [his son] was the reason he bought the team. All Jr. cared about was lifestyle and fashion.”

The organization was already in chaos following its eviction from Glendale’s Gila River Arena and subsequent move to Arizona State’s 5,000-seat hockey arena before the 2022–23 season. But Meruelo Jr.’s focus wasn’t on addressing the public blowback or ensuing logistical nightmares. During one Coyotes home game, Meruelo Jr. yanked about a half dozen team employees—including members of the social media team—away from their duties to instead field-trip to an area mall to show off new apparel from designer Rhuigi Villaseñor, according to two former employees.

Coyotes CEO and president Xavier Gutierrez, who had previously worked for the Meruelo Group—a business consulting firm, whose services span construction, gaming, and private equity—became the public face of the team when he was hired in June 2020. Behind closed doors, he also served as a mentor to Meruelo Jr. during the first several months of his tenure. But the relationship flipped as time went on: Multiple former employees tell FOS that for the last several months of the franchise’s existence, Meruelo Jr. had more power than Gutierrez within the organization.

“He was involved in everything, all the decision-making,” a former employee says. “Xavier was powerless. He couldn’t push back or influence him in any way. I feel for Xavier.”

With Meruelo Jr.’s growing influence, the power shift became too much for some members of the Coyotes organization. 

Gutierrez himself faded into the background as rumors swirled around the team’s sale and relocation to Salt Lake City, which became official in April. And there was a reason for that: Gutierrez stepped away from his day-to-day involvement with the team, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. Gutierrez declined to comment on his status when reached by FOS, although he lists ImpactX Sports Group—which he founded in April—along with the Coyotes as two companies he currently works for, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Minus Gutierrez, Alex Meruelo Jr. was left to inform the remaining dozen or so Coyotes employees on Monday that his father was abandoning efforts to revive the team. The move came days after the Arizona State Land Department canceled an auction for 110 acres of prime real estate in north Phoenix—the crucial part of the Meruelos’ effort to restart the franchise as an expansion team. 

The Phoenix NHL market is now totally open to another ownership group to start over. After Meruelo abandoned his push, the NHL’s Board of Governors voted to terminate his exclusivity rights at a meeting earlier this week, a source with knowledge of the meeting tells FOS

For the NHL to work in the desert, it will need two things the team hasn’t had for decades: stable ownership with allies within the community as well as an easily accessible arena. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and the other team owners remain hopeful they’ll find stability and are keen on returning Phoenix to the league’s fold.

If for no other reason, there is still a financial opportunity in Arizona.

“Bettman contorted himself into a pretzel to keep the team in Phoenix because of the size of the TV market,” says Helene Elliott, a former longtime Los Angeles Times columnist and the first female journalist to win the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Ferguson Memorial Award for her decades covering the NHL. “Bettman’s job is to make money for his owners and those owners are going to make more money, theoretically, with a TV contract that includes Phoenix as the 11th-largest U.S. market than Quebec City.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Sep 27, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin reacts during the fourth quarter against the Oregon Ducks at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State Has a $50 Million James Franklin Problem

Franklin’s team lost to unranked UCLA on Saturday despite being heavy favorites.

Connor McDavid Signs Short-Term Deal, Eyeing Oilers’ Cup Window

The three-time Most Valuable Player signs for below his market value.
Napheesa Collier

WNBA Tensions Heat Up With Canceled Collier–Engelbert Meeting

The commissioner denied Collier’s version of events at a press conference Friday.

Featured Today

Paul Cartier

Sports Organists Are Still Thriving in the Era of Raucous Arena Music

“When they walk out and they see a real organ guy, it’s like, ‘Wow.’”
Sep 27, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Jackson Chourio (11) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at American Family Field.
October 4, 2025

Milwaukee Moneyball: Brewers Are Beating MLB’s Deeper Pockets

Milwaukee is holding its own against big-budget competitors.
Kōloa Rum Company Rum Rusher
September 27, 2025

Panthers Bubbly, Jets Wine, Manning Whiskey: The Sports Booze Boom

A sommelier dives into the sports booze trend—and tries Jets wine.
Nov 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers fans wave Terrible Towels against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium
September 26, 2025

Steelers’ Irish Roots Are Deeper Than NFL Dublin Game

The Steelers have history and the foundation for a future in Ireland.

Cardinals Vow Changes Coming After Historic Attendance Drop

A stalwart franchise looks to correct an alarming slide in attendance.
Jun 12, 2025; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) and relief pitcher Edwin Diaz (39) celebrate after defeating the Washington Nationals at Citi Field.
September 29, 2025

Two of the Mets’ Biggest Stars Could Dictate Important Offseason

The Mets missed the playoffs despite having one of baseball’s highest payrolls.
September 30, 2025

Tyreek Hill’s Injury Complicates Financial Future With Dolphins

Releasing the receiver after this season would cost $28 million.
Sponsored

How Soccer Star Jozy Altidore Became a Buffalo Bills Owner

Jozy Altidore discusses building a business legacy off the field.
September 29, 2025

Mariners to End 37-Year RSN Run, Join MLB’s In-House Media Model

The Mariners-owned regional sports network is shutting down operations.
September 25, 2025

Celtics Owner Bill Chisholm: Boston Should Have a WNBA Team

Chisholm spoke to reporters Thursday for the first time as Celtics owner.
Aug 30, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New York Liberty head coach Sandy Brondello calls out a play in the second half to her team against the Phoenix Mercury at Footprint Center.
September 25, 2025

Liberty GM Defends Controversial Brondello Firing

Kolb said he has confidence that the team’s stars will return.
Apr 29, 2023; New York, New York, USA; New Jersey Devils center Michael McLeod (20) during the first period against the New York Rangers in game six of the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden.
September 23, 2025

Rumors of Canes Interest in Hockey Canada Trial Players Provokes Fan Backlash

Hurricanes fans are threatening to boycott if Carolina signs the acquitted players.