VHN Daily: Kachina! Arizona Coyotes’ cool jerseys are here to stay; New arena too?

The Arizona Coyotes, a team that usually makes little positive noise on or off the ice, had some good things to say Monday.

First, the team’s ultra-cool Kachina sweaters will return full time as the team’s official uniform. The team wore them at home last year. Now, you get to see the ‘Yotes in those beautiful Kachina jerseys all the time. Props to management for bringing back the look for every night, home and away.

The other piece of big news also dealt with off the ice and this could be vital to the team’s existence in the Valley of the Sun. The Coyotes unveiled plans to build a $1.7 billion arena in Tempe, which is much closer to its fan base than its current location in Glendale.

Much remains to be done but if the Coyotes can clear all the hurdles, and there are a number of them, their future as Desert Dogs could be cemented.

Elsewhere around the NHL …

VegasHockeyNow: The Golden Knights prospects wrapped up play at the Coyotes Rookie Faceoff tournamentMonday with a 3-2 win over the Kings. Tim Speltz, the new GM of the Henderson Silver Knights, got a first-hand look at many of the players who will skate for his AHL team this season.

CBC.ca: Auston Matthews has been to Las Vegas many times, going back to his amateur hockey days in Arizona. But his latest trip was nothing like his previous visits.

ESPN.com: Travis Zajac has called it a career. The forward who spent virtually all of his career with the New Jersey Devils before being traded to the New York Islanders last spring, signed a one-day contract and retired a Devil. Nice move by the folks in Newark to take care of Zajac.

ESPN.com: Why did Jonathan Drouin drop out of sight last year? The Montreal Canadiens forward explains the anxiety issues which kept him away from the rink.

BostonHockeyNow: Colleague Jimmy Murphy reports that the Bruins are 100% vaccinated against the coronavirus. That includes players, coaches and staff. Nice touch by Jimmy wearing a mask in his avatar!