Tucson Roadrunners

On April 19, 2016, the Arizona Coyotes announced that they had reached an agreement to purchase their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, and would relocate the team to Tucson for the 2016–17 season.[3][4] Said purchase and relocation was contingent on three approvals; the first from Rio Nuevo (Tucson's downtown revitalization authority) to invest $3.2 million in arena upgrades to bring the Convention Center to professional-quality standards was approved on April 26,[5] the second from the AHL Board of Governors to conditionally approve the purchase and relocation by the Coyotes was approved on May 10,[6] and the third from the Tucson City Council for a 10-year lease with the Convention Center was approved on May 17.[7][8]

A name-the-team contest was held between May 17 until May 31.[9] The hockey club's new name and logo were revealed on June 18 during the Tucson Convention Center's open house event.[10] The chosen name, Roadrunners, pays homage to the Phoenix Roadrunners, a team name that was used for various Phoenix professional hockey teams from 1967 to 2009, and creates a play on words with its parent club the Coyotes (a reference to the classic cartoon duo of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner). Its logo, as well, is a close match for the traditional logo used for Phoenix Roadrunners' teams of the past.

On June 21, 2016, Mark Lamb was hired as the team's first head coach after holding the same position with the Western Hockey League's Swift Current Broncos since 2009. Mark Hardy was hired as an assistant coach.[11] The team named its first president Brian Sandy, along with three other key staff members, on July 18.[12] On July 20, the Roadrunners announced their first general manager, Doug Soetaert, promoted from his former position as a scout for the Coyotes.[13]

After one season, Lamb was released and replaced by Mike Van Ryn, the player development coach with the Coyotes. Under Van Ryn, the Roadrunners finished in first place in the Pacific Division but were eliminated by the Texas Stars in the division finals of the 2018 Calder Cup playoffs. Van Ryn then left to pursue other coaching opportunities and was hired by the St. Louis Blues.[14] The Coyotes then hired Jay Varady as head coach of the Roadrunners for the 2018–19 season after a successful season as coach of the Kingston Frontenacs.[15]

On May 12, 2020, the AHL announced the cancelation for the remainder of the 2019–20 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Roadrunners were awarded the Pacific division championship for having the best record in the division when play was suspended and later canceled.[16] Prior to the postponed start of the 2020–21 season, head coach Varady joined the Coyotes' staff as an assistant coach[17] and assistant Steve Potvin was promoted to head coach of the Roadrunners.[18]

• Official website