The Arizona Coyotes have relieved president and CEO Ahron Cohen of his duties. He is no longer with the organization at this time. He had occupied those roles since replacing Steve Patterson in July 2018. Craig Morgan of The Athletic broke the news late Tuesday morning.
Breaking @ArizonaCoyotes news: Changes at the top.
From @CraigSMorgan https://t.co/gy5XS3bw2u— The Athletic Arizona (@TheAthleticAZ) May 12, 2020
Coyotes Remove Ahron Cohen
Cohen originally joined the organization in 2015 under the previous majority owner, Andrew Barroway. He was the chief operating and legal officer until 2018 when he assumed the roles of president and CEO. Cohen was instrumental in improving the team’s ticket sales and television presence. There was speculation about Cohen’s future after Alex Meruelo purchased a controlling stake in the Coyotes less than one year ago.
This move is a reflection of that change in ownership. Mereulo gave General Manager John Chayka a contract extension but head coach Rick Tocchet has not been given the same deal going into the final year of his contract. It isn’t clear why Mereulo has removed Cohen but it could be related to the scandal that broke some months ago. Arizona had brought prospects in for workouts outside of the bounds set in the collective bargaining agreement. The NHL has not decided how to punish Arizona yet but that doesn’t mean the new owner can’t act first. The move could also simply be a shakeup to bring in different personnel that Mereulo knows better.
What This Means for the Future
We don’t know what this move will do right away. Cohen had led the Coyotes through an era of strong growth both internally and externally; Cohen hired former Olympic Women’s Hockey star Lyndsey Fry to push for more youth and girls hockey in the area.
Keep an eye on the Coyotes for the next several weeks and months. This could signal a change in how the team will approach the draft, free agency or the remainder of the 2019-20 season.
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