peyote

It was announced last week that the Phoenix Coyotes will become the Arizona Coyotes starting next season, a change reflecting the fact that the team plays their home games in Glendale and not actually Phoenix.

Along with that news, it was reported that the Coyotes would be primarily sticking to their current brand – meaning no significant changes to their logo or jerseys.

Well, that may not entirely be the case.

According to Craig Morgan of Fox Sports Arizona, the Coyotes will be wearing their 1996 Aztec Peyote jerseys for at least one game next season. The team’s new owner, Anthony LeBlanc, may also be considering a complete branding overhaul as well, though that is seen as a long-term process.

“Changing uniforms is a considerably longer term process that requires significant lead time with our merchandise partners,” LeBlanc said.

Though I actually don’t mind the ‘Yotes current digs, they’d be crazy to pass up rebranding with the new name change. They haven’t made any significant changes in over 10 years and doing so this summer would be an easy money grab for an out of market franchise.

Personally, I’d like to a newer, refined version of the Aztec throwback brought on full-time next season.