Coyotes players and fans refuse to leave Mullett Arena after final game

It's all over for the Arizona Coyotes. 

For better or worse, this team is done in the Arizona desert and will pack up for Salt Lake City, Utah next season.

The Coyotes franchise is officially leaving the Arizona market after 28 tumultuous years and last night both the players and the fans got one final send off.

The Coyotes managed a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Tempe's 5,400 capacity Mullett Arena, but it's hardly the game action that anyone was talking about afterwards. No, it was the on ice farewell celebrations that took place after the final buzzer. The entire Coyotes franchise seemingly spilled out onto the ice to take in the gravity of it all, giving us a few special moments to share.

Check it out:

Once everyone was off the ice, things spilled into the back parking lot:

Honestly, I feel for the hardcore Coyotes fans out there. There obviously just weren't enough hardcore fans to make things work in Arizona, but that doesn't make the real ones any less real. As a Canadian hockey fan who has watched two of my favorite franchises come and go, I can sympathize with Coyotes fans. The fact is that you deserved better than what the Coyotes and its rag tag collection of owners served up. This team never really had stability in the market and they suffered in all ways because of it. When the team was good and they were stationed in downtown Phoenix, times were good... but that was over 20 years ago. Since then the team has struggled to find its footing and has bled tens of millions of dollars. The move to Glendale was disastrous, but not nearly as disastrous as the pitiful Tempe pitch that owner Alex Meruelo fumbled. 

Meruelo, by the way, neglected to show up for last night's game. The final game in his team's history.

Doesn't that just say it all right there?

RIP, Arizona Coyotes.