Finally Secure in Desert, Coyotes Can Focus on Ice Laura Segall for The New York Times The Coyotes have a new lease on life after being operated by the N.H.L. for four years. GLENDALE, Ariz. - Just three months ago, the Phoenix Coyotes were less than five days from moving to Seattle. Yet that was not the closest call during the team's long period of instability. At one point in 2010, they came within 15 minutes of moving to Winnipeg. "We were sitting in the office of Bill Daly, and that was when the City of Glendale had to transfer some money over," General Manager Don Maloney said, referring to the N.H.L."s deputy commissioner. Literally 15 minutes away, and Bill said the money hit the account, and we're staying for another year. So you talk about drama. The deadlines, ultimatums and failed ownership bids are in the past. The Coyotes have a new lease on life after being operated by the league for four years. Hockey in the desert is here to stay, with the Coyotes set to host the Rangers on Thursday night in the teams" season opener. Suddenly, things are looking up, so much so that this week one of ESPN's lead hockey writers picked Phoenix to win the Stanley Cup next June. "We're very excited," said George Gosbee, the leader of a group of mainly Canadian investors that bought the Coyotes for $170 million in July. What this team has been able to accomplish, despite what has happened over the last four years, is amazing. Don Maloney; our coach, Dave Tippett; our players; and our dressing room culture - I think it's the best group in the league. They just need to move out of the uncertainty. Gosbee, 43, the chairman of the financial services company AltaCorp Capital, is a Calgary native who has wanted to own an N.H.L. team since falling in love with the stock market as a sixth-grader. "In 1980 a group of local businessmen brought the Atlanta Flames to Calgary, and after that I always thought being an owner was just the coolest thing," he said, laughing, in the Coyotes" offices this week. Gosbee and his partners put up $50 million of equity for the deal, which also includes an $85 million loan from the N.H.L. There is an out clause enabling the owners to move the team in five years if it loses $50 million. Some problems remain, like the inconvenient location of Jobing.com Arena in a retail development at the western end of the Phoenix area. But Gosbee said the owners were committed to keeping the team in Arizona. "We've always understood the opportunity down here," he said. It was just putting together the time and effort. The team, which will be renamed the Arizona Coyotes next season, was one of three financially troubled N.H.L. franchises that were bought since last season, along with the Devils and the Florida Panthers. Although it is probably a stretch to declare the Coyotes title contenders after they missed the playoffs last season, they did reach the Western Conference finals two years ago behind the superb goaltending of Mike Smith. They have two of the best young defensemen in the N.H.L., Keith Yandle and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and an on-ice leader, Shane Doan, whom many consider the best captain in hockey. On top of all those assets, the organization finally feels it will not pull up stakes and move somewhere far away. "There's a difference between "this team could be really good" and "is really good," " Tippett said. Yes, we were all relieved when we were bought this summer. But now instead of just exhaling and breathing a sigh of relief, we've got to try harder than ever to prove ourselves. Now the pressure is on. The Coyotes" problems have been a staple of hockey news since 2009, when the owner, Jerry Moyes, put the team into bankruptcy, citing losses of about $50 million a year, and the league bought it at auction for $140 million. Prospective owner after prospective owner emerged, but all failed in efforts to buy the Coyotes. The BlackBerry magnate Jim Balsillie alienated the other N.H.L. owners, the Chicago sports mogul Jerry Reinsdorf withdrew his bid, Matthew Hulsizer was undone by a watchdog group that objected to the sale of city bonds to finance his purchase, and Greg Jamison was unable to raise the money. The City of Glendale, afraid of being left with an empty and mortgaged-to-the-hilt arena, paid the N.H.L. $25 million a year to cover the team's losses and keep the Coyotes from moving to Southern Ontario, Winnipeg, Quebec or Seattle. Anthony LeBlanc, Daryl Jones and Keith McCullough were involved in three attempts to buy the Coyotes before succeeding with this group of investors.