Phoenix Coyotes’ future could be decided by July 2

Finally, a final deadline.

Maybe.

Deadlines have come and gone in terms of the long-running saga involving the NHL, the Phoenix Coyotes and the City Council of Glendale, Ariz.

On Thursday, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said that if an arena management deal is not approved by the City Council, the Coyotes would not be playing in Phoenix this upcoming season. And Tuesday appears to be that day of reckoning.

“That’s a decision that needs to be made by July 2,” Bettman told reporters in New York after a regularly scheduled Board of Governors meeting.

Seattle could be on deck. Or Quebec City.

Bettman and his deputy, Bill Daly, declined to get into specifics about potential relocation targets. But Bettman said in his news conference that the options available “are numerous,” should the deal fall through.

Separately, Bettman provided an update for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. He said that the league has a meeting scheduled in New York on Monday to try to finalize details for NHL participation.

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