The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Coyotes were founded on December 27, 1971, as the Winnipeg Jets of the World Hockey Association (WHA). After the WHA ceased operations in 1979, they were one of four franchises absorbed into the NHL and then granted membership on June 22, 1979. The Coyotes moved to Phoenix on July 1, 1996 and were renamed the Phoenix Coyotes. The team was named the Arizona Coyotes on June 27, 2014.