The Arizona Coyotes have the green light to bid on a tract of land in north Phoenix in their yearslong effort to build a new arena.

The Arizona State Land Department board of appeals unanimously approved the $68.5 million appraisal of the 95 acres Thursday. The decision sets the stage for the department to sell the land at auction with a starting price of $68.5 million. The next step is to set an auction date, which must be publicly advertised for 10 weeks.

Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo looked at various potential arena sites around the valley before zeroing in on the tract of land near Scottsdale.

The NHL and NHL Players' Association have reached an undisclosed settlement to resolve Corey Perry's situation with the Chicago Blackhawks in which they terminated his contract, according to multiple reports Thursday.

A grievance was threatened but never filed, and the league and union agreed to extend the window to consider it beyond the 60-day deadline specified by the collective bargaining agreement.

"The timeline ran out, so we wanted to make sure we had time to continue forward," NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said Feb. 2 at All-Star Weekend in Toronto.