When the game of hockey is mentioned in the same breath as the word Phoenix, the simple response I have is often "When will the torture end?". For years now, the idea of hockey continuing to be a winter tradition in the state of Arizona is becoming a fading thought and could soon be a memory of the past.The debacle known as the Phoenix Coyotes franchise has been a long, painful and Balsillie-filled adventure with little to no action. Although the fact remains that the Coyotes are indeed a franchise in debt, the prospect of moving the team out of Phoenix into a better suited hockey market is simply not being toyed with by the NHL. But, why not?
It's entirely possible that the NHL doesn't want to admit their faults, and their robbery of a team out of Winnipeg and into the dry-heat of Arizona. It's also widely known that the NHL has been supporting the 'Yotes financially since November of 2008. After news of this broke, Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes filed for bankruptcy and rumors of the team moving to Hamilton, Ontario ran rampant over the internet.
A key (wanna-be) factor in this has been Canadian multi-billionaire Jim Balsillie. He's repeatedly stated his desire to move the club, as this is now his third attempt at buying an NHL franchise (the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins being the first two swing and misses) and has the same intentions of moving the team to Canada, particularly Hamilton, every time. Despite Balsillie's bid for the club, it appears that the NHL will once again assume controls and continue to fund the existence of hockey in the Copper State.
On the ice, the Coyotes were about as ugly as their attendance situation, which only drew an average of 10,943 people at the turnstiles rather than the announced average of 14,866 which is just plain untrue. The team stumbled throughout the entire season, traded away their "difference makers" and finished tied with the Los Angeles Kings for the second worst record in the Western Conference.
The Coyotes 2008 off-season was anchored by the addition of career-long Florida forward Olli Jokinen, who was coming off a 71 point season in Florida and was sent packing to Arizona after being considered dead weight in the Panthers rebuilding phase. Along with Jokinen, the 'Yotes also added enforcer Brian McGrattan and defensemen Kurt Sauer. With Jokinen set to become the center Shane Doan needed, the Coyotes seemed poised to become a dark horse in the 2008-09 season.
The results however, indicated a team in dire need of a new direction. The team struggled from the get-go and finished with just 79 points in the Western Conference, finishing fourth in the Pacific Division for the second straight year. After the trade deadline led to puck-moving defensemen Derek Morris being shipped out to New York while Jokinen was Calgary bound, it was clear this was just the beginning of the demolition of the 'Yotes.
Taking their first step towards the future in Phoenix, or wherever they're likely to move to, the Coyotes drafted Oliver Ekman-Larsson with the sixth overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. Ekman-Larsson is a Swedish-born defensemen gifted with a great hockey sense and valuable offensive strength, a necessity in the new-era National Hockey League. During the 2008-09 season, Ekman-Larsson played with Leksands IF in Sweden and finished with with 17 points in 39 games.
Besides Ekman-Larsson, the Coyotes have been very quiet this off-season due in large part to their uncertain future. In addition to Oliver, the Coyotes added forwards Vern Fiddler, Taylor Pyatt and blue-liners Jim Vandermeer and Adrian Aucoin and former divisional foe goaltender Jason LaBarbera.
The biggest addition for the Coyotes was Radim Vrbata. Many of you will remember Vrbata as the forward who left the woefully-bad Tampa Bay Lightning early in the 2008-09 season to "clear his head" back home..where he signed with a hometown club of the Czech league and put up 17 points in 18 games. It'll be interesting to see how Vrbata performs back in the Gretzky system.
Here's how the line-up should go for the Coyotes opening night match-up in Los Angeles on October 3rd.
Radim Vrbata - Kyle Turris - Shane Doan
Mikkel Boedker - Matt Lombardi - Peter Mueller
Petr Prucha - Martin Hanzal - Viktor Tikhonov
Taylor Pyatt - Vern Fiddler - Lauri Korpikoski
Extra Skaters: Daniel Winnik and Kevin Porter
Ed Jovanovski - Jim Vandermeer
Adrian Aucoin - Keith Yandle
Kurt Sauer - Zbynek Michalek
Extra Skater: Matt Jones
Ilya Bryzgalov
Jason LaBarbera
Simply put, this team looks to be one of the worst in the league. The offense is too soft, the defense is too old and slow and the goaltending is very suspect. It'll be interesting to see if Doan and/or Jovanovski are moved during this year's trading deadline as they could both be considered very valuable pieces to a team's push towards the Cup. Unfortunately for Phoenix, it won't be there.
Players To Watch: The Coyotes first round selection from the 2007 NHL Draft Kyle Turris is one player on a fairly miserable team that you should keep tabs on in 2009-10. The 20-year old is coming off a mediocre 20 points in 63 games for the big club in 2008-09 and was even sent down to San Antonio of the AHL in February due to his poor numbers, where he posted 7 points in 8 games before being called back up. Does the British Columbia native now begin to show his potential with more expected ice time or will he continue to fizzle and become an after thought?
Prediction: 5th in Pacific Division. 15th in Western Conference.
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