Okay Odie and theYotesDiva are asking… if you were GMDM, what would you do with the team next year? Pick your roster, trade or buy players and keep your budget realistic. The NHL should be putting their money where their mouths are. They say they will do what it takes to get this team on its feet. Well, this team needs to be competitive and GMDM needs an operating budget worth the name and as the DIP, put up or shut up time has arrived. (apparently GMDM submitted a couple of budgets to the NHL/Moyes and actually got 1 of them approved!)

Well I just couldn’t decide on some of the players to help get the Yotes moving forward again so I asked for professional help and it was Carson to the rescue. Your guest blogger extraordinaire is 11 years old. 

This is our guy, Carson, with Bryz at the 07-08 Game Night with the Coyotes.  He first played hockey when he was 6 and then he really became a fan of the game.  Carson became a fan of the Yotes because he got season tix in the 06-07 season after his family moved back to Arizona from Maine.  Carson is also a HUGE University of Maine fan.  He doesn’t have a favorite player, but likes them all.  ICarson hopes the Yotes stay.  He hopes we have a great season. He wants his intro to end with… GO YOTES AND BLACK BEARS!!!!

Goalies:

 Ilya Bryzgalov: Under contract for the 09 season for 4.250 Million. I agree that he’s still our starter, with the caveat that after what he showed in the World Cup, he better bring it here at home or he won’t be our starter for too much of the season. GMDM is already looking around if I’m reading recent comments correctly.

 Al Montoya: .750 Million for the kid. He showed that he has some serious chops at the end of last season. On one hand, I love this idea, on the other hand, with Bryz often goin schizoid, can we afford to only have 1 rookie option in our net? I think bringing in another goal keeper to camp and ‘may the best goalie win’ is a better strategy.

 Goalie I’d like to see push Bryz:

35 yr old Legace (does anyone think Manny has anything left in the tank and deserves another shot? What could it hurt to give him a try out offer? We can always just-say-no if Monty turns on the after burners) *Legace is perfect to bring to camp for free test run*

Wish list goalies -

28 yr old Andersen (For long stretches, Craig has proven he can be THE man. He could push the hell outta Bryz. Raise from .575 to 1M)

31 yr old Clemmensen (has already shown promise beyond expectation and at 1.5 *raise from .500* he could be a steal, although a longshot that he’ll be available)

 6M max in net

Carson adds -

Forward Lines:

Doan - Mueller –  3 choices (IF Mueller isn’t going back to center I’d like to see one of the following on their line.) approx 8.500M

 Pahlsson: 31 year old former Selke candidate (mentor to our own possible Selke candidate Hanzal?). He made 1.4M a raise to 2.5M for 2 years might be enough to sway him (we only need him to give Porter time to come up).

Malhotra: 29 yr old seasoned but not worn out. Was making 1.5M could be had on another 2 yr 2M contract

Antropov: 29 yr old looking to make a difference and prove TOR wrong about him. Was 2.05 could be had for maybe 3 years @ 3M 

(IF Mules is really going back to center then I’d like to see a very fast RW on this line… maybe Lisin?)

 Lombardi - Prucha - Upshall: If it ain’t broke, pleeeze don’t try to fix it. We’ve already got Prucha locked down for around 2M, and Upshall is an RFA and should be signable for about the same 2+ million. Combined Salary: just under 6M

 Hanzal - Tikhonov – fill in any of the LWs (all mean summabitches who can TCB and actually play the game, cuz let’s face it, no one is scared of Fridge) at: Combined Salary: 4M 

28 yr old Winchester/STL – L .600

27 yr old Moen/SJS – L  .925

 Or my dream man…. 29 yr old Tanguay/ MTL - L 5.375 which would take this lines total up to about 7.750M (since we’d have to seriously overpay Tanguay) We have plenty of room.

I had added 37 yr old Brashear/ Was – L 1.200 (even though Carson disagreed vehemtly) But now that GMDM has picked up Vandemeer, we really don’t need Brashear anymore anyway.

Carson adds a pretty good choice:

Lisin - Winnik - Boedker: This line would be fast and productive. I wouldn’t mind giving Winnik another shot at the brass ring. We have shit for size right now and Dwin would have no problem stepping up for his smaller line mates. Winnie can also skate and hang onto a puck long enough for these two speedsters to run circles around the opposition and get open. He has decent hands too, he just needs a finisher and both of these kids certainly can do that. Combined Salary: 3.15 million

 Fedoruk: already signed for 1 more year, meh 1.05 million

Turris, go ahead and give me shit in advance for putting KT in the AHL. We should all be able to admit errors and Kyle was brought up too early. We should be ALL about putting these kids into situations to succeed and grow. A year with Ireland, proper strength training and building his confidence by shredding the AHL would make a monster out of KT for the 2010 season.

 22 min and 25 max on the front end

Defensive Pairings:

 Michalek - Sauer: A lock. Incomparable shut down pairing. Expect Z to break out more offensively, now that he knows he can absolutely trust this partner to cover him. 3.250 M

Jovanovski – Ahnelov : The big Swede was deemed ready for a shot but derailed by injuries. Stays at home, plays very safe, has a nasty edge that might inspire the return of JovoCop. 2 big guys with a history of nasty streaks,could become monumental deterrents to comin to deep into our zone and IF Jovo can get as confident w/ Jlov as he was with Z, we could also see a return of his points production. Salary: 6.575M

 Yandle - Morris: Yandle will get a raise. Morris probably has the inside track since he is already on GMDM’s return radar, gets a raise but a 2 year term because even he must realize he hasn’t exactly earned the giant contract. This pairing gives us a great 2^nd power play unit option. The risk is, we could see more of the not-so-great Morris but the upside is DMo is a known quantity who knows he’d have to get better or risk never seeing the big payday.  Salary: 6M

• Komisarek - testing FA market
• Bergeron
• Leopold - Part of the Bouwmeester deal

** (all at around 2.500 - 3M for a total w/ Yands of 4.500 – 6M)

Hale: Could still improve with the right coaching. Salary : .725

 *** We have to keep these filler defensemen to short contracts since we’ll have Goncherov, Ross, Summers and possibly Stone looking for spots within 2 - 3 years if everything goes well. (Hale, Jovo and Morris would be vacating within that period allowing the youngsters to step into their spots)

16M maximum on the blueline

Carson would like to give a shot to:

We spent about 43M minimum and 50M on the maximum on 21 players… leaving 2 more spots available for rookies to move up and down as needed, that’s sweetly over the cap floor and not too much over a reasonable budget expectation, is it?

We can’t make the same mistakes as last year with too many rookies, not enough vets. We need to improve but have to be realistic. Use what we have, tweak the roster enough to be competitive. Implement serious cost containment (save money on housing operations staff, maximize use of the fanbase and their contacts to further marketing efforts w/out extra costs, get rid of at least 6M in coaching staff costs) we have to maximize arena revenue (get more bookings), in other words spend less every where we can except the roster.

That’s what I’d do if I were GMDM… prolly a good thing I had help from Carson. Also probably a good thing I’m not the GM LOL

In other news… QOs went out to 12 Coyotes players…

Read the rest of this entry »

We have been informed that NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly will be at the Alltel Ice Den in Scottsdale tomorrow (Tuesday) at 5:10pm to meet with the media. He is here to promote hockey in the Valley! We’d love to see as many fans as possible at the Ice Den at that time. If you are available, please come out & bring your friends!

This is our time to prove that there ARE hockey fans in the Valley. We need as many people out there in Coyotes gear as possible. Wear your jerseys, hats, t-shirts, and BRING SIGNS!!! Lots of signs! This is our chance to also show the NHL we appreciate all that they are doing to keep hockey in the Valley and to tell Jim Balsillie he needs to keep his hands off OUR TEAM!

Please ask everyone you can to be there and forward this info to your friends. It’s our time to shine, Phoenix! Let’s make the most of it! If any additional information becomes available, Heather will post updates at SaveTheCoyotes.com.

I look forward to seeing you all there!

Once it was made apparent that the team is staying in Arizona, all the stops were pulled and the team rolled into action this week.

OPEN HOUSE 2009

We had the first open house of the 09 season. A 4 player extravaganza. Game on Arizona Tshirts were given away to the first 2k fans (the first 2000 arrived well b4 the first hour was up)

People were in line as early as 4:30 (the event officially started at 6!) They opened the doors early when the lines threatened to start lapping the Westgate courtyard (not just the arena, the freakin courtyard itself, which is pretty damn big).

Boeds, Muels, Teeks and Yands were all present and accounted for (the boys signed fan’s requests for nearly 40 more minutes after the event was over).

Pang and Heeter hosted the event on the main floor, giving away prizes like autographed sticks and pics, the Booster club did the signed player jerseys and in a surprise video appearance, NHL’s Bill Daly exhorted fans to take advantage of the second chance they’ve been given to keep their team, to do their part to make NHL healthy and viable in the desert.

While unofficial head count at around 7:30 put the numbers at 2500, there was still a line and people were still pouring in. By the end of the night the head count was probably double that. Way to go Arizona! (Whoever said there were no fans in Phoenix needs to take another look) Not only were there mega attendees, there were tickets flying into those mythical fan’s hands. GAME ON!

More pics of the Open House HERE:

DRAFT DAY 2009 - First Round

We went with a relationship! Phoenix was proud to select Oliver Ekman-Larsson. A 6′2″ 176lbs offensively minded defenseman. This kid projects well. A +44, with 17 points in 39 games. He’s only 17 and playing against men, his defensive partner is 34yrs old! He’s not only holding his own, the defensive pairing is devastating, I believe there were only 10 goals scored against them all season!

BTinAZ called this one on the way to the draft. Maybe she has a direct line to GMD or the hockey goddess?

Rated #2 of defensive players, rated # 4 of all European skaters (Central Scouting reports) apparently OEL was not only best player available at our pick… he fills a vital role that is going to hit the Coyotes within the next 2 years…time that OEL will probably spend finishing of another season in Sweden, possibly playing in the U20s for them, then maybe a year in the AHL playing on North American ice. The he’ll be perfect to step up to fill the inevitable holes in our blueline.

We will likely see Maxim Goncharov and Jonas Ahnelov join the ranks first. We will have Chris Summers and Nick Ross in the AHL pipe soon. Although I really hope OEL develops really quick, we have all seen what happens when you rush kids. I adore GMDM even more for foregoing the sexier picks like MPS or Kadri and steering clear of possible problems with players of questionable health like Cowan. This kid has long term relationship written all over him. I think we are done rushing our boys in desperation moves. We may have to wait a little while for the payoff but just think, just when Jovo is heading off into the sunset, we will have some super bright, NHL ready stars stepping onto our ice.

GLENDALE HOCKEY LLC, Makes their bid!

And last but not least Glendale Hockey LLC has announced their offer. 148M is just about half of the debt allegedly owed to creditors. See offer language here. Glendale Hockey LLC proposes to pay off the small fry and take on the big fry like MSD Capital with new arrangements to pay them off too, over a period of time with new agreements. Apparently the Goldwater Institute got their noses bent out of shape when the City of G told them to keep said noses out of their business (TGI asked for all documents pertaining to discussions with Glendale Hockey LLC, were told no and are now suing to get the documents). City of G told those buttinskys, the discussions were confidential and at a delicate stage but apparently TGI thinks it should still get to take a gander.  What part of make adjustments or lose the entire ball of wax don’t they get? Seems like a no brainer to me. But then again, I am a rational tax payer who doesn’t want to lose any more jobs, revenues or deplete the tax base any further. Go figure.

Much love to all you Arizonans who showed up to the open house and to the draft day party (both of which exceeded expectations). A whopping huge thank you to BTinAZ for her draft day work. A sincere and heartfelt thank you to all the Coalition members who advertised both events on their blogs, discussion boards and Tweets. And of course to our brick and sand family for hangin in there, for continuing to care about us and recognising that Phoenix is worth fighting to stay.

As always…Go Coyotes!

Coyotes are hosting a draft day party. Come celebrate and watch GMDM work his magic in the first round.

2009 NHL Draft Party
Friday, June 26
3:30pm - 5:30pm
Buffalo Wild Wings -

Buffalo Wild Wings is located at 7000 East Mayo Boulevard in the Scottsdale 101 complex, just south of the Loop 101.

 Well we know there are a couple of scenarios already in play. It looks pretty solidly like the top 6 shakes out with Tavares/Hedman/Duchene/MP-S/Schenn/Kane. No GM in his right mind is giving up 1 - 3 unless his balls are in a vice or  he’s the DET GM who has proven capable of picking up 1st line players in the 6th round and can afford to wait for them to develop. The Islanders desperately need to make a big splash so, the much touted ‘next one’ John Tavares is really the only option.TBL may have made a buncha crazy pickups last season but I think they’ve learned the error of their ways and with Stamkos ready to help StLouis and Lecavalier carry the offense and since they haven’t been too stellar at the blue in awhile so look for Hedman to join the Lightning as scheduled in the #2 slot. The Avs need just about everything. They obviously have no depth and while their players stepped up valiantly, injuries and goaltending killed their season.The emminent loss of Joe Sakic and their solid if not spectacular blueline kinda make it look like a case for the super solid Duchene at center.

Brian Burke has made no secret of the fact that he really wants to move up from his 7th spot. Why TOR wants to move up into the top 5 isn’t crystal clear but it probably wouldn’t be stupid to think that they want matching Schenns, but if they can get higher than #3, all bets are off as the clear cut 1 - 2 punch of this draft are Hedman and Tavares. I doubt he’s willing to give up what it would take to swindle…errr sweet talk TBL out of Hedman and NYI should be summarily contracted for extreme stupidity if they gave up Tavares.

LAK dont really ‘need’ their 5th and so could be traders. But would 2 spots be enough to get TOR what they want? IDK, ask Burkie. With just these 2 scenarios alone, for me. the 4 - 10 picks get kinda murky.

MP-S, Schenn and Kane all come with their own set of baggage (none more than Kane who has been whispered to have a bit of an attitude issue). I personally like a kid with bravado. But it would take a strong coach to deal with that without breakin the kid and that would not be Phoenix, not with TGO at the helm.

So what do Atl and La need/want? or is that, what do they leave us with? Atlanta needs to find super nova LW Ilya Kovalchuk, a fast center with high potential (Kane by his own admission loves to score himself but Schenn just might be the answer to their problem of a set up man and additional scoring chances). Which leaves the LA Kings with the hyphenated-Swede and the firebrand from Vancouver to choose from.The Kings have everything they need to soar out of the basement. The netminding tandem of Quick and Ersbergh sealed that deal. With JMFJ leading the blueline and King Kopitar and Brownie leading the offensive charge, either of the remaining standouts will work but so would the kids at 6 - 10, so do they trade down for NHL ready talent to give them more depth right now and make a big push in 09? Let’s just assume no one wants to give up the key piece it will take to overpay for the priviledge of the LAK’s 5th overall. With a great working unit already in place, I go for the kid without any real question marks, if I’m the Kings I pick Paajarvi-Svensson.

Now, as a Coyotes armchair GM, I’m in a quandary. Who passes up Evander Kane if he falls into your lap? A team with a desperate need for game breaking offense really shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. But just a few short months ago Jared Cowan was riding high in the sweet 6th spot of most of the draft pundits. (The only reason Cowan dropped is apparently the knee surgery) Cowan would certainly take care of a really huge concern for the desert dawgs on the blueline. If DM believes the knee is sound then he fills BPA and needs for the Coyotes as a big, possibly NHL ready, top 4 (or close to it as such a young kid can project) defenseman.

But what about Evander Kane? Does anyone let a few whispers keep them from seeing this kid as BPA at the 6th spot? Wouldn’t TOR absolutely love us if we did?  Are GMDM and KG trying to throw people off the scent about Cowan, hoping the knee will keep him off their radar? Who knows for sure, they’ve done it before.

IF we keep the 6th… GMDM is the master of the deal, (IF we keep the 6th is such an insane phrase)… and IF, GMDM doesn’t have his sights set on Jared Cowan, he could pull a Robin Hood of a trade-down for an extra set of picks in the 2nd / 3rd rounds, take a steady proven player from our victim…errr trade partner AND still grab his surprise man. (say someone like the intriguing Nazem Kadri?)

The wily GMDM has several kids in his crosshairs that could be available later in the 1st round or early in the second, he loves to maximize. The Preds have 2 early picks in that vital 2nd round and there are some sweet selections from their roster that we might have interest in and in the spirit of overpayment we could parlay for maybe something in the 3rd too (we have no 3rd round pick).

I talked to Odie and he says no way! We’re going for Cowan. BTinAZ says Cowan too. I’m leanin towards, DMGM only takes Cowan if no one at all expresses interest in trading for the pick. HTH reluctantly agrees that 1) my theory would work 2) that my theory is something GMDM would do and that it is unlikely DM is going to sit on the #6 unless he’s either in love, or no one will give up what he wants. Kane is the sexy choice but I think its time we realized that sexy can be had on any draft corner, what we need is relationship material.

I do like Kane but it seems to me that one of those nearly ready blueliners would fit better in our stage of rebuild. But if MPS or lil Schenn or Kane is still available I think we’re goin sexy. Sex sells and we desperately need to sell this team.

No matter what GMDM does, it will be interesting to say the least.
http://coyotes.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=PodcastPlayer&pid=335&iid=14625

Friday will also be the day that Glendale Hockey LLC officially makes their bid for the team! Keep your ears and eyes glued to the web folks. We’ll Tweet it and post it and well carrier pigeon the news as soon as it happens.

As always… Go Coyotes!

Our first Open House! Finally! OMG! We finally get to get back on track for gettin butts in the seats and preppin to get back on the ice. Business as usual has been anything but usual this offseason. This has got to be the most painful waiting period ever.

But the wait is over. We’re having an open house at the Jobarena tonight! First 2000 people get a Game On! Arizona tee shirt and there will be some other giveaways too. PLUS! We get to take our first look at Mules, Boeds, Teeks and Yands. I know its not hockey but a 4 player event is a great jumping off point to start the 09 season right.

We are also hosting a draft day party! Unfortunately, the draft starts super early but hopefully you can make it out there too:

The Phoenix Coyotes will host a free NHL Draft Viewing Party on Friday, June 26 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Buffalo Wild Wings, located at North Scottsdale Road and the Loop 101. The first round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft will air live on VERSUS at 4 p.m.

The event will be hosted by Coyotes television analyst Darren Pang and radio play-by-play announcer Bob Heethuis while forward Mikkel Boedker, who was selected by the Coyotes with the eighth overall pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, will be on hand to greet fans and sign autographs. In addition, a Coyotes “Draft Trivia” contest will run throughout the event, giving fans the chance to win autographed Coyotes merchandise.

Luke Lapinski of XTRA Sports 910, the radio home of the Phoenix Coyotes, will be on hand providing live updates from the event.

Buffalo Wild Wings Happy Hour (3 p.m. to 7 p.m.) specials include select half-price appetizers, $1 off of all 23-ounce draft beers, $3.50 well drinks and more.

Hope to see you at both.

As always… Go Coyotes!

Tikhnov - B 

Tiki was one of my picks from the minute the draft started. He hasn’t disappointed my faith in him. He has a whole lot to learn and some weight/strength to put on but overall he did just fine.

Quick on his feet and seriously ice aware, Tiki proved to be very good on the PK. Every minute of TOI you could see him getting better. He was willing to sacrifice (even though it cost him a broken hand), was unselfish and of all the youngsters I think Viktor retained the most identity through the long season. He seemed to be able to put mistakes behind him more quickly than most and rarely repeated the same one twice. 

This kid can finish, even when he’s just supposed to be grabbing the puck so he can go to the penalty box. You gotta admit that Teeks had one of the most memorable goals ever when he scored AND went to the penalty box on the same play.

Tiki impressed me with how fluidly he worked with almost every line he was thrown onto. He has the skating and the control, his hands may not be world class yet but he can get the puck where it needs to be under pressure. I like his instincts and his work ethic.

A little more strength (although I can’t ever see him bulling his way to the net) and he can cruise the slot without gettin killed, can hold his own better in the inevitable puck battles and hang on the half wall without becoming 2D art.

Off the ice Teeks is personable and very well mannered. He seems at ease with fans of all ages. The Coyotes really need to take advantage of his articulate and passionate speech to get to the masses, especially the youth and the the growing young female fan population.

It has to be hard for him to carry all that ‘grandson of famous’ crap around like a hovering shadow, knowing 2 country’s fan are somehow weighing him against the deeds of his family but Viktor doesn’t seem to mind at all. One day in the very near future, when people hear the name Tikhnov, it won’t immediately bring to mind past Russian glories, it will bring to mind a kid with a lil bowl haircut and a smile a mile wide who scored a crucial goal in a Stanley Cup run.

Your thoughts?

As Always… Go Coyotes!

Don’t forget!

In celebration of the anticipated 2009-2010 season here in GLENDALE, AZ and not points north, the Phoenix Coyotes are holding an open house for fans.

Jobing.com arena opens at 6pm with games, free hot dogs and drinks, and tours of the arena including the locker room. Players will be on hand to sign autographs and do a meet and greet. Scheduled to appear from 7:00pm to 8:30pm is:

Peter Mueller
Mikkel Boedker
Keith Yandle
Viktor Tikhonov

Rhino - B

Some nights he was invisible, some nights he was the sneaky conniving vet that created monster chances and passes or simply made his own chances and capitalized on them unapologetically.

Rhino was always willing to do whatever the team wanted him to do, needed him to do. There was a quiet cool to Steven Reinprecht. He was the kind of guy that led by example and was never too good to stop and lend a hand.

Online with Doan and Mueller, there was often a magic nimbus around the trio. The seemed to be able to strike invisible holes in the opponenets armor. He seemed to be the center who ‘got’ Peter Mueller and set up some of Mules sweeter moments this season.

There was no fanfare with Rhino, he was always just a guy, doing his job. ‘1st line? no problem, 3rd line? good, I’ll get more room to work with, press box? well yeah I hate it but if it helps the team, okay I’m down with whatever needs to be done.’

At trade deadline I think we were all holding our breath, can we really afford to lose the Rhino and all his lovely points? Turns out we kept him til the end but GMDM seems to have a roadmap that the journeyman center doesn’t quite fit in. With his usual eye for asset management GMDM traded Rhino’s rights to FLA for an on-the-brink player named Stefan Meyer. So the new dad will be packing up the family and heading to Florida for the 09 - 12 seasons with a great 2M per contract for 3 years. He’ll be reunited with Bally and have a hell of a shot at taking the Panthers over the hump into the post season with his sturdy presence and his 40 or so points.

We will miss him on and off the ice. But we wish him the all the best.

Any thoughts on what his absence will mean to the roster in 09?

Remember to save the date

As always… Go Coyotes!

I am still so angry that this financial showdown at the Glendale Corral over shadowed the Baby Pens snatching the Stanley Cup in game 7 no less. What shoulda been one of the most fun nights of any hockey fan’s season, was tainted for me. Go away Balsillie, I’m tired of your crap and Canada probably is too. I hate this situation but I sincerely congratulate the fans  and players of the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2009 Stanley Cup Champions! And my condolences to the Ded (seriously, ya’ll stunk up the Joe in game7).

Well the NHL held its annual awards show, in Las Vegas. Apparently it mostly stunk. Its an awards show, they all stink don’t they? The talent coulda been better for sure. (the NHL coulda at least gotten one or two of the bands whose music we’ve all been rockin out to all season). But thats all good, the boys were decked out in their finery, giving the lady fans all the beefcake they could have asked for and they were humble and sweet and proud of their teams and their accomplishments.

And the winners were:

• Ovie! Alex Ovechkin took home Hart Trophy, the Lester B. Pearson Award and the Maurice “Rocket” Richard! You go Boi!
• Zedo Chara won the James Norris Trophy.
• Claude Julien won the Jack Adams Award.
• Tim Thomas won the Vezina Trophy.
• Manny Fernandez and Tim Thomas won the Jennings Award for the fewest goals during the regular season.
• Evengi Malkin took home the Conn Smythe and won the Art Ross Trophy.
• Steve Mason won the Calder Trophy.
• Pavel Datsyuk took home, the  Selke and the Lady Byng.

So what other ’stuff’ is goin on out there that we should know and possibly give a shit about? Oh yeah, yesterday the residents of  Hamilton held their Makeit7 shindig. The police estimated around 3500 throughout the rally, their press estimated it in the hundreds. With time, corporate sponsorship and a ‘hockey- starved, a supposedly Bettman-supressed constituency I am a bit surprised that the Hamiltonians couldn’t surpass the historical markers set by the faithful from Winnipeg. Perhaps the NHL should add those Winnipeggans back in the equation when searching for the perfect place to make it seven? I am not going to bash the good people of Hamilton nor their efforts, however disappointing they may seem in the face of so much backing. The important thing is that they tried. They stood up and voiced their opinions, their needs and their love of hockey. Loud and proud. You go Hamilton! You still can’t have my Coyotes! But damnit I am 100% behind getting Canada another team… soon…a brandnew team without a lot of grubby lil broken hearts already attached to it like some kinda cursed charm necklace. Of course there will be the inevitable comparisons, apples to oranges style of course, to Phoenix’s own SavetheCoyotes rally. Again, doesn’t matter how many showed up, it is the fact that somebody cares and cares deeply in each of these cities and they weren’t afraid to step up and be counted. Thats good for the NHL and its good for hockey period.

Some other ineresting and really important ’stuff’ …

Open House Just keeps getting better! Time to show the world we care by putting our money where our hearts are. I know times are challenging for a lot of us out there but remember, for 9 months out of the year there is hockey and your season tickets are one of the best bangs you can get for your bucks. Great entertainment, using someone else’s A/C for a few hours, awesome friendly people to get to know. It doesn’t get much better than this and there are about a dozen different packages to fit your budget and still be a season ticket holder.

I don’t have the official flyer for the Draft Day Party yet but mark your calendars for it. Buffalo Wild Wings in Scottsdale. More details will be posted on savethecoyotes.com and phoenixcoyotes.com.

Hope to see you all both places.

As Always… Go Coyotes!

Even as Jim Balsillie launches another salvo across our bow, GMDM doesn’t let that stop the work that must go forward if the Coyotes are to be competitive next season.

GMDM got Pruuuuu!!! resigned! Oh YEAH! The Coyotes are on the prowl. Its a 2 year deal that will let Petr Prucha shine here in the desert sun with plenty of TOI I hope. Hey Deb! we’re keepin yer boy, so you’ll still be an honorary Coyotes.

DM seems to be in a deal makin mood this morning because he also did a quick trade with Florida while he was sippin his morning latte.

Steven Reinprecht was traded to the Florida Panthers this morning where he joins other former Yoties, Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton. Rhino promptly signed a 3 year deal with the Panthers, so you know that deal had probably been in the hopper for awhile (might be the reason we didn’t pull the trigger on Rhino at the trade deadline).

In return, we got 23 year old Stefan Meyer. The Medicine Hat native has been up and down quite a bit (his frequent flyer miles to Rochester probably rival our Kevin Porter’s from the beginning of the season).

Here we go fans, the Yotes are setting out to show they got unfinished business here in the Valley of the Sun. They host their first Open House for the 09 season. This will be the team’s first push for season ticket sales since this mess started. They will also be releasing their 20 game pick your game plan that night as well.

Let’s show up by the thousands and show them we want to support our team! The ticket reps are calling the people on their lists to inform everyone of the Open House and we can also expect more information from the Coyotes as it becomes available. Please check phoenixcoyotes.com as well as this site for information as its made available.

Here’s the info that I have so far:

Coyotes Open House

Thursday June 25th 6-9pm at the Arena

The Coyotes will provide hot dogs and soda for everyone and a free “Game On AZ” t-shirt will be given to the first 2000 people through the door.

Season Ticket holders can RSVP to their ticket reps, non season ticket holders can call Ian at 623-772-3293 or Matt at 623-772-3349.

Your RSVP is not required but is appreciated, so that they can get an idea of how much food they will need.

Hope to see you there as I visit my favorite seats and my beloved patio… come on over and say howdy if you see me.

As always… Go Coyotes!

June 15th, 2009 Judge Redfield T Baum resuscitated the hopes and dreams of the Phoenix hockey fanbase with his ruling that the Phoenix Coyotes could not be purchased by Jim Balsillie and relocated.

But the team is not out of the woods yet. There will still be an auction in September (the NHL’s scheduled date as given to the court is September 10th). The NHL has 4 potential bidders and Jim Balsillie is still lurking in the shadows with large amounts of cash to spend. remember, the Judge didn’t say the team could never be relocated, he said under the conditions set by PSE and without consent of the NHL, the team could not be sold and relocated at this time. If all the entities involved play their cards right the 2010 season and beyond will be secured, if not, the NHL will have to reconsider making the Coyotes a mobile asset and approve a relocation.

The Coyotes future in Glendale is still up for grabs. The NHL and the City of Glendale need to address the financial structure of the loan and the lease in order to make playing in Jobing.com Arena less of an onerous burden. The Coyotes staff need to get their players signed (especially their RFAs who might become too tempting for other carniverous GMs in the league) and do some serious splashing in the Free Agency pool to make the roster competitive and attractive to potential ownership AND potential fans. The Coyotes marketing team and staff need to jump start advertising and ticket sales (there shouldn’t be a media outlet within a 50 mile radius of Phoenix that doesn’t have at least 1 ad per day touting the gloriousness that will be Coyotes hockey and making sure the viewer wants to be part of it). The management needs to take advantage of the die hard core that rallied around them to make a difference (what better advocates to pimp the team than the true believers?) There are at least 8 bloggers, 4 large discussion boards with sections dedicated to the Coyotes, 3 discussion boards that are wholly Coyotes-centric that I know of and probably dozens that I don’t. This is the NEW media, this is where the faithful congregate for news, information and comaderie about their chosen team, these outlets need to be embraced (it is working for the Caps very well to include this media in their everyday plans). And lastly there needs to be an attempt to address one of the largest complaints of the casual fan, the supposed distance/traffic  issues getting to and from the arena (if the casinos can run shuttles *including all the way out to Harrahs*, why can’t a partnership between one of the transportation services of the valley and the Arena be worked out?)

I have to repeat, we are not out of the woods by any means. It is now going to be a game of numbers. The new ownership is going to want some guarantees in place to be sure they don’t get trapped. There will probably be some type of clause that spell out things like, if despite good faith efforts, the Coyotes lose X amount of dollars over X years or don’t produce adequate attendance numbers, the franchise will be allowed to move to a mutally agreed upon location. It would not only be prudent for both sides it would almost be mandatory so that both the NHL and the new ownership are protected and avoid a replay of what we just went through. (what constitutes ‘good faith’ would have to be a very detailed set of efforts and terms to make this work correctly)

Make no mistakes here, the Coyotes will play in Glendale for the 09-10 season but the eyes of the sports world will be watching and evaluating very, very carefully. Every misstep or miscalculation will be magnified. It is our turn as fans of the team to step up and do our part. If you have been waiting to renew your full season ticket package, call your rep and make that deposit. If you are a partial ticket package holder maybe its time to upgrade to a few more games this season. If you just buy at the gate… there may not be a team here in the future if the casual fan does not committ (I know there have been special deals in the past that you could committ to as little as 5 games or 11 games or 22 games) these all count in a huge way to the bottom line of attendance figures so please, please consider one of these options.

We need to let potential ownership know there is not only a market for the product of NHL hockey in Phoenix, we need to let them know that there is a huge potential of  creating a viable and vibrant team at Jobing.com arena for years to come.

Even though the immediate crisis has passed, we must all do our share to avert anything of this magnitude from ever impacting our team again. Spread the word, stay informed, remember if you haven’t already done so to contact Glendale officials to let them know you support their efforts to keep the Coyotes in their home. I will look forward to rockin the brick red and sand with you for many years to come!

As always…  Go Coyotes!