Roller coaster thrill ride. Yep thats a good description of the 08-09 season. More ups n downs and twists and turns than any of  Six Flag’s finest. From Draft day to Last day, its been a hell of a ride.

From the bottom of my heart a warm and sincere thank you to every player, staff member and you fellow fans.

I have to repeat last year’s thank you to the organization for listening to us fans and providing us with fun events like the intriguing chalk talk sessions, booster club special guests and unprecedented player access. (we really miss the backtstage pass thingy as season ticket holders though)

This year was a series of ups and downs but you guys kept striving to improve the on-ice product. The first 1/2 was as exciting as I’ve ever seen, a glimpse of the possible future and a very good reason to stick around. BRAVO!

CoyotesTV was even better this season with lots of little insider goodies, fun segments and daily updates. Because of the schedule restrictions we didn’t have as many events but the ones we did have were class acts. And of course, have to shout out again to our most accommodating Doug Moss, who never failed to answer an email or phone call that we sent in probably even greater abundance!

To the marketing team who actually won even more awards for Pierre and made us all laugh and appreciate our ads again (the Bryzzie’s new mask commercial was absolutely hysterical and the Donor ‘Checking’ commercial is STILL awesome!)

To the reps (especially Ashley and Andrew) for always making sure that we fans were taken care of and that any issues were promptly and satifactorily resolved. To the best usher in Jobbing.com arena, DAVID! To Phil and Rita at the STH gate and to John at Gate 3 for the practices that I managed to make it to (always a smile and a hug and a fantastic welcome), you guys made the Jobarena feel like home.

And to the gangs from the Locker Room, the Patio at gate 6, from HFBoards and theNHLarena who are as passionate and knowledgable as any fans of the NHL have ever been. It has been a priveldge, a joy and an honor to become friends with you all.

Thank you especially to the HipCheck crew, BleedinTealinAZ and HatTrick Hound have been phenomenal in their efforts to provide us all with a place to call home and get news and pictures not carried anywhere else on the web. (when you are the lowest team on the totem pole you STILL just don’t get much respect from the media)

I hope you will all be around through the offseason and into 2009 season. Contrary to all the hoopla, our boys will be here and you shouldn’t give up hope that they’ll manage to stay. Come join us in the forum for discussion, report cards and just plain old hangin out while we wait for draft day and then the new season to kick off.

As Always…Go Coyotes!

Ok, there are no refreshments and no big name celebrity to greet you at the door but we’d love to have you join us in the newly installed Corner Scrum Forum. We need your help workin out all the kinks so that we have a place to talk, discuss, yell or whatever we feel like doin.

HT Hound has gotten the forum up and running. Its fairly barebones and simple to use but we have lots of improvements planned to install once we know for sure this forum app can handle our meanderings.

So go to top of the page and hit the Scrum Forum button to sign in and post to your little hearts content. HTH, BT and I will be popping in and out all the time. Brother Q has volunteered to be our moderator (which means, ‘we don’t need no stinking rulez” for the most part)… seriously, keep it civil and have some respect for your fellow fans and there won’t be a need for some long list of rules and censorship.

And for tonights West Coast rivals game… Dammittt Sharks pull yer heads out! And since I never could resist a chance to share teh funnee… here’s an NHLol from our friend Carcillo13…

Dear Washington Capitals,

We here at the NFOT – (NHL fans of other teams who didn’t make it to the playoffs and are pinning our hopes on your sorry asses), hereby release you from all prosecutionable actions for game 5. You can proceed with all larceny, including grand theft (stealing of any available pucks),  battery (hitting, blindsiding, plain-old-knocking-into-next-week, any and everyone holding said available pucks, not rocking the red), B n E (forcibly entering the Ranger zone with intent to commit mayhem) and of course assault with intent (landing as many shots on Lundy as possible from any and all angles with the sole intention of scoring as many embarassing goals as humanly possible). If we missed any potential crimina activity that you might like to attempt, we are very good at cut n paste and can edit this immunity after the fact, so feel free to improvise as necessary.

Regardless of what you or Coach Boudreau may think about the Rangers “awesome” defensive positioning, we would like to issue you this “immunity from prosecution” letter. We understand that you have been planning w/ malice aforethought, an assault of some type (see recent transcript of planning session) and we applaud both the plan AND the execution of the dry run during game 3. The plan worked very well  and should be implemented full force, ASAP. We realize in Game 3 you pulled off a lil’ B & E, breaking and entering into the net area. Obviously you did this without the Rangers permission and must’ve been distinctly nervous about King Lundqvist calling in the police to take you away should you try to get to the front of the net and poke a rebound in ever again. This letter is to ensure you that you will not get prosecuted if you refuse the Rangers detour to the outside and instead decide to revisit this “dangerous” area known as the crease.

We here at NFOT will do everything we can to prevent retaliation from the brigades of NYR fanatics who will undoubtedly try to invade the Verizon Center and prevent you from stealing another win from their King. We will even return Greenie from the Witness Protection Program (he mistakenly entered it too early and disappeared during this series) but will hopefully be returned to you pronto. *it should be noted for future needs that our program is very effective – exhibit A… it looks like someone named Mike Green is on the ice, but it is appearant to all, that it is not the same person who scored 31 goals this season* We regret that Greenie or Mr. Smith as he is known in the program, was spirited away prematurely. (we believe some NYR fan activated his disappearance in order to create chaos and give those sorry bastages a chance at winning).

Sooo, Mr. Ovechkin, please take this letter into the lockeroom with you and translate it for Mr. Semin and Czarlamov so that they will understand that they are safe from any repercussions  and can get busy whuppin some Ranger azz… err I mean so that you can all proceed with the Plan as outlined by Mr. Laich and yourself and we can all see as you promised. Mr. Smith should be replaced by Mr. Green by the time this immunity letter reaches you and should also be present during this translation session. You may not see us but rest assured we are out there, watching, waiting and doing our part. Carry on.

Sincerely,

Your No Longer Silent Supporters at NFOT

Psssst! Pssst! (we’re getting a forum!) grand opening tommorow… whoo hooo!

Quick Playoff Update… HT Hound here again to do a quick update before another weekend full of playoff hockey.

(1) Boston – (8) Montreal — BRUINS WIN in a sweeeep!

That’s all she wrote. Boston was just too big and deep for this Montreal team that never seemed to find any consistency, whether it was their offensive pressure, defense or goaltending. Boston is looking tough and is looking likely to make a deep playoff run depending on their next matchup.

(2) Washington – (7) New York — (NYR lead 3-1)

Wow, I know goaltending/defense makes a difference in the playoffs, but still surprised by how many shots the Ranger D is blocking… already knew Lundqvist was a stud goalie. That being said, the Capitals just aren’t paying the price to go to the net.. they did one game and won it (surprise surprise!). If they go back to their Game 3 plan of attacking the net and getting shots from inside the circles they might come back in the series, but if they continue to let the Rangers dictate where they skate on the ice and shoot from the outside, it will be over real soon. Ovie finally scored in Game 4, but his lack of goals weren’t from lack of trying or shots taken… speaking of which, the Caps may need to get the FBI involved to find where the hell Mike Green has been the last week.

Game 5 in Washington on Friday (Versus)

(3) New Jersey – (6) Carolina — (Tied 2-2)

Crazy series with two OT games and one decided with 0.2 seconds left in regulation! Last game the Canes had a 3-0 lead and almost got taken to overtime. This series will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat, between some of the great goals scored, to the awesome goaltending on both sides. Unfortunately, with all the games to show and only Versus allowed to show anything live, Thursday’s Game 5 will be the first one that most of the nation will see (unless you’ve been watching via online feed).

Game 5 in New Jersey on Thursday (Versus – will join in progress)

(4) Pittsburgh – (5) Philadelphia — (PIT lead 3-1)

Marc-Andre Fleury was outstanding for the Pens in Game 4, standing on his head (besides getting lucky a time or two), to bring Pittsburgh home for Game 5 with a chance to clinch the series at home… you know the Igloo will be rockin! Flyers played tough in the last game, but still manage to take too many penalties (Pitt took more, but Philly’s always seemed to be at the wrong time, let alone giving the man-advantage to Geno/Sid). The beloved (in these parts at least) Danny Carcillo scored the lone goal for the Flyers, one of those dirty, front of the net, playoff type goals… then of course followed it up by motioning to the crowd to get louder.

Game 5 in Pittsburgh on Thursday (Versus)

Westsiiide matchups:

(1) San Jose – (8) Anaheim — (ANA lead 2-1)

San Jose might just be turning the corner and understanding what it takes to win in the playoffs. They won their first game, finally, in Anaheim after figuring out how to score on Hiller. These Ducks, as we all know, will not go down easy.. the Sharks are going to have to play really hard and pay the price if they are going to get out of the first round this year. Maybe San Jose will learn from their Game 3 win in the way that the Capitals did not, and will continue to crash the net and “pay the price” to score in the playoffs.

Game 4 in Anaheim on Thursday (Versus)

(2) Detroit – (7) Columbus — (DET lead 3-0)

Columbus is putting forth the effort, but the Wings are clicking and they know what to do come playoff time. Sure looks like Osgood just decided to sleep walk through the regular season and wait to start playing till this time of year, because he has definitely stepped it up and the Wings look as dangerous as ever.

Game 4 in Columbus on Thursday — going for the sweep

(3) Vancouver – (6) St. Louis — CANUCKS WIN in a sweeeep!

St. Louis played their hearts out, even taking the Canucks to OT in Game 4, but it was not enough. The Canucks look really good, especially with Luongo as sharp as ever in net. They look poised for a good playoff run also, depending on who they face next round. Whoever they get will have a battle, cause Vancouver is playing well in all three phases and Louie can get hot and shutout anyone.

(4) Chicago – (5) Calgary — (Tied 2-2)

Another hard fought series that is going back and forth, more typical of a 4-5 matchup. Neither goaltender has looked particularly sharp and this series seems destined to go to 7 games and then who knows what will happen then. Both teams have looked good in spurts and no one is dominating. A lot of trash talking going back and forth which the Hawks may want to be careful of because Iginla is tough enough to contain on a normal basis, but a pissed off Iggy will run you over, steal your puck and put it in the net before you even notice who it was that hit you like a mack truck.

Game 5 in Chicago on Saturday (Not set to be on TV, but if it’s the only game going, hopefully it’ll get picked up)

That’s it from me, hope you’re enjoying some playoff hockey!

I know many of you are wondering what the hell happened to our beloved forum. Apparently it died. I spoke to brother Q about it and apparently it can’t be revived so when they get around to it all posts and messages and memories will be hosed in the building of a new one.

Soooo our poor put upon HatTrickHound has been cajoled into building us our very own forum. WHOO HOO! actually he already built us one, we just never used it because we were so invested in our Fanster home that it just seemed redundant. So now he is in the process of getting it up to speed with cool chat capabilities, Flickr additives and such.

I will keep you up to date on the timeline for the Corner Scrum Forum to be active. In the meantime, our very own Carcillo13 has graciously agreed to host us and our esoteric interest in the Coyotes and offseason Patio6 events. Talks about individual players has begun (you know…those pesky report cards) please join us for the conversations. It is the regular type forum, sign in and discuss to your hearts content.

TheNHLArena – Coyotes section hosted by Carcillo13, the Ice Hockey Diva and Patio 6 Posse member

EDIT* reports of Fanster’s Coyotes forum demise were apparently premature… Bobman managed to resurrect the old gal from the ded (hey! I waited nearly 3 weeks for a pulse, arrythmic breathing.. or anything at all that might have signaled life) but anyways… I guess we’ll be doin report cards n such on both sites Carcillo13 will carry on at the Arena and I will do the usual suspect thang over at Fanster until the Corner Scrum gets finished…after that, all bets are off about where I’ll be (starting to feel like a ping pong ball right about now)

Happy Playoff Hockey!!.. HT Hound here to give you a post-game 1 recap of the playoffs because SOMEONE we all know doesn’t want to do it since our beloved Coyotes didn’t make it this year. I’ll give you a quick recap so far, player(s) to watch for and hopefully a reason to tune in and watch. So let’s start off back east…

(1) Boston Bruins v. (8) Montreal Canadians (BOS 1-0)

If you love hitting and the intensity of the playoffs, you’ll love watching this series. Saying these two division opponents HATE each other is an understatement. Besides playing each other six times this season, they played each other in the first round of last years playoffs… intensity and passion is not an issue in this series. Game 2 in Boston, Saturday on Versus.

Player to watch: Milan Lucic (B’s) – he hits anything that moves and with his 42 points on the year, he’s not just an agitator. Watch for him and someone you might remember from a few years ago, Big Georges Laraque go at it before this series is over.

Definitely worth watching, though I think the B’s are just too good and will enjoy punching out the Canadiens on their 100 year franchise anniversary.

(2) Washington Capitals v. (7) New York Rangers (NYR 1-0)

The Red was a’rockin when these two played in Washington on Wednesday and I’m sure there will be more of the same when they meet again on Saturday. Game 1 recap: Theodore was a sieve… yep, that’s about it! The defense could’ve done better but this game, and in essence this series comes down to how Theo plays. The former Vezina trophy winner let in long range, high-glove side shots with no traffic to speak of in front of him. Both teams were flying around the ice and they are definitely fun to watch.. don’t forget about Derek Morris and ol’ Freddy Sjostrom playing for the Rangers. Game 2 in Washington, Saturday on NBC (wow, hockey on regular TV and it’s not Sunday morning, amazing!!).

Player to watch: Alexander Ovechkin (Caps) – sorry, but who else really?!? He’s not going to be the deciding factor in the series, that I leave to Theodore, but he is so dynamic with the puck and hitting people when he doesn’t have it, just watch the blur that is number 8.

The Caps can score.. between two time Rocket Richard trophy winner Ovechkin and the top goal scoring defenseman in Mike Green, if Jose Theodore can play close to how he’s capable, then Washington should move onto round 2.

() New Jersey Devils v. (6) Carolina Hurricanes (NJD 1-0)

If you like goalie battles, this series has a doozy.. 4 time Vezina trophy winner Martin Brodeur versus former finals MVP, Conn Smythe trophy winner Cam Ward. Yes both offenses can score, this is not your old New Jersey Devils, as you can tell by them scoring a whopping 4 goals in game one. Both teams have won the Stanley Cup fairly recently, and even though they didn’t play like it in game one, know how to play some intense playoff hockey… there should be some highlight reel worthy saves from these two goalies. Game 2 in New Jersey on Friday.

Players to watch: Martin Brodeur (Devils)/Cam Ward (Canes) – they both are great playoff goaltenders and should make some unbelievable saves as this series progresses.

Series is a toss-up. Canes came in hot and everyone was picking the upset, but the Devils have been here before and won’t go down without a fight.

(4) Pittsburgh Penguins v. (5) Philadelphia Flyers (PIT 1-0)

See the Boston/Montreal series… division rivals – check… played each other last year in the playoffs – check, add to it the in-state rivalry with just over 300 miles separating the two and you have yourself a winner of a series. Pittsburgh of course has Malkin/Crosby and Philadelphia has four players with over 30 goals on the year. Add the Flyers to any series and lacking for hits you will not be, so count on a physical series (remember, former fan favorite Daniel Carcillo is there), with some highly skilled scoring forwards. Game 2 in Pittsburgh, Friday on Versus (surprise surprise, every Pittsburgh game is going to be televised, I’m shocked… NOT!)

Player to watch: Martin Biron/Antero Niittymaki (Flyers) – I know, some of you are saying WHO and WHO?? The Philly goaltending tandem needs to step up and keep their team in it. While the Flyers have skill, they can’t be playing from behind all the time or worried about soft goals sliding into their net.

The 4 seed v. 5 seed can usually go either way and this one is no exception. The Flyers have to be physical and intense but stay out of the penalty box or this will be a short series.

… and onto the West…

(1) San Jose Sharks v. (8) Anaheim Ducks (ANA 1-0)

Our division rivals who we love to hate and who we know all about, right? Well you know the Ducks play with, let’s see.. an edge and a “flexible” rule book?… if you think that’s true during the regular season, that is nothing when they get to the playoffs. Former Stanley Cup champions will do “whatever it takes to win”, literally!! San Jose has been picked to win it and and gotten bounced out of the playoffs early the last two years.. the won the Presidents trophy this year.. it’s time to stop cowering in the playoffs and pick it up a notch. Tough matchup out of the gate, but maybe that will help them in the long run. For any of you who care, remember ol’ Coyote Jeremy Roenick plays for the Sharkies. Game 2 in San Jose, Sunday on Versus.

Player to watch: Joe Thornton (Sharks) – the Sharks top point getter during the regular season, got one shot on goal in Game 1, and that came with under a minute left in regulation. He averages over a point a game during the regular season and will need to do that in the playoffs for San Jose to move forward.

Sharks need to get the playoff monkey off their back and win this one. Three shots on goal by their top players: Thornton/Marleau/Pavelski/Michalek is pathetic. With new coach in tow, I think San Jose finally figures out what the playoffs are all about and move to the second round.

(2) Detroit Red Wings v. (7) Columbus Blue Jackets (DET 1-0)

Columbus is a great story this year, making the playoffs for the first time in their history. It’ll hurt Yote fans to remember we were 4-0 against them this year.. this number seven seed IN the playoffs (sigh). We all know how skilled Rick Nash is (remember that play going between Ballard/Morris that seems etched into our minds!), combine that with the Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Franzen combo in Detroit and it should make for one entertaining series. Game 2 in Detroit on Saturday.

Player to watch: Chris Osgood (Wings) – if Detroit is going to make a real run for the cup, Ozzy’s gotta do better then he did during the regular season. You don’t have to remind Osgood though, that he’s the winningest playoff goalie in Detroit history, so he does know how to come up big when it matters.

These two are division rivals and know each other well, and though Steve Mason has done an awesome job leading his team to the playoffs, Detroit is just too skilled and experienced to get knocked off by the Jackets.

(3) Vancouver Canucks v. (6) St. Louis Blues (VAN 1-0)

Looking for a goaltending battle in the West with teams that you know and see regularly, well here you go. If you like defensive struggles, low scoring games with lots of solid goaltending, watch these two battle it out. While the Canucks won the Sundin sweepstakes earlier in the year, the real story of the team is their captain, Roberto Luongo. Game 1 was a 2-1 nail-biter and the rest of the series should be the same. You can also tune in to see former Captain Coyote Keith Tkachuk battling in front of the net for the Blues. Game 2 in Vancouver, Friday on Versus.

Players to watch: Roberto Luongo (VAN)/Chris Mason (STL) – just like the other goaltending battle, I’ll defer to the real stars of each team here and suggest to keep an eye on the spectacular play of these two goalies.

St. Louis is another great story of how they rallied at the end of the season to make the playoffs and some people are thinking they can pull off the upset, but I think Louie is just too good in the playoffs… two years ago him and Turco battled it out in an amazing 7 game series including three OT games, one which went into 4 overtimes!! Even though Mason has been solid, Louie will help the Canucks progress.

(4) Chicago Blackhawks v. (5) Calgary Flames (CHI 1-0)

Even though these two aren’t division rivals, they might as well be cause they sure don’t seem to like each other (we know how that was during our 4 game drubbing by the Hawks). Chicago is young and in the playoffs for the first time in a long time, and Calgary is making their 5th straight appearance in the playoffs (if you don’t count that extended summer break that was the lockout). They both play a bit in your face and have two solid goaltenders, should be quite a series to watch. If for some reason you care, like you’re a relative or something, Jokinen is playing for the Flames in his first professional playoff series. On a slightly better note, can always watch the ol’ Coyote backstop, the Bulin Wall himself. Game 2 in Chicago on Saturday.

Player to watch: Nikolai Khabibulin (CHI)/Miikka Kiprusoff (CAL) – both goalies have been inconsistent this season and the first one to string together a few consistent performances could lead his team to the next round.

Another toss up series that will really depend on the goaltending, or lack thereof, that each team receives. Overall I’m hoping the Hawks make it more out of the anti-Olli choice then really liking either team.

---

Be sure to tune into the playoffs and watch some exciting hockey!! While some of it’s hard to watch (knowing we missed out), seeing those entire arena’s rocking in red or white will get you excited about hopefully seeing a whiteout next season right here in Arizona… and yeah, I said it!! ha-ha… Enjoy!

Oops, almost forgot… for those interested in a particular game and it’s not being shown on TV, you can watch the game via online feed.. just head on over to www.nhlsnipers.com

Join the Coyotes Booster Club! Why? Well if you need more reasons than being able to help your community through charity projects, supporting your favorite hockey team, getting special emails on team happenings in advance and hanging out with a fantastic group of fans… How about uber special guests at meetings throughout the year? This year we’ve had the 3rd jersey design team , Doug Moss and Brad Treliving to name a few and at the last meeting of the year we got GMDM for our guest! Uber kewl eh?

Sooo Saturday before the Ducks game the boosters tailgated on the 2nd floor of the Renaissance hotel parking garage (out of the sporadic rain) Thanks Renaissance! Then headed inside to the Coyotes suite for our meeting. You all know I am never prepared with a recorder so you get the paraphrased version of the talk. Odie will prolly have his take on it over at 5 for Howling soon too.

The questions were all over the board but you know Carcillo and the other trades were definitely on everyone’s minds. Here’s how it went to the best of my recollection (and sprawly notes).

GMDM opened the talk with a synopsis of the season and of the trades, stating that he really believed we would make it to the playoffs. He thought that the moves that they made would put us over the top. He was disappointed that we couldn’t sustain the early success thru the whole season.

He also stated that the Coyotes are through rushing guys. That young players will have a tougher time cracking the line up next year because we now have enough players to fill spots with out relying on the very young to do jobs they aren’t ready for. They will develop what they have and add a few key players in the off season. The team will be drastically changed from what we saw this year, there were 2 or 3 players that should not have been rushed to the main ice and they may be allowed to step down a notch to develop at a slower pace.

He addressed the DMo trade by saying that he told Derek to leave the family here in Phoenix because he wanted another crack at getting him back (if the ownership issues and financials get taken car of) DMo is definitely on their list of returnees. He admitted that DMo had a mediocre season, injury and of course the ongoing contract talks affected him like they would anyone. But that DMo is capable of so much more and they would like to get him back if at all possible.

The Joker trade was basically, he wasn’t fitting in at all like planned. He’s a tremendous player and a good guy. Just did not fit into our system nor our lockerroom and with his salary, he wasn’t the guy for us to wait and see on. Gettin such a high return w/ the pick and Lombo and Prust gave GMDM some more flexibility in the off season, helped to position him to take Philly’s offer for Danny later and let us imporve our face offs and got us some more speed and shooting skill.

Boosters: Why did you really trade Danny? (this question came in various forms throughout the meeting, as if answering one time wasn’t satisfactory)

GMDM: After Danny’s knee injury he never really regained his form. His skating was off and he couldn’t seem to find his scoring touch. He grew increasingly frustrated and it showed both on the ice and off. (maybe we as an organization didn’t help by putting so much emphasis on him becoming a scorer) but we really needed more than a 4th line brawler and Danny seemed to be settling into that role more and more as the season progressed. The issues grew and we didn’t think it would be good for a team with such a large group of youngsters to be affected by the circumstances/behavior. Philly made us an offer we couldn’t refuse and we took it. Danny is a good young man and will be a good player, just not for us right now.

Booster: How do you account for the post ASG slump?

GMDM: We were on track and doing exactly what I hoped we’d be doing and the injury bug got us. Key players like Sauer and Rhino just can’t be replaced by raw youngsters. And then of course we seemed to just completely forget how to play hockey for a little while, that didn’t help much. But we will adjust the roster accordingly, we learned a lot from the slump about having so much youth in key positions down the stretch.

Booster: So what made you actually pull the trigger on so many trades?

GMDM: Quite frankly I took a look at the team and didn’t like what I saw happening. We didn’t have the speed and quickness that we wanted and some of the pieces were’nt fitting. I saw an ooportunity to address multpiple isssues and I think with Lombardi, Prucha and Upshall in the mix, a lot of the issues. We got speed, we got energy and we got some players who have some experience to help balance the extreme youth.

Booster: What the heck was wrong with Peter Mueller this season?

GMDM: Peter trained especially hard in the offseason. Unfortunately it appears that maybe the wrong things were worked on. He put on muscle mass and got stronger but not quite in the right way. He was slower, bulkier and had trouble adjusting to the changes. He had 3 injuries including the concussion which also slowed him down in his development. The good thing is that nothing happened that can’t be fixed and his issues certainly highlighted for us the need for more  in-house training being offered. We can offer the guys a plan for diet and exercise and things to work on for their development for next season (they’re pros, we can’t force them to take our advice but we certainly nudge them in what we feel is the right direction) which we did more towards that. Peter had a tough season, it happens. He’ll be fine.

Me: Who do you see down in the minors challenging for a spot on the roster next season?

GMDM: The 09 roster is gonna be tough for young guys to crack. The only player in San Antonio that I see truly having a shot at it is Kevin Porter. (Kolarik, Maclean and a few others looked good for stretches at a time, but Porter was consistently good all season. Both on the main club and in SA. We saw a lot of him over the season and he might have a shot at it. Jonas Ahnelov might surprise us too. He was slated for a good looksee at the beginning of the season but broke his hand. He reinjured it in SA and then got a concussion that he battled for nearly a month. He’s game and has size and when healthy may give the guys on the blueline a run for their money next season.

Me: In the offseason, with so many teams in a cap crunch, have you got your eye on any of their assets?

GMDM: Of course I’ll be looking at players (especially those who had 5 or 6 year contracts that only have 2 or 3 years left on their contract)  I’m specifically looking at adding a top defenseman, a top center (probably not one of Olli’s stature but a good one) and a face off /pk guy. Teams like Philly (see thursday’s entry…. at cap limit), Detroit (Franzen’s signing gives them a lot less flexibility) and NYR (who have a lot of quality centers) are all on my radar. Basically a lot will depend on the new ownership being in place and the financial situation of the club. I see us as the next Chicago.

Booster: What about the financial situation? Are we close to getting new ownership?

GMDM: Gosh I hope so. It needs to be done pretty quickly. Within the next few weeks I hope. I think its basically down to price at this time.

Booster: What about our other affiliates and youngsters?

GMDM: We’re pleased with the development of most of our kids but we are evaluating staying in the CHL next season. There may not be the level of competition there (Sundogs) that we would like. We have looked at maybe someplace like Stockton for next season.

Booster: Will we still look for a backup goalie in the offseason or will Monty take the backup position?

GMDM: Yes. Torjman and Montoya have performed well and continue to develop at a good pace. If either comes into camp and makes a great showing, they will be given the opportunity of course. But We don’t feel like we can take any chances so we will be looking for another goalie. Maybe someone like Andersen. We could possibly revisit Tellqvist who was a great team guy and was very successful in the role for us. But we need to make sure we get someone who can maybe push Bryzgalov a bit.

Booster: I’m sure you are aware of all the buzz about Wayne as the coach, is there anything happening with the staff after 2 seasons of missing the playoffs?

GMDM: Wayne is in a unique situation. I have watched him grow as a coach,  each year he gets better. Of course the staff will be evaluated and it appears that some changes may need to be made. Anytime a team does what this one has, the staff is going to get a good long look to see if there is anything the organization can do to improve in that direction.

Me: You have made some marvelous changes already. Which of your moves are you most satisfied or proud of?

GMDM: Honestly? I don’t think I did anything spectacular. Some things have worked and somethings didn’t. We didn’t make the playoffs so obviously I still have some work to do. But I think I am most relieved by getting Jokinen off the books. His contract was a little high and for what we were getting, I was just glad to go into the offseason without his salary.

Booster: What about Enver LIsin?

GMDM: Truthfully Enver got a little shortchanged by us having so many good young forwards. He got pushed down by default. He did’nt have a great start, when he did get back up he didn’t have a great game. But the second time he came up, he did a good job for us. We need him in the lineup, his speed and shot and ability to draw penalties are all great assets. It will depend on him, we’d like to get a fair 2 way deal in place for him.

Booster: What about the draft?

GMDM: Well it all depends on where we pick of course. Right now, I see the top 6 as Tavares, Hedman, Duchene, Kane, Cowan (despite the knee concerns) and possibly Kadri. We will of course go with the best plaer available (if Tavares were available we’d probably pick him, even though his skating isn’t the best, his hands, vision and performance at each level have been great… who turns down the kid who might be the next Gretzky?)

Other nuggets included:

• Dawes hasn’t quite worked out as well as we thought (no other explanation of what will happen to him like maybe playin in the A or getting packaged).
• McGrattan will no longer be with the team.
• No deal in place for Rhino but he is definitely in their sights depending on contract and other opportunities.
• Klee is also a maybe. He’s been great for us and for the younger blue liners as teacher and mentor.
• Maxim Goncharov may see the main ice sooner than expected because of issues in the KHL.

See what you miss when you aren’t a member of the Boosters! Join up, tell ‘em I sent ya (I get points for referrals and need a new hat) LOL

Thnx to BTinAZ for the pics!

Lucky rabbit’s foot? Check… (okay, it wasn’t so lucky for the rabbit but I’ve got it anyway) Lucky gold dollar under pillow? Check… (I’ll be wishing on it all night, even in my sleep) Lock of Hedman’s hair from his first haircut? well no, but if I did have it, that would be under the pillow with the rest of the stuff.

Today is draft lottery day. While most fans are dreaming of 7th game player heroics, there are quite a few of us to whom the draft lotto is the center of the universe.

The Coyotes came in 6th from the bottom, we rarely have the kind of luck that could net us a franchise player. Since we’re 6th and teams can only move down …or up, 4 spots, depending on your world view, the best we can hope for is that beautiful 2nd pick. So far it looks like JT is still BPA at #1 (who the hell would turn down a shot at the kid who has been touted as the Next One?), but if you really take a look at what the Yotes are building, Hedman at #2 would be just fine.

We’re due some luck, I’m doing my part. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see if the hockey goddess truly loves us or really just enjoys laughing at our trials and tribulations when she’s bored. 5 pm Phoenix time will tell the tale.

Please, please please we can haz the #2 pick? I’ve been very good, honest I have. We Coyotes fans deserve to get this one (if the Kings get another spectacular defenseman, I am so gonna cry)

So keep all yer digits crossed, we need all the luck we can get. I will finish up the Ducks season finale and get the transcript up on GMDM’s very candid talk from Saturday as soon as I either finish laughing hysterically in joy or recover from my grief, depending on what the goddess sends our way.

Small preview of the GMDM thing. (paraphrased and edited short cuz I’m seriously knackered)

Me: Of all the crazy/spectacular moves you made since you’ve been with us, which are you most proud of or consider your best move?

GMDM: Trading Olli Jokinen and getting Lombardi, the pick and Prust.

UPDATE! oh well… we didn’t get nuthin.

“The order of selection for the first 14 drafting positions in the first round, only, of the 2009 Entry Draft is as follows:
 
      1.  New York Islanders
      2.  Tampa Bay Lightning
      3.  Colorado Avalanche
      4.  Atlanta Thrashers
      5.  Los Angeles Kings
      6.  Phoenix Coyotes
      7.  Toronto Maple Leafs
      8.  Dallas Stars
      9.  Ottawa Senators
    10.  Edmonton Oilers
    11.  Nashville Predators
    12.  Minnesota Wild
    13.  Buffalo Sabres
    14.  Florida Panthers
 
The remaining drafting positions will be determined at the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.”

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=418357&navid=DL|NHL|Home

You have no idea how much I hate the last game of the season. (where’s a damn crying emoticon when you need one?) I can’t even have the solice of knocking the Ducks out of the playoffs since the Preds didn’t do their part (lost to Minny…badly) and Dallas sure as hell didn’t do THEIR part (lost to the Ducks in SO). BUT! we do get to see the boys at home tonight instead of watching a road game on the telly. The sound of taps playing for the end is a lot less sad when you are surrounded by your hockey family. (shout out to the Patio 6 Posse!) Luckily we’ll also be celebrating the Mar and April birthdays of BTinAZ, MzConduct and Ali at a lil place called The Gym afterwards (Glendale at the 101 and Camelback), so if you ain’t quite done with hockey or just want some good company and a reason to feel a little joy, come on over and join us.

Its gonna be a busy day. The Booster club is tailgating at 11 (yeah I know its raining, but we got a plan). We’ll be in the parking garage of the Renaissance Hotel next door to the arena. No grillin, just sammichs, sodas and reminiscing while waiting for the last meeting of the year and game time. That still counts as a tailgate in my book. If you are a member or want to be for next year, come on over and talk to Heather.

Its gonna be a fun day. Early start (5 pm but get there early for all the presentations of team awards) and of course to make sure you get a scratcher ticket (you could win a motorcycle or the sweater off a players back… I know which one I’d rather win but hey! maybe its just me)

Have no idea really what the lines will look like. Pretty sure the major evaluating of Team Transplant and the call ups is all done. Bryzzie will be in net, he’s THE dude and has been here solidly and deserves to end it. (I hope he can go out with a major shut down of his old team)

The Ducks have clinched their post season spot but there’s always the chance to maybe move up and avoid the Wings, so look for them to be insane as always. We’ve only won 1 game against them this season. (damn you Jonas Hiller!) But if we play as well as we did on Thursday, we can still make sure the Ducks are miserable for the first round against the Ded.

Even though 08-09 is ending, there will be plenty going on here. We have team evaluations, player report cards, GMDM speculation and Patio 6 events over the offseason(and thats all b4 draft day and FreeAgency). Then of course theres the Prospect camp and other stuff we cover as the new season ramps up. So stick around and watch the Cup run with us. (I’ll even try to get HTH to do some Cup reports for us)

See you all at the game or maybe at The Gym!

As always… GO COYOTES!

Let me be the 999th Coyotes fan to express disappointment that the game wasn’t televised locally. Every away game should be available to the visiting team’s fans…always. Its one thing to black it out for the homers (they can get off their fat asses and go to the arena) but the poor bastages without that option get cheated. Seems like it happens to us more than anyone, don’t get me wrong, I love Heeter and the radio team but… it still sucks.

Sooo, after the 5 – 1 loss to the Blues (ughhh…season sweep), I really thought we had that whole tanking thing down. I mean come on, who the hell loses to the Kings 6-1 and then the Blues 5-1, back to back? Apparently we do. Even after hangin tight against the Blues and owning the Kings for most of the season, we manage to pull off 2 of the most embarrassing losses of the season. If that isn’t a sign of the apocalypse OR great tankin, what the hell is?

The Blues game was so embarassing even BTinAZ  stopped raising her camera when we had the puck on our stick (it rapidly became apparent that we couldn’t do a damn thing with it anyway, so why bother?). Bryz returned to the net after 3 games off and did his best impression of Swiss cheese. ( Breezer has to stop cheating off his posts and get his positioning tighter or he’s going to lose his spot as the owner of the Coyotes net) But there was enough blame to go around, the defense looked like rag dolls, the special teams looked like old cottage cheese, spotty and disgusting, the forwards looked like the Keystone cops on psychotropic drugs. Everybody looked like poop.

But then… we went to San Jose for a lil R n R. Fishing in the Tank. What could be more relaxing? Apparenly the lil road trip had a reenergizing affect on the boys. Even though we were almost prevented from seeing it (thnx to the gracious and magnificent Team Teal for getting us access!) this was a seriously amazing game.

We drew first blood on (who else?) Upshall’s pretty goal about 1/2 way through the 1st period. 1 – 0 Yotes yay! Everything started clicking like a brush fire in a high wind. Trust Uppy to get the party started. Upshall is on a career high for goals scored with 15 total under his belt.

The Captain took a stick in the face, the boys made the Sharks pay for the priviledge. Enver Lisin was a holy terror in the Shark’s zone and drew a second penalty seconds later and the resulting 5 on 3 was a thing of beauty as the Captain and Jovo played pong on the PP before JV buried a monster shot past Nabby to make it 2 - 0. (good thing the President’s Trophy wasn’t unpacked yet)

The start of the second period wasn’t any better as Z finished taking the wind out of their sails with his wrist shot to make it 3 – 0 Yotes. Then it got ugly. Fishy frustrations boiled over and resulted in some conduct unbecoming. Fridge (vs Moen), Jovo (just lending a helping hand in starting a scrum, lol) and Hanzal (vs Setoguchi) all got into the act as mini bouts of  fighting broke out all over the place.

With Monty on pace for his second shutout of his short NHL career, of course poor Yandle (destined to be Monty’s Achilles heel?) failed to clear Moen away from Monty’s six. Moen scores after 65billion whacks at a puck laying at the post, just beyond the Big Cubano’s reach. 3 – 1 Yotes and the Sharks got a shot of life, bringing their crowd back into the equation. I don’t know who gave my baby boy the big brass ones but whoa! Z finally took exception to being creamed behind the net and after Setoguchi’s hit, he went a lil bit apeshit, drawing not one, but 2 minors (crosschecked Seto to the ice and then when he popped up, smacked him another good one) I think he would count that as ‘4 minutes? well worth it’ since the Sharks failed to capitalize after Murray joined the parade to the sinbin, mitigating Z’s lil tantrum. Monty got his bell rung by Goc, literally getting popped in the head as the big forward tried to get one past him.

If we thought it was ugly in the second, watching Tree cut (the-newly-returned-after-injury) Goc off at the knees was even worse. Bad Tree! Bad boy! (maybe retaliation for poppin our goalie in the head…no call?) Then it was the big PM putting the game and the President’s Trophy out of reach for the Teal Terrors. 4 – 1 Yotes.

Highlights: Big Al Montoya stopping 41 sogs. The team blocking 31 shots. Lombo goin 18/10 on the faceoff dots and has points in the last 8 games. Enver Lisin usin his brains and speed for defense. Counting the ways the Sj announcers could eff up Z’s first name. Not having to watch another trophy we didn’t win presented.

The boys come home to play the most serious spoiler game of the season. If the Yotes beat the Ducks, they could single handedly be responsible for keeping them out of the playoffs and lending a helping hand to a couple of fellow underdogs trying to get into a most needed post season. (maybe they will return the favor next season if we need it?) go Nashville! go St. Louis!

As always… GO COYOTES!