Can we please make this happen again? Lifelong Sabres fans removing the Buffaslug to return from the darkside would be a perfect way to end MLK day.

Last game AZBarbie was shelled to hell and back (39 sogs), he stopped 37 of them. It wasn’t quite enough since our boys couldn’t find a way past Ryan Miller more than once. We lost 2 – 1 in the HSBC. This is a short series, we only face each other twice. We do NOT want to let them sweep us. The Sabres are 7-0-3 while we are 4-3-3 in the last 10. Let’s wreck their road trip for them and make them really mad for when they face the rest of the Pacific. (Maybe they’ll cut a winning swathe through those guys and help us maintain our position in the division) muwhahaha! Such an evile plan, I like it!

With 8 players over 20 points and a goalie sporting a 26-8-4 record, these guys are not going to be easy to take down. We need to have everyone on the same page, mentally and especially physically. Remember this?

Keys to this game?

The Sabres had to go to OT to take the Thrashers and to shootout to get a point against the Islanders. They aren’t scoring a whole lot right now (only 4 goals scored in regulation, so far on this road trip), its all about Ryan Miller. The guy is a monster but he can be had. Right now Ryan is leaving rebound after juicy rebound out there for the taking. We have to be ready to give second and even third personal efforts to get anything past him. Screens and redirections will be our only friends tomorrow night.

Every line has to be an offensive juggernaut. Sacrifices will have to be made to get inside the Sabres kitchen. We’ve opened the flood gates (I hope) for Doan and Mueller. Prucha, Fiddy and Vrbata are hot right now and even Winnie has had a taste of blood. Let’s keep those gates open. Draw first blood and keep shooting til the final horn. And remember, if you are gifted with a power play for hard work and moving your feet, you damn well better score on it. It can mean the difference between being swept and climbing the ladder over Nashville.

Defense? Hey! Wake up! We’re gonna need you guys to be sharp. None of that laid back crap. If you don’t cover Breezy’s butt, we’re all in deep kimchee, old, sour kimchee (have you ever smelled bad kimchee?) You guys left him wide open more times than I want to think about in the third period against the Wild…don’t let it happen again. Make the neutral zone an ugly, unhappy place to be wearing the Buffaslug.

Bryzzie…watch yer six and yer glove side high! If those boys have been watching film, they know just where your forcefield ends.

No lazy or stupid penalties. We’ve been fairly disciplined lately and we’ve been rewarded with wins. Do NOT give these guys any wiggle room. Their PP is dangerous on any given night with Vanek and the red hot Connolly. You do however have my permission to punk Patrick Kaleta as often as you can get away with… but if you are going to take a penalty for it… make it well worth the price.

Doors open early 4PM for a 5pm puck drop. Need tickets? Ambassadors club discount is still available. Its too late to buy Pepsi at the CircleK for tomorrow but you can still do that for Teppo’s ceremony night on the 30th (last night of the Pepsi ticket deal) Also remember to follow @walshtodd on twitter for your Coyotes insider news and a chance at free tickets (it’s sometimes lonely being a Yotie news guy over there in Twitterland, join his followers, make a loyal broadcaster happy)

As always… GO COYOTES!

The boys are on the road still. Don’t these road trips feel like they take forever? Wish they could play all their games at home but when they’ve grabbed 4 of the 8 possible road points I guess it isn’t too bad.

Wings - wounded and with suckage in their net, the Ded managed to do their best zombie imitation and and kept coming at us. Our Captain added to their walking wounded count by taking poor Ericksson out of the game. We didn’t look so hot. Bryz was even ice cold for once and with a final score of 2 – 3 not in a good way, I think Breezy would like a mulligan on a couple of those goals. We didn’t play bad per se, just not our usual vim and vigor. Lucky for the Wings that their role players stepped it up a bunch of notches, unlucky for us, I think for once in this reality the boys were looking past the Ded Thangs to the next game. Bad dawgs! Thats one of the hazards of taking them behind the woodshed, we forgot just how resilient those Motorcity Monsters can be. We leave Detroit with no points except the ones Tippett probably made over and over in the next hours while they traveled to Toronto.

Leafs - The storied franchise had fallen onto hard times recently but were making a serious bid for a good season. Young Kessel seems to be thriving there (betcha he don’t miss Boston one bit) He’s dragging the Leafs, kicking and screaming into the playoff hunt. Sorry to put a crimp in their mini-streak but we walked into the legendary Air Canada Center and kicked some serious Maple hiney. Petr Prucha led the way with 2 goals and someone convinced Yands that he was a Czech (Yands and Hanzal tallied 3 assists each). The Y’s got in on the action too with Fiddy, Vrby and Uppy grabbin goals of their own. Talk about a sweet win, Bish sat 8 games but Tip put him in for energy (that old softie put him in so his daddy could see him play in the NHL for the first time too) Bissionette would not only put on a show for his pops, he would score the GWG for that extra soupcon of coolness. 6 – 3 Yotes 2 points and out to Columbus and that pain in the ass Rick Nash.

Jackets - These guys just wont go away. Did I mention that Rick Nash is a serious pain in the patoot?  Yands was still hypnotised believin he is one of the Czech Federation and lit the lamp waay early in the first. I thought we’d be scorin up a storm after that but the only other regulation goal would be from that stinkin Nash kid in the third. AZBarbie! whoa whodathunkit? Jason the Barbarian was in rare form. He’s still a big old slow flapper for the most part but he looked fairly solid after a shaky start (the guy hasn’t played since Moses was in short pants (well since Nov 16th and thats gotta feel like forever to a hockey player). After the initial howl of dismay I settled down and actually watched him and he wasn’t too bad out there. Havin Z play 2nd goalie for 30 minutes probably helped alot. My lil Iron Czech took a high stick from that schlub Huselius (I’ve got a beatin with that boy’s name all over it waiting for Monday night) But no matter everyone survived to head into OT. OT was polished off with not even a burp. Neither team was able to generate more than a few belly scratchers.

We head into the shootout, I didn’t miss Muells all game til the shoot out. I like havin sharp shooters for these skills contests and Muells can sure snipe with the best of them. So instead we went with Vrby, Doaner and Langer. Vrbata’s magic didn’t quite pan out but Doan kept us in it long enough for Lang to put it to bed. Hey! whaddayaknow 4 points out of 6 for the road trip! suhweet!

Even better… our magnificent Captain got a win in his 1000th game! WTG Shane, you make me proud to be a Yotes fan. Solid hard working Doan became only the 2nd player in the franchise to make 1000 games (Teppo was the other one) thats what I call good company to be in.

Ducks got next… and I hope we make ‘em wish they hadn’t. The boys are in Anaheim already, enjoying a day off and preppin to imbibe some Duck soup. Its a matinee puck drop at 2PM. It is gonna be a good one… if you have Center Ice, you’ll even get to see it. Luckily for me I am pet sitting for peeps that have a CI package. (Thnx Q!)

Keys to the game?

Bring some energy, its gonna be ugly. The Ducks are so far down in the standings right now that Carlyle has to be thankful for a floor. The Quacks have been playing better of late though. Hampered by the loss of Selanne, the rest of the crew have been picking up the slack. I think we’re about to see the return of the dirty Ducks. There will be lots of the physical so be prepared to take a hit (hint: do not expect the refs to call the penalties, just pick yourself up and go score) Even their media is getting in on the desperation. Thhis isn’t only about 2 points, these guys are in trouble and they are gonna take it out on us if we aren’t fast enough to avoid it.

Hiller is a stingy bastard. Shoot early and often. Get up close and personal…especially you Bish, park that hiney right in front of him every chance you get. Hilly has a good record against us. We’re starting to get everyone’s attention so don’t count on seeing their back up goalie Jiggy.

Play hard, play all 60 minutes. Go into this one like someone called your mama bad names. If you take your foot off the pedal for even a nano second these Ducks will be stickin a fork in you instead of vice versa.

Other stuff:

Almost FREE TICKETS!!! good lookin out for the deals ladies! via theYotesDiva and BabyKate – ATTN Coyotes fans! Buy (4) 8-packs of Pepsi @ Circle K, get 2 lower level seats to a Yotes game in Dec or Jan. Spread the word!

For those who can’t make it to Circle K, there’s always online through the Ambassador’s Club.

Saturday against the Kings we’re gonna have a 1k celebration before the game, honoring our Captain.

Last round of the Arena poll is still going. Get over there and let the writers know what you think about their blogs.

Just some food for thought: 5th in the West and 7th in the league. Our boys sit just 3 points behind the Pacific leaders (LAK and SJS if you didn’t know). We need to welcome them home like the warriors they have proven to be… get a ticket! Its Columbus and that damn Nash kid again so it oughta be a doozy.

Time for bed, have a great weekend and hope to see you out at the Jobarena on Monday.

As always… GO COYOTES!

It was officially a streak for real folks. No I ain’t talkin about some freak named Zeke, cavorting across a soccer field bare assed. I’m talking about the Phoenix Coyotes knocking off 5 opponents in a row! It was sweet. We are now 6 - 1 - 1 after we got tripped up by those pesky Kings and  the wounded but uber dangerous Ded Thangs.

W – Dallas – 5 – 2 -we beat the perennial playoff hounds. They are paarlaying loser points into another hunt for Lord Stanley but we’re denying them every chance we get and staying on the trail right with them.

W – Anaheim – 3 – 2 -we showed them the door too, another playoff monster that thrives on loser points paving their path to the post season. No soup for you only Duck soup for us!

W – Calgary 2 – 1 – scary buncha guys (Joker is still scary even when he isn’t scoring). Thought they would take us out behind the woodshed, glad we were able to not only hang with them but to show them the united pack smack down (damn you former Coyotes for giving so much more to the Flames than us).

W – Ottowa 3 – 2 – I guess having their own Michalek didn’t help. Ours may not score as much but preventing scoring apparently is even better! Go Z!

W – Minnesota 2 – 0- silly elves, this is our year dammit, don’t go away mad… just go away. (see other entry for full disclosure)

OTL – Los Angeles 3 – 2 – damn you Wayne Simmons, your dream just may come true. One of the very last teams I wanted to share points with. But gotta give the Princelings their due, just like us and Colorado, the basement kids are coming into their own finally.

W – San Jose 2 – 1 – Wow! I realize Marty owns Big Joe and Z pretty much owns Pretty Patty but can I say wow again or is that too much? Every time they play each other I have an insane urge to put on a life jacket sporting the #30. Always tough (can you say Shelley, Murray and Mclaaren?) but when faced with total discipline and determination, even the best can be beaten. I actually LOVE playin these guys this season.

L – Detroit 2 – 3 – It sucks to start out the road trip with a loss but the boys found their cojones finally and played well to almost catch up to the Ded. I guess #13 is sooo NOT Bryzzie’s number. The 13th start was ugly. Much of the night the big guy looked off kilter and slow. The blue liners didn’t look too swift either for about 45 minutes of the game. (ummm guys? when Breezy is off, you are supposed to carry the big guy til he gets his head straight. He’s carried you many a game, time to return the favor.) Ah well, we’ll get our shite together for Wednesday. Somehow Tipper always manages to rein them in and get them back on pack fairly quickly. I really just wanted 8 points out of this trip and I didn’t care if it meant grabbing loser points. It feels strange to expect to get more than half the available points on a road trip but the boys have built up my faith so much that I actually have expectations now. Too weird.

Sooo anyone have any idea what the hell is up with Doaner? Ever since Wizzer nearly decapitated him, Shane has been off. Stop grippin the stick so tight my Captain. The whole team isn’t on your back anymore. These boys can carry they ownselves big daddy. Just have fun, run over a few more people per game and let the goals fall when they may. (Is it just me or is it almost as much fun to watch Doaner steam roll people as it is to watch him score?)

Daly and Maloney were doin the talking head thing today. Much as expected not much was really said that we didn’t already expect. Everyone is happy about the potential new ownership. Not much will change (except maybe we’ll see a new addition to the team on the scoring front… and of course lose someone since it costs to get a quality scorer even with GMDM doing the buying).

Daly on NHL Live

The BoG will be meeting starting tomorrow so we’ll all be waiting with bated breath to find out if the good ol boys wanna let the whippersnappers into the club. I hope so. I actually have met a couple of them and came away impressed. I think the Coalition wrote something up on that awhile back and I haven’t seen nor heard anything to make me change my mind.

• Ice Edge Holdings – They have passion and a real desire to own the Coyotes for the business of hockey.
• They have business acumen and know how to make money.
• They understand the game (hell they’ve played it and love it).
• They are innovative and are not afraid to take on a risk, much like ourselves and Tippett, they see something in this team that they can believe in.

They have ideas…

1. how to utilize every square inch of the arena to get revenue
2. how to treat a fanbase
3. how to build a hockey club
4. how to recognize that they don’t know everything and will have to trust people to do their jobs
5. they also recognise things that aren’t working
6. and how to treat a legend, we just might see #99 again (oh don’t panic, not behind the bench) but maybe somewhere within the ownership group

I didn’t get to meet Keith but read what he has to say HERE. Whats not to like about this crew? A few games in Saskatoon? Gimme a break. Better a few games for our Northern cousins to enjoy and help the bottom line than none for us because we’re too stupid to recognise an opportunity to get on our feet or too stingy and jealous to share and welcome some more fans for the organization to thrive on. Will there be changes? Of course, there have to be in order to get out of the red ink sea. Will we like all of them? Of course not, don’t be silly, the business of hockey will not recognise our favorites and all of our preferences, but as long as they get good results and keep the team alive and kickin in Arizona… count me in. I like them, they are actually going to give it their all with no strings attached and no screwing of others to get their way. Their regular business is built on that premise. They got tired of being part of the all-about-the-benjamen crowd and started a business they could be proud of. A business with integrity. Thats their reputation in the business world and I expect no less from them in the hockey world.

Monty sighting! We saw the Big Cubano wandering the concourse last home game… in his sporty sling. Best wishes on a speedy recovery Monty.

The always obliging Kurt Sauer gave our friend DTG the skinny on his expected return to the ice (see paw print 12/13 for that news) He graced the stands with his awesomeness last game too.

Holy crap its almost midnight AGAIN! Gotta go grab some zzzzs (not him!) some sleep people, some sleep.

Quick shot reminders –

The “Leader of the Pack” award is designed to recognize the top Coyotes Season ticket holder for each month during the remainder of the season. The nominations must include a full description of how the individual has demonstrated his or her commitment to the Pack. If you know a deserving Season Ticket Holder, please nominate them for this award. (if you don’t know their full name and info, fake it, give the team as much info as you can so they know who you are voting for… they’ll count the votes right). Vote HERE for December.

Ambassador’s Club! Coyotes STHs (season ticket holders) have volunteered to help out with gettin butts in the seats. The Yotes are sinking their teeth into some guerilla marketing and have issued these volunteers their own links to help friends, family and innocent bystanders get discounted Coyotes tickets. So if you need tickets to a game feel free to use my link HERE. (promo code…Coyotes)

Round 3 of theNHLArena’s poll is up. Go vote in the final round remember to let us know what you think is good, could be better and could just be kicked to the curb.

As always … GO COYOTES!

Holy jumpin! (its sad that I miss that silly saying, but there it is) We, the Phoenix Coyotes, are ‘officially’ on a winning streak. We captured our 4th straight victory last night against the Ottowa Senators. Man that feels good to say.

I sat in the stands Saturday night in coat, hat, 2 shirts and gloves (I been sick so I really feel the cold) and so did the Sens for about 20 minutes of 60 as the Yotes tore into them like a blizzard on crack. It was amazing. I shoulda been home with my antibiotics and Kleenex but dedicated idiot that I am, no way was I missin the Michalek brothers reunion and a team we barely see once in a blue moon.

The return of Jovocop was a beautiful thing. He announced his presence by drawing first blood on the seemingly hapless Brian Elliot within the first 4 minutes of the game. Beautiful wrister with eyes. WTG JV!

I was almost starting to feel sorry for Elliott as the crowd started chanting his name in a Turco-esque fashion after Taylor Pyatt slapped him with another unassisted goal less than 5 minutes later. (TaterPy looked like a man on a mission, I thought he’d run right through Elliott with the speed he was carrying through the Sens zone). 2 – 0 and the Sens were reeling.

Prucha apparently likes the feeling he gets from scoring, both he and Pyatt have 2 in last 2 games. Pru!!! made it 3 – 0 and it looked like the game was in the bag. But of course it can never be that easy can it? The Sens would not just go away. Elliott stopped fighting the puck and started playing the top of his crease like a real goalie and we started to play protective hockey rather than slash n burn hockey. The Sens popped us twice due to our total lack of intensity. (Bryz fought them off valiantly but when the opponent can whack multiple times at a crazily hopping puck right in your blue paint, whats a goalie to do?)

The final tally 3 – 2 didn’t tell the tale of decent play for 56 minutes. 10 minutes of great aggressive play, 46 minutes of basically decent play and 4 minutes of  desperate play to try to protect a game.

The Good? – We played tough as nails for about 1/2 the game. Dominating the neutral, laying out serious hits and passing like demons. We jumped on an ailing team with killer instincts on full throttle early and often.

Daniel (don’t call me Pooh dammitt) Winnick was slammin! That kid hit like a freight train, created chances that would impress any coach not named Gretzky and didn’t stop playing until the final horn. He kept his cool when that stupid Canker Carkner jumped him from behind and gave us a man advantage (that we totally failed to capitalize on) but the important thing is that he held his ground without being drawn into stupidity.

Jovo was back with a vengeance! It was good to see the big 55 still has his edge and has apparently resolved both halves of his nature, the offensive juggernaut and defensive monster were both visible tonight and that special Ed guy was nowhere to be found.

Pyatt and Prucha seem to have figured out where the back of the net is AND how to get a puck in there. After long dry spells, these two are hot and seemingly unstoppable when they decide to score. By any means neccessary could be their new mantra.

Ilya Bryzglaov! OMG do I absolutely adore my big Russian. More every game. THIS is the Bryzzie I knew was inside there. This guy has truly been the backbone of our resurgence. You Breezy haters better recognize! Without the big guy’s stellar performances we would be in the cellar and on our way out of town by now. Quietly cool and nearly unflappable, there is a reason he’s the #1 goalie. From setting the tenor of the team to keeping their asses out of the fire to giving them a chance to win every single night. Whats not to love? What does he gotta do to get some respect? Score?

The bad?

We stopped playing and decided to protect Ilya’s shutout. You all know how I feel about playing to tie and playing to protect a lead, this game turned into the same thing. Playing to protect anything in the NHL is like committing suidui, wait its more like hari kari (painful and seems to take forever) but either way it usually leads to death. It almost did last night too.

Loss of the killer instinct is disturbing. Apparently it disturbed Tip too. We need to learn to play better with a lead. (not something we have a lot of experience with yet) but it will come with more time spent in the lead… I hope.

Giving rookie goalies confidence and hope… thats just gotta stop. You could visibly see young Elliott pick up confidence and get comfortable as the game wore on and every time we couldn’t finish beautiful chances. The Sens should thank us, the game in ANA tonight will probably be their only win for the road trip since we pumped up their goalie. EDIT: Shootout victory for the Sens… guess they really need to thank us.

We’ll take the 2 points, Bryzzie deserves them. We’re learning… quickly. Its important to realize that every game we learn another thing about how to be winners. Not half bad for the team projected to be in the cellar all season eh?

Up next Minnesota Wild on Monday 12/7/2009 – These two teams are riding great W streaks (Minny w/ 5 and Yotes w/ 4) Last contest, the Yotes took the W 3 – 2 but the Wild have been horribly difficult to knock off in the past. The uber capable Backstrum has given us fits since he first joined the team.

Keys to this one?

Get the dirty goals. Gotta jump on Backie quick. Lots of bodies in front of the net getting multiple whacks at every scoring chance. The guy is good but he can be beat (we’ve already done it once this season)

Be aggressive and stay that way all 60 friggin minutes. Do NOT play to protect a lead!  Coyotes can’t roll like that yo.

Watch the Wild’s new dynamic duo, Koivu and Miettinen, them boys are on a serious mission. And Brunette has 9 points in his last 5 games. Those 3 spell trouble with a capital T! Contain Clutterbuck (if the flu lets him play) he’s a menace and will start as much trouble as he can. Stay focused on the game not the antics.

Another goalie showdown is about to go down. May ours be the last to blink!

Coyotes are looking to reward their biggest fans…

The “Leader of the Pack” award is designed to recognize the top Coyotes Season ticket holder for each month during the remainder of the season. The nominations must include a full description of how the individual has demonstrated his or her commitment to the Pack. If you know a deserving Season Ticket Holder, please nominate them for this award.

We have extended the deadline for the November nominations to Monday, December 7th.  To nominate a Leader of the Pack for the month of November, click here.

I voted for Heather McWhorter and I hope you will do the same. Seriously, who did more this season to keep hope alive, to bring the news to us, attended the court sessions and Tweeted them to us, got the Coalition started, held a rally, runs a blog, is the GM of a Coyotes section on a discussion board all to generate interest in and love of her beloved Coyotes. It has been an honor and a joy to be friends and seatmates with Heather. I can think of a lot of people who are great Coyotes season ticket holders but none sweeter and more sincere than her.

I guess the Tikhnov story has more chapters to it than anyone thought. Teeks is on loan to the KHL according to all reports but apparently everything wasn’t as sweetness and well wishes as reported. But the good thing is that Teeks had his first game and got 2 goals! Go Tiki Go! And of course don’t forget us and come home for next season bucko.

Round 2 of the Coyotes poll is on and poppin. Go vote for your favorite blog and let us bloggers know what you like… or don’t like.

See you tomorrow night for Yotes VS Wild.

As always… Go Coyotes!

I know, I know…whats with just the paw prints lately? Well, its my compromise to keep that work/life balance thang goin. Shorter informative posts that cover my Yotes thoughts and the happenings rather than tryin to cram a bunch of single entries into a week. Better than complete silence eh?

Ducks game 11/29/09 – So we did manage to slap the fowl taste off the Ducks on the 29th. The Quacks got a loser point out of it but we took the win. 3 – 2 in OT. The GWG was Doaner, just not with the slapper I asked for. Who can argue with a belly deflection though? We’ll take our Duck roasted any way the Yotes decide to serve them up. The main difference in this game compared to last season seems to be our ability to persevere. Last season all those Jiggy robberies early in the game would have deflated us faster than a cheap helium balloon. Not this year, we take a lickin and keep on tickin, apparently Tippett has actually convinced the boys that it ain’t over til the fat lady sings (and that he has her tied up in a closet to prevent her from piping up?) Talk about your unholy disappointment… no TV? zip, zilch, nada. even the usual pirates sources couldn’t snag a feed. God I will be glad when we finally get enough respect to have ALL our games televised. OH and word to the NHL, all away games should be on TV for the visitors. I sure don’t mind if its blacked out for the home crowd…they should get off their asses and buy a ticket. But the away crowds don’t have that option…put it on TV dammit!

I haven’t heard anything much about the IEH meeting with the NHL from last week. Guess the Diva is right about the NHL not bein to wild n crazy about games in Sakatoon. Seems like we’ll be waiting for that new ownership til after the new year after all. damn it all

Calgary Flames 12/3/2009 - Is anyone else as pleased as I was about our performance against Calgary… on home ice no less? There was a sea of the wrong red up in the joint on Thursday night. Its funny, they were pretty quiet from the very start. Even when the Flamers drew major first blood with 1 second left in the first, there wasn’t an outburst of OLE chanting. (That woulda had the Yotie fans screamin hysterically)

Prucha finally got tired of being robbed and after Kipper had already grandthefted Doan and Winnie (double pad stack no less), Pruu! went wicked wrister on Kipper to get the Yotes on the board. Talk about ruining Kipper’s day, the guy came in ridin a 2 game shutout and some lil Czech brownie swooped in and nailed him dead to rights. suhweet!

The entire game was a goalie showcase. Bryzzie continued to prove he belongs in the goalie elite with a googah of saves that he made look easy. (Kipper and his flair for dramatics made the headlines despite the loss) We traded great chances until Tater Py decided to pull a Pru! belly slider. (Thats a whoole lotta boy sliding across the ice!) Pyatt sealed the deal with his grounder, all we had to do was hold on tight against the onslaught in the last 3 minutes. It got extremely hairy but we were careful and disciplined (we only had 3 penalties all game!)

W! 2 – 1 is a beautiful score and just reinforces Tippett’s philosophy of defense first, discipline second and it only takes 1 more than you let the opponent snag to win a game. Flame off, Yotes take 6th in conference and 11th in league.

TheNHLArena - I gather one of our sister sites, the NHLArena is running a poll about blogs around the league. Each team has a selection of blogs to vote on and give your opinion on why you read them. I would love to hear from you guys over there. Lots of styles and writers to choose from. Head over, you might find a blog you haven’t read yet. Be sure to vote and maybe leave a lil message? Your opinions can only help us all get better at givin you what you want to read about.

To rebrand or not to rebrand zyllyx wants your opinions – So should the new ownership completely revamp/rebrand the Coyotes? IDK I am torn. I know I am in the minority when I say dump the white out. Let it fade into history with the rest of the Jets stuff. Sure we need to remember and honor where we came from but after more than 10 years in the desert, its time to adopt some of our own traditions. The Sandstorm shouldn’t just be a friggin ticket promotion, it should be a unique and embraced rally cry for the fanbase in the desert. You can’t have one anywhere else now can you?

So I guess in keeping with that theme, it would not be a horrible leap to rebrand the sweaters and logo too. Maybe not as radical as our crazy coyote from the first years but certainly something never seen before in the NHL.  (thats just how we roll in the desert) A traditional feel for the rest of the world on our away sweaters and the torqued up version for the home crowd would be awesome. Now before you bite my head off, I know we are barely getting our fanbase back together and just got the cool black 3rd jersey (its NOT a ferret or a fox dammit! the lil fella kinda grew on me after I got him) but think not about milkin our sparse fanbase for more ducats, but about giving all of Arizona a chance to be part of the NEW, the IMPROVED and the WINNING! Coyotes starting in 2010 (if we manage to get to the playoffs, this would be a very astute and logical move) And if we really get the 2011 ASG weekend, what a sweet merchandising opportunity to help get the new ownership off to a rousing start?

OMG! There was a whoole lotta history on the ice last night. From Roy to Dryden, From Lafleur to Maholvich to Savard. A lot of greatness graced the arena for Montreal’s 100th birthday. 2 hours of rememberances and hornoring before the game.

And as usual the game that followed (MTL vs BOS) was a monster for the Habs. They beat BOS so bad, even Cammalleri’s Mom wanted him to stop the madness. Dmo? dude! what the hell has happened to your game? I love you but you gotta stop this insanity and get back to the old you.

Tonight, we win/you win! We play the ever pesky and pissy Senators. It will be awesome to get another gander at some Michalek VS Michalek action. (Mimi has been a a tear since he was traded to the Sens, lets hope his big bro can slow his roll tonight) this is the first game Z and Mimi will meet since Meems was traded from SJ.

The Sens sit in 7th in the East and 17th in the league. With only  30 pnts and an 81 GAA they look ripe for the pickin. Don’t get complacent or overlook these boys. They are dangerous. 8 players in the double digits scoring wise, they’ve got some key injuries and we all know that just makes them more dangerous and desperate. They’ve lost a lot of away games (0-5-1) this season but they have owned us since 2002. Its time to put that lil stat to rest.

Keys to the game?

Contain the top echelon. Alfredsson, Michalek and the suddenly hot Fisher. These boys are not lettin their lack of goal tending stop them, seems like they are trying to win on sheer firepower.

Make the Sens make mistakes… AND capitalize on them. The Sens are struggling to turn this road trip around, they are emotional and tend to get pissy. We need to find every button they have and not just push ‘em, jump up and down on them. The more emotional they get the more chances we could have for some PP magic.

Give the rookie tenders a terrible welcome – we tend to give rookie goalies a very warm and fuzzy reception. NOT TONIGHT! Shell that sucker hard all night. It doesn’t matter if its Elliott or Baby Brodeur, give them as much rubber as we can possibly lift, something has got to go in, maybe a whole lot of somethings?

Its time to pull out all the stops and get a 4th W under our belts for what could officially be called a streak. Its the perfect night to show the home town crowd a good time and just maybe they’ll actually use those ‘you win’ tickets to come back and see us.

Coyotes Ambassadors - Thats right… we are all ambassadors for the sport and for our team. The Yotes have decided to reward us for it. Its a whole lotta info so I won’t redo the whole maketing campaign unveil (its been done so well by RR from Coyotes rising). Read the full deal HERE.

Random thoughts and linkage…

Keith Yandle? It is hard to recognize that the boy rockin the #3 has become a man but its unbelievably easy to give him props. He has been a light in the window this season when the big boys went down to injury. I have given the kid enuff shite over the last few seasons to fill a book, I’m glad AJ wrote this so now I dont feel obligated to reinvent the wheel. It used to be Yandle the candle because he was gettin burned at both ends… now its Yandle the candle for shining so brightly and keeping us goin in the dark hours of injury. You keep rollin gangstah Yands! Yes Diva, your boy is rollin dirtay, please contain yourself, I am still not going to become a total Fandle (fan of Yandle) just yet.

Uppy and Lombo will be out for visiting on December 8th. Polar Ice in Chandler. Go say hi

Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly. After an awesome October (which saw his first child into the world) apparently my boy child forgot about the concept of braking to avoid an accident. Swerving is sooo NOT his forte. When you hit the road this holiday season please err on the side of safety my friends. Getting there late is better than not getting there at all. The boy walked away from this one thank God. (His guardian angel is probably up for an award for biggest save of 2009)

Hopefully I will see all of you out tonight. Its gonna be a crazy one. For those that absolutely can’t make it, the game will be on Center Ice and the radio. But c’mon! its we win you win night! Get out there!

As always… Go Coyotes!

Sorry for the gaps but it has been a hell of a week. Got the new job (thanks to all my hockey family who really, really supported me through my unemployed period of hell). 14 hour days are a biyatch but at least I’m workin eh?

So the Coyotes are officially doing their Blues Brothers imitation? They are on a mission and have no intentions of being stopped. People can laugh all they want but I am getting the feeling that the boys intend to be battling for the cup… not just a spot at the table.

With Tippett and company not accepting any excuses, Coyotes players are digging down deep and finding ways to win, not finding excuses for their losses. The team is manning up in a big way. The 2 losses have been fair and square (although the home opener really pissed me off *no excuse for you either Tip! those lines sucked, if you have a group playing like these boys were on the road, don’t frack with it* )

This season’s wins over the Sharks, Pens and Bruins can’t be simply chalked up as the boys getting up for big opponents. The kids are being prepared the right way for every game. I’ve got a feeling that Steve Peters and crew are in film heaven, as all the coach’s demand training film for every training session (and its actually being used). This team exudes quiet confidence and a certain joie de vive that has not been seen in recent memory.

The staff are calmly directing traffic, correcting errors rather than punishing mistakes. The goalies have a coach with a plan that fits them as individuals ( AZBarbie had the game of his life and Breezy has regained his pre-Coyotes form). Its early days yet but all indications are that Arizona has a hockey team. A REAL HONEST TO GOD hockey team! Go Yotes!

So today’s Paw Prints is a recap of sorts, bear with me as I catch up.

Leaving Pen’s station with the W – whodathunkit? Malkin invisible, Crosby invisible, the Yotes VS the 08 cup champs and coming out on the fun end of a spanking? Un-fricking believable. Way to start shutting up the haterz boys!

Cut to the bone, those backstabbing Sabres stuck it to us. But thats ok, the Pens game made the pain a little easier to take.

Home opener – Columbus! You Party Poopers – the welcome back white out was a huge, fun success…except for the L at the end. Tailgating with the Coyotes Coalition all day and joining the other nutcases for an arena filled with noise and anticipation was awesome. We did lose but damn if it wasn’t the most fun I have ever had enduring a loss. There were soo many retro jerseys and new-to-me faces in the crowd that I completely have faith in a resurgence of hockey fans in the desert. Seriously, a few more wins, a few more above-the-fold positive stories in the Pube and the Coyotes tickets just might become the hot-to-have item in Arizona. *thank god I will now be able to fund mine instead of relying on the kindness of my friends* (thnx Teal/Missconduct and Don) to reamain part of the pack.

On the road again – Sharks 10/12/09. Wow! Just frickin WOW! Nabby VS Breezy, what is the world coming to when Breezy is hangin tough with one of the premiere goalies in the NHL? Another dbl shut out (remember Breezy VS Turco last season?) The feisty Russian is struttin his stuff. With the help of his trusty blueline, Bryz is smothering teams with his pillow imitation (pucks come in but they don’t get out). A 1 – zip shoot out win over the Pacific division’s perrennial champs is a huge statement about the defensive changes ala Tippett. Gotta love this hot start business.

Givin the Blues…the blues – former Coyotes player Tkachuk and co were no match for a Coyotes team on a mission. This was an especially sweet win after last year’s disappointing series (a sweep no less!). This was a monkey off our backs for sure and a great jumping off point to go into the Bruins game. (Good things happen when you crash the net eh Jovo?)I didn’t get to hear the Blues feed, so I missed the Panger’s take, I’m sure it was bitter sweet for him. I miss the little homer.

Boooos abounded as Bruins got taken behind the woodshed… and SPANKED! 4 – 1 final. It was great to see the trim an energetic DMO on the ice (still adore him no matter what uni he wears) and even better to join in on the booing of young Wheeler (I know he did what was best for himself but still feel betrayed so he’ll continue to get the bizzness everytime he hits Arizona ice). Poor Timmy Thomas, looked like he was groin tight all night. Slow lateral movement and stretching everytime there was any time out. We took it to one of the best of the East and it felt damn good.

Next up? 4 days off, lets hope the boys used the time wisely. Pickin up the practice pace on how to score. I don’t mind a 1 -0 W, but it would be nice to get a few more goals per game. (especially right now when the only thing critics can pick on for is low point production) And yes I remember, we only need one if we don’t let the other team score at all LOL With the PK and the EV strength game rollin tight, I’m assuming Tippett and Co will continue to hone those skills but put some extra bite into the PP and Pack scoring (less pretty passing and more sniping).

Power rankings are fun to read when you are one of the top dogs. Even ESPN can’t avoid giving us props.

Redwings arrive tomorrow! Hopefully without the unlucky-for-us #13 on the playing roster. Datsyuk is always a menace we could do without, but didn’t he do this to us last year? Hang out on the DTD list til they came to Phoenix? It will be interesting to see Holmstrom and Aucoin have some serious discussion about Holmie’s butt in Bryzzie’s face. Maybe Ozzie’s struggles in the net will be just what the scoring committe needs to get crackin on those GF stats. Looking forward to this game more than almost any other. Time to build on our Wing singe-ing techniques from last season.

It is howling time in the desert. The boys are doing their part… step up Coyotes fans, old and new. Its GAME ON ARIZONA! They are playin for you.

Great Pics from BTinAZ!

Blues

Jackets

Tailgate

As always… GO COYOTES!

Dammit, I want to scream and yell that the refs sucked and that this game should have yielded a point for us at least. But alas, the referees will always be sketchy at best and that would belittle the heroic efforts of a pretty damn good Buffalo team. We mostly lost due to our inability to stay out of penalty trouble. 2 – 1 Sabres

Story of the night was Jason ‘AZBarbie’ Labarbra. The guy was on freakin fire all night long. One game does not silence all my concerns but if he continues to play like this all season, he will have my respect and my undying love for the rest of his career. The kid was a beast! The Sabres threw crap at AZBarbie that I didn’t know was legal on the ice. He faced brutal flurries (39 shots total), screens and assorted sorties that would have screwed many top notch goalies. He had lots of help but the PK opportunities finally took their toll on his defensemen and even the best goalie can only stop so much. Great job Jason, you gave the boys a real shot at the win.

We played hard, we were fast and agile and the spirits were willing but the bodies couldn’t hold out. After losing 1/2 the Czech Federation (Prucha and Hanzal) for most of the game, life got ugly for the boys. Prucha was taken out by a ‘questionable’ dirty hit from Kaleta and could not return to the game. (I hope the NHL reviews and kicks Kaleta’s ass to the suspension curb, this hit is only questionable if you are a moron)

Hanzal immediately came to the defense of Pruu! and was assessed 19 minutes worth of penalties. 19 minutes! My god, we’ve seen guys do 10 times worse and not recieve those kinds of minutes. It was ridiculous. We could ill afford to lose such vital components to our system but to give the boys their due, they soldiered on and held the Sabres at bay until the final minutes of the game. It is a credit to the roster and to Tip’s system that no one missing part could cause a meltdown.

After taking on the Pens in their barn and shutting them down the night before, I really expected the boys to be slower and maybe not as feisty in the 2nd game of a traveling back-to-back. I was wrong, the boys came out flying and more than held their own against, the well rested and not too shabby in the speed department, Buffalo team. Lindy Ruff called it a track meet and said his boys were ready for a foot race. He was right. The wiley Sabres were ready and willing and didn’t overlook the Coyotes in any way. Credit to Ruff for being a very savvy coach, he wasn’t trying to ’save Miller for an important team’ he played all his best available because he saw something dangerous in the new Coyotes.

Tippett was understandably disappointed in our performance for the night. The boys fell back into old habits for a bit, with a few vital minutes of dump and chase (battles to get to the pucks which we lost). He pointed out that being tired was not an acceptable excuse, they need to do their jobs regardless. This kind of demand for accountability is exactly what the boys need to become all they can be.

We come home to the white out welcoming committee ( a sold out Jobing.com Arena) with 4 of 6 possible points. (More than many expected considering that we played 2 of the NHLs top competitors on this road trip) Its still a great start, its still been a fine look at what the boys can accomplish with hard work, good direction and determination.

If you haven’t been to a hockey game, didn’t know that Arizona was lucky enough to have professional hockey or just need something to do on Saturday night that will be fun and exciting, be sure to grab a ticket. The 2009 Phoenix Coyotes are hosting phenomenal seats at $15 dollars ( they are sold out but there are standing room only tickets) and there isn’t a bad seat in the Jobing.com Arena. The Phoenix Coyotes will PLAY FOR YOU!

The City of Glendale is hosting White Out Week in honor of the new season start. Be sure to check out Glendale’s schedule of happenings! Glendale Got Game, do you?

As announced by Dave Strader during the game, The Coyotes Coalition (a group of passionate and dedicated hockey fans) also invites you to come out to the pre-game tailgate party (Oct 10th from 1pm to 4pm, in parking lot J) for some hockey talk, some social networking, some fun and friendship. Everyone is welcome to celebrate the home opener with us. So grab your tickets, white outfits, your lawn chair, your grill and come out with us to help the Coyotes howl Glendale down in their season opening White Out appearance.

Hope to see you there.

As always… Go Coyotes!

Well its only 2 games into the season and the Coyotes are 2-0-0. Should I have made that font bigger? You read it right… 2 wins, no ties or losses. Yes those Coyotes. The ones mired in uncertainty, knocked for a loop by BK court and lacking any big name guys. You remember the team everyone loved to see come to their barn for the easy 2 points?

We headed into Pitt riding on a 6 – 3 win over fellow bottom feeder LAK. If you hadn’t watched the game, you might have just figured it was our normal trodding over them just to stay off the bottom of the cellar floor. (we’ve traded wins like that sometimes in the past) That win was more than that. It was the debut of the new and seriously improved system of the Desert Dawgs. That win was the warning shot over the forward bow of the 2009 season. (funny how nobody understood that we only intend to give 1 warning) We displayed attack sense, total committment to owning all 3 zones and a fearless pack mentality to keep pushing, tearing , biting right to the last buzzer. The LAK folks and the world at large dismissed this win, Doughty had a bad game, Quick hadn’t hit his stride. (funny how we’d hear these same sentiments but w/ different names attached, a few nights later)

You might have good cause to ignore the LAK win but how the hell do you dismiss shutting out the defending Stanley Cup champions? Oh wait for it…. the backup goalie wasn’t good enough (bullshit! that kid robbed Doaner from point blank range) Syd was off, Geno was off and of course, my favorite, they are struggling with cup hangover. Everyone can say what they want but good old fashioned hard work won this game. The Yotes didn’t LET the Pens catch their stride, didn’t LET these guys get focused, didn’t LET those boys take over the game. They were’nt given a damn thing. They flat out TOOK it.

Can no one give us props for what we’ve done? I’m not asking for a wholesale conversion here. But these guys have overcome one of the most bitter, degrading, contentuous off seasons ever seen in the NHL. Ridiculed and dismissed for a decade, laughingstock franchise that no one wanted to own, coaching/training deficiencies out the wahzoo and they haven’t give up. These guys take whatever comes their way and continue to give their all. They deserve better from the NHL family and the media.

Tippett’s system works. Burke’s training works. Maloney’s vision works. The proof is in the pudding and let me tell you its turning into quite the tasty dish. Just watching Hanzal shutting down the Kid and Geno…didn’t seem to matter which one was on the ice last night, they were both pretty ineffective. Bryzgalov defending his 9th shutout with authority. Sami ‘the pistol’ Lepisto stepping into the big skates of the injured Kurt Sauer seemingly seamlessly. Fiddler in the face off circles at 63%. Prucha on his back, nay! on a Penguin back, catching a rebound and putting it in the net. Jovocop, putting Malkin on the ice AND putting our PP front and center with his first of many beautiful goals. Vrby/Hanzal letting the world know all about the new Czech federation with one of the sweetest empty netters I’ve seen in a long time.

Every member of this pack is playing the system to the best of their ability. They’ve bought in, they’ve committed and they’re ready to take on all comers. I know its early, but for those of us who have followed this team through thin and thinner, who have given their hearts, souls and hard earned dollars to this team, it feels like we are finally reaping the rewards with a team that believes in themselves as much as we do. An unselfish and dedicated group of guys who are playing for us as much as themselves.

The new Phoenix Coyotes have made a committment to each other and to their fans. That is not a chip on their shoulder, thats the boulder of determination, to prove to the world that they are professionals, good, hardworking professionals, dedicated to the pursuit of the greatest trophy in the world. There will be ups and downs, there will be skids and slumps but it feels like hope around the Valley of the Sun, certainly for the first time since the move to Glendale, it feels like winning.

Tonight we take on Buffalo, a team that has been in our shoes not too long ago. These guys should remember their own mindset and beware the Pack. Lindy Ruff is nobody’s fool, he’ll be ready. Do they have the speed to keep up with the big Dawgs once they get rolling? Can Miller stop the Czech Federation? Can anybody stand up to Jovocop patrolling the blueline with big guns blazing? How many pucks will not make it past that shot blocking monster named Z? Can AZBarbie step up to the plate and get the critics off his back too? Guess we’ll all have to be glued to the TV or the radio (xtra 910 is our audio feed w/ the beloved Heeter calling the games solo) or even online to find out.

Wanna talk about it live? Try HFBoards or TheNHLArena or Five4Howling. The Twitterverse will be buzzing all game long with theYotesDiva , Mark, HKYFN and myself. Can we come home 3-0-0? We’ve already gotten 4 of 4 possible points, lets hope we can steal another 2 from BUF.

We have 4 new places buzzing about Coyotes hockey… Bob, Larry , Mark and Hendrickshockey.com will soon have some good Yotes content as well… stroll by, give them some love please.

As always…Go Coyotes!

Happy Playoff Hockey!!.. SOMEONE had to step up and do it since HTH felt the need to make me give a shit. We all know how much I hate to do it since my precious boys are off participating in the Worlds or chillaxillatin for the summer. I guess it’ll be me doin the quicky look at round II and a couple of player(s) to watch for and hopefully a reason to tune in, watch and maybe discuss on the forum. So let’s start off with the Eastern Circus…

(1) Boston Bruins v. (6) Carolina Hurricanes  Bruins lead the series 1 – 0

The Canes knocked off the nearly invinsible Marty Brodeur and the red hot Zach Parise led Devils by the skin of their teeth. Taking on the insatiable Boston Bruins will hold a very scary challenge. Timmy Thomas (dontcha just wanna say little Timmy Thomas for some reason?) and the B’s seemingly can do no wrong (sweeping the Canadiens and ruining their 100th anniversary). In their first meeting, Boston has established a psychological advantage over Carolina with a big win. (4 – 1) but we all know why Carolina fans call their team the Cardiac Canes. Don’t count out Cam Ward and his determined band of miscreants, they always seem to find a way out of every hole they dig themselves into. Having the Canes in a game almost always means a crazy roller coaster. Game 2 will be in Boston on Sunday 5/3 at 7:30pm on Versus.

Player(s) to watch: David Krejci (B’s) – he’s been quietly doin some serious scoring and  is 3Gs, 3As in 5 games so far in the post season to go with his 73 regular season points. Combine those numbers with a sweet post season +/- plus 8 and you’ve got a guy to watch for sure. (not to slight the red hot Ryder or Savard in any way) On the Cane’s side as always it comes down to whether or not Cam Ward can work his magic. The Bs have so much fire power, Cam is going to be one busy boy. Stahl had better step it up a notch or 3.

Definitely worth watching, although I can’t stand the B’s (still have a little Wheeler induced nausea), they are very very good and very very disciplined and will make life miserable for the erratic Canes all through the series.

(2) Washington Capitals v. (4) Pittsburgh Penguins

I’ll be rockin the Red when these 2 division rivals meet for round II or should I just go ahead and call it WWV? Or how about the Cold War – Part Deux? Anyway you slice it, its gonna be a media circus (hell, it already is) Ovie VS Sydney is causing Betty to salivate all day and into the wee hours of the night. The regular season has ramped this series into the stratosphere and when these two play in Washington on Saturday, the pundits will be squirming in their analyst chairs no matter who beats who. (hell they already are. NHL on the Fly has been beside itself and had a lil series of questions for the Kid and Ovie…including some really dumb ones) Poor Syd and poor Ovie, lots of people tryin to make this into a Thrilla in Manila. But there is more to both teams than Ovie and the Kid.

Player(s) to watch: Alexander Ovechkin (Caps) – is he really hurt or is he playin possum? Or is the injury all in the mind of a certain reporter from the Post? Whether he’s hurt or not, he’s still not going to be the deciding factor in the series, again…this time it will probably come down to another Russian, that lanky youngster in the net. Simyon Varlamov has the Capital buzzin. Cool as a cucumber, seemingly unflappable and holding a mind boggling .952 sv % and a stunning 1.17 GAA, if the Iron Curtain continues to hold, the Pens could be in deep borscht. For the Pens all eyes will be on the Kid and Geno but it may just come down to Fleury keepin up with Varlamov.

As HTH would say, both teams can score. Between two time Rocket Richard trophy winner Ovechkin and the top goal scoring defenseman in Mike Green (now that Greenie appears to be back on track) add another Hart candidate in the hulking Evgeny Malkin and the human highlight reel stylings of Crosby and every game should be a barn burner. (but can they play some serious defense too… the answer to that question may just be the tie breaker)

Now on to the West Coast Royal Rumble

(2) Detroit Red Wings v. (8) Anaheim Ducks  Detroit leads the series  1-0

True to form the Ducks came out viciously dirty. ( No I don’t like them or their style but hey, its hockey and not supposed to be prim nor prissy) They took their edge and  “flexible” rule book to the next level as expected. Brownie knocked Hudler into next week with a shot to the head and will probably get a suspension for it. (lots of disagreement on whether it was dirty or if Hudie shoulda had his head up) whatever you think it was, it sure got the Ded into the highest levels of pisstivity that I’ve ever seen. Who woulda thunk that Ericksson could fight?

As HT said, the former Stanley Cup champions will certainly do “whatever it takes to get their cup back”, literally! No matter who they have to run over or run through. But the Wings are pretty damned determined to keep it for themselves.  (Go Liddy!) Its gonna get nastier so stay tuned.

Player(s) to watch: Jonas Hiller (Ducks) Can the kid hang on in the face of one of the best offensive juggernauts in the league? Can he live with Holmstrom’s butt in his face all the damn time? Chris Osgood (Wings) -Ozzy was on and poppin. Despite the Ducks attempts to put him through his own posts, the cagey vet hung in there and seems prepared to give as good as he gets. Combine that with the Datsyuk/Zetterberg/Franzen onslaught VS the Getzlaf/Perry/Ryan combo and it should make for one hell storm of a  series. Game 2 in Detroit on Sunday at 2pm.

(3) Vancouver Canucks v. (4) Chicago Blackhawks Vancouver leads the series  1-0

Defensive shutdown artistes VS high flyin creative offensively minded youngsters. The Nucks have been finding ways to score but they are bettter at getting a lead and then shutting down the opposition. The Hawks have had their defensive struggles, but usually can score their way out of trouble. Facing one of the best goalies in recent memory is going to prove troublesome for them.

Players to watch: Roberto Luongo (VAN) Nicolai Khabibulin(CHI) – just like the other goaltending battles, this one may come down to which goalie has the best set of nights and the edge goes to Louie. But other players are definitely making their presence known. Chicago’s Captain better get into battle mode because Kaner and Versteeg probably can’t keep up their current pace alone.

I agree with HT that Louie is just too good in the playoffs…  and could be the biggest factor in halting the Hawks march to a finals appearance. Chicago is young but rapidly proving themselves worthy after knocking off Calgary.  Can the Bulin Wall keep playing above himself and get his team back on track? Game 2 in Vancouver on Saturday.

Another toss up series that will really depend on the goaltending (Chicago), or lack thereof, that each team receives. While HTH seems to have forgiven and forgotten the bitter season against the Hawks, I certainly haven’t, and will be rooting for the Nucks.
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Be sure to tune into the playoffs and watch some exciting hockey!! Don’t forget to stop by and vote in the polls and chit chat on the forum.… Enjoy!

Shout out… 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

It is truly unbelievable how attached we fans get to our favorite players. It is really hard to remember the team and its components are a business, not our personal entertainment toy. March 4th held few surprises for the Coyotes fan base. We’ve pretty much known Derek Morris was going to be traded since last summer (even before the financial picture hit the toilet). Mikael Tellqvist was another no brainer, we’re done for the season and there is nothing gained in holding onto assets that won’t be resigned. The Olli Jokinen move was no surprise either, the fit just wasn’t right and it showed on both sides. So the biggest bummer for most fans was the Carcillo trade. Boy are there some butt hurt fans out there… on both sides. So I thought I’d say a few things about each trade (easy for me to do because my favorite is still in the desert ) so I can be a bit more objective about the deals.

The Coyotes – Sabres Trade

We got a 4th round pick in 2011 for Mikael Tellqvist, the only surprise there is that GMDM was able to get a return for him at all in this ugly goalie market (the Bryzgalov and Legace moves are proof of how ugly it is out there for trading goalies). We adored our Swedish Wolf. There wasn’t a better team guy out there that we can think of that endured with grace the way Telly did. The 32 yr old back up was always ready and managed to hold us together when our main tender blew a head gasket. He stole games, rallied the troops, ranked the shooters for shootouts. But trust me when I tell you that there is no way Telly wanted to sit behind Breezy for 10- 15 games at a time for even another year. He was a good guy not a saint. He still has aspirations for his career that might even include being in a half way decent tandem. It might not happen in Buffalo but at least he’ll get a chance to showcase himself and maybe get picked up by a team that understands the value of a tandem.

The 4th round pick is waaay out there so it really doesn’t spin my propeller right now but who knows what it can be parlayed into in the hands of a master GM like Don Maloney and hey! it IS better than nothing. WIN – WIN

The Coyotes Flames Trade

We got Mathew Lombardi, Brandon Prust and a conditional first in return for Olli.

Olli Jokinen won’t be missed by anybody it seems like. I have not seen one Phoenix fan post that holds any kind of sorrow that he’s gone, the 3rd round pick was apparently a small price to pay for the gift of his absence. In the eyes of the fan base, Joker cost too much (there are a great number of fans out there still mourning the loss of Ballard and Boynton) and returned absolutely nothing. The PPG player disappeared (you can’t tell me it was lack of talent surrounding him cuz he really didn’t have jack to work with in FLA either) from my perspective it was a bad case of having his give-a-damn busted.He didn’t want to be here and it showed on the ice (lack of ability to develop a rapport with 13 other forwards) and off the ice as well (check the fan pics and tales of Olli encounters for his disinterest…talking on his cell phone, not smiling during pics and generally being non verbal face to face). I hate the locker room cancer rumors but when the coach feels obliged to address the issue in an interview, you gotta figure there were some flames under all that particular smoke. But maybe its a good lesson for the Phoenix club. Stop looking for a savior and start saving yourselves… as a team. Olli is now 1 happy camper. He is finally getting his shot at the big shiny silver cup. Maybe his game will get back on track and he actually helps an already strong Calgary team by being a piece of the solution not the pendulum that their success swings from. Calgary is happy because now Iggy doesn’t have to be the focus point of every top line in the league, not many teams have the ability nor the man power to deal with Iginla AND a happy Jokinen.

Lombardi and the first woulda been a decent return. Lombo played w/ Doan in the undefeated gold medal World Cup run. They already had proven chemistry and some history. The building blocks of saving ourselves could start right there. Lombardi is a decent face off man (something we’ve been lacking since No Panic Yanic and Ziggy broke camp). Lombo ( I refuse to call him Lamby-kins no matter how cute he may be dammitt, you know who I’m talking to!) also has an edge to him, some speed to him and even more importantly to this team, a natural tendency to drive the net and give that all important 2nd and 3rd effort in front. Will Lombardi be the total answer? Well no, but damn if he won’t help add some pieces to our particular puzzle. Matt accelerates our growth as a team by being a desperately needed ‘bridge’ player. These are players whose experience falls somewhere between the vets and the rookies that can explain and understand the kids without frustration (its not soo long ago that they walked in their skates) and hold their own w/ out intimidation w/ the vets.If all that wasn’t enough… add secondary scoring to the mix and total up how good a deal Lombo could end up being for us.

Brandon Prust might have been a throwing at first but in reality the lil energy feisty guy allowed GMDM to trade Carcillo to the Flyers. While Prust will never be the all out gutsy rock jaw brawler that Danny was, the kid has some grit to his game and can agitate where needed and be reined in w/out major heartburn. He’s no first line scoring machine either but he may add a little secondary scoring and even more importantly, not be a hindrance w/ any line he’s put on.

The first round pick is conditional but you can pretty much bet it’ll be 2009’s since that one will definitely be a late rounder with the Flames pretty much a shoo-in for a playoff berth. It will still give GMDM some maneuverability for maybe trading up or picking up another ‘experienced’ piece to our roster puzzle.

On the surface, it seems like we traded first line scoring demon for a few secondary guys and a possibility but thats not the real picture in this case because Olli wasn’t anywhere near that for us anyway. We did good, Lombardi and Prust will get plenty of TOI and be able to develop their leadership skills as well as bond with a group that is on the rise and Olli can see what the post season feels like under a microscope. No I can’t bring myself to wish Olli well, even though I am happy with what we got for him, the stench of what we lost is lingering in my nostrils and prompts me to think … ‘C ya, you lil bald biyatch, enjoy your first round ending when you jump over a puck in game 7′ (oops sorry just a lil bitter here). WIN – WIN

The Coyotes Rangers Trade

Derek Morris was looking for a cup b4 he expired umm retired. He hoped the Yotes would finally get their shit together so he could stick around. They did start down the right road and DMo was willing to stick around for the rise of the Phoenix. But unfortunately the economy started to tank and wrecked the blossoming negotiations. We went into the toilet as a team and financially and DMo’s dream contract went down in a swirl of fetid offers from the front office (with no ownership in place and the NHL scrutinizing every syllable, it just wasn’t gonna get done). GMDM offered a short term w/ a lil raise, but come on! Does anyone think Derek is an idiot? Last year, puck moving, offensive defense men were going for premium wages and time. Why in the world would a very good blue liner w/ experience and skill not hold out for the contract of his lifetime? Sooo talks broke down (hopefully as amicably as reported) and teams lined up for their shot (pending the trade of Jay Bouwmeester, the big fish of the deadline, which never materialized). It went down to the wire but Sather blinked first and GMDM got the assets he was craving and DMo got a new home. A home where he gets to chase the shiny silver trophy of his dreams AND showcase himself for his big payday.

Petr Prucha had a powerful advocate in GMDM when he was a rookie, he pulled down an incredible 30 goals, then poof we stole the Don and pulled the rug out from under Petr Puck. Now I don’t know why NYR wasn’t happy with Pruuu!’s sophomore 20 goals but apparently he fell so far out of favor that the press box was redecorated in Czech designs and a chair w/ his name on it. But even with all the mistreatment Pruuu! kept his head up and kept developing and played hard. GMDM saw his efforts and decided to grab him for one of our bridge players (who better to teach the rooks the meaning of hard work and effort, to show them that people notice and rewards can come their way?) So the tiny Czech w/ the cojones to get back up after every hit and make the transgressor pay on the scoreboard, gets out of the doghouse and into 15+ mins TOI, its not Broadway but here in the desert he can make a difference. And truly, thats what every heart n soul guys wants to do.

Nigel Dawes will be helping Pruuu! eat up Olli’s minutes. Another mini terrier with a nose for the net and a sweet radar that enables him to pass or shoot well. He wasn’t on anybody’s shit list that I could tell but he wasn’t exactly thriving either. What is great about Nigel is that he is another guy who has never met an opponent’s crease that he didn’t wanna crash. When all is said and done, I think he pushes some bubble players out of the nest and makes himself a spot alongside Prucha and in more than a few fans hearts.

Dmitri Kalinin is the wild card in this deal. We did need some kind of defense in return for DMo. Rolling w/ 6 defense men is just not acceptable (especially w/ Z and Sauer, who seem to think they are impervious to injury and like to step in front of shots from the Sourays and Charas of the league) . Especially for a team that is nursing young Yandle along and repeatedly icing David Hale even though he isn’t quite ready for prime time either. This is Tree’s big chance to earn a contract. As a UFA blue liner who wasn’t putting up big numbers in any aspect of the position, Kalinin is going to have to impress somebody in order to stay in the NHL. But for now, he’ll do, to hold the fort on a season that is basically done anyway.

NYR got their big minute blue liner who can QB a PP, has a huge shot and if paired correctly, can shut down the big names. GMDM got another pair of  bridge players we so desperately needed, guys with work ethic, speed and net presence who can show the kids how to be NHLers. All 3 transplants WIN, DMo WINS and both teams get what they need to get by. WIN – WIN

The Coyotes – Flyers Trade

We got Scotty Upshall and a 2nd rounder for Daniel Carcillo

Danny Carcillo was not going anywhere in Phoenix. He is a GREAT energy guy who last season showed flashes of brilliant offense (including a hattie). TGO thought he could harness the Wild Child into a regular scoring forward who could chip in secondary scoring and provide grit and protection. Carci is a tough lil brawler who plays better when he’s chippy and pissy. The staff had a choke collar on him that was choking the very creativity and energy out of him that provided his spark and got him into the NHL in the first place. Anything or anybody choked down too much will explode and Wild Thang was no exception and did explode to the detriment of the team occasionally. He was learning and trying pretty hard but he was losing his identity and he needed a different atmosphere in the worst way. Daniel Carcillo will be a better Flyer, they play with an edge that suits him, he’ll get to be what he’s supposed to be, a third liner with the ability to hold his own on a second line in a pinch. He’s going to provide the occasional goal but more importantly he’ll make space and make things happen so that other ‘more offensively gifted’ players can do their job w/ out worrying about anything but the goal and without being run.

Scotty Upshall wasn’t getting as much TOI, not like he’ll be getting in Phoenix. He’ll thrive and not just be an energy guy for at least 2 years if he decides to stick around. Even if he’s relegated to the 3rd line when the rookies mature and become better offensive forces, one of the main things Phoenix lacks is secondary scoring and net presence. Uppy seems to naturally provide those things (right place, right time, right tools). The other thing that makes this trade fall a little more to Phoenix’s favor is the fact that we get another of those desperately needed ‘bridge’ players, one who can teach and who can stand up for them on the ice. Again, can’t replace Carcillo’s sheer toughness but a stand up kinda up to have on your side never the less. I had to ask some Flyer fans if the Mclaren debacle had anything to do w/ Uppy being moved (salary adjustments to accommodate Kyle’s potential addition to the roster was my thought) … apparently they have others who might cause them to need the wiggle room too.

I think each team got something good and all the players moved into better situations for themselves. Time will tell which team did the better job of picking what helped them. It doesn’t have to be about getting the better of each other, what really matters is did each team get something that made them better. Coyotes WIN, Danny WIN (Flyers? remains to be seen).

And that, is my 5 cents for what it’s worth.

As Always… GO COYOTES!