This will be a little different as far as Preseason reviews are concerned. I have invited several guests to voice their opinion on the state of the Coyotes for 2008. We may all have differing opinions on HOW we’re getting to the post season but we have 1 thing in common… we’re going there!TheBadOne from thefanster.com forum, OdinMercer from the soon-to-arrive ‘Howlin from the Cheap Seats’ blog on SBNation, our beloved HatTrickHound and of course me, Onyx aka Z4dfense. We’re going to cover the past, the journey, the evolution and the possible future that begins on Saturday with our first game of the 2008 season. Enjoy the ride.

TheBadOne says:

The Phoenix Coyotes are something of an enigma as far as hockey teams are considered. After moving to the desert from Winnipeg for the 1996-97 hockey season, the team managed to make the post-season only twice and went virtually ignored by the hockey community at large (save whenever someone discusses which franchises should move back to Canada or be contracted.) Yet the 2007-08 season saw a resurgence in the team and saw them take a few leapfrogs back to respectability. As the 2008-09 season rolls around, people are starting to take notice of the first relevant Coyotes team to take the ice in roughly 6 years.

So what happened? At the start of the previous season the team was composed largely of rookies, waiver-wire castoffs, and fringe players to complement their less than ample amount of proven veterans. However, an early Christmas gift in mid-November saw Anaheim Ducks goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov sent to the Coyotes via the waiver wire. His early success opened the door for other talent on the team to shine through. Rookies Peter Mueller, Martin Hanzal, and Dan Carcillo were being noticed in hockey circles outside of Phoenix, while veterans Shane Doan and Ed Jovanovski were having career seasons in spite of expectations to finish in the cellar of their conference. While the team wasn’t necessarily playoff ready, they understood that for the first time in a long time, they had the tools necessary to become a competitive team in the NHL.

As we enter the new season, expectations are on the rise for the Coyotes. There are some new faces joining the team this time around, while the ones that took off don’t seem to be missed as much as they would’ve a few seasons back. Nevertheless, for this team to succeed, everyone on the squad will have to compete with relentless intensity against their well-established rivals. The rise or fall of this squad will rest of the shoulders of a few. Yet if they can work as a cohesive unit, they may surprise themselves and the league around them:

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Now that all the activity is over… all we can do is wait. Speculate and wait. I love the questions being asked all around the boards. I stole and modified a few for this entry. 

Which free agent signing will have the biggest (positive) impact on the team in 2008?

Most folks are choosing Sauer (hell w/out him our blueline could be a disaster) but I’m thinking Fedoruk - oh yeah I’m goin w/ Feds. Playin on wing w/ KT and Bods. Feds is fast enough to keep up, can throw down w/ 2nd class knucklers (since the top stoppers will be after the Joker/Doan/Mueller line) Feds won’t be seein much of the high class heavies and can ride shotgun easily for the kids. Playin w/ those 2 pass and burn artistes, we may see Feds have career high point spread. All reports say he is one of the easy guys in the locker room too so chemistry shouldn’t be an issue (they haven’t developed mega egos and his has been smoothed down from his drop in status). Feds has too much riding on this chance from WG to blow it… revival time for his career.

Which 4 rookies do you see making the team and sticking in 2008?

I’m seeing KT, Boedker, Porter as the sure bets.
Boedker because he’s able to throw up points no matter what (73 points in 62 games last season), he can create his own offense and has already been playing the North American game for awhile… can he take the next step against men is the only question mark.
Turris because he’s smart and feisty and despite his weight/strength issues the kid can play frakin hockey. We need that vision and hockey sense anchoring the ‘new’ core of the team. I think this kid gives Mules a run for his money as a leader. Poised and personable and mature already. The chemistry I saw w/ Bods at camp assures me that he makes the team w/ no sweat regardless of his draft position.
Porter is my 3rd pick because this is the ‘mansized’ rookie. This kid is ready to rock. Older and wiser than most of the kids w/ his college career decisively finished (the Hobey is nuthin to sneeze at) he’s ready to take the next step. The kid bonds w/ linemates almost seamlessly. He doesn’t ‘need’ Kolarik but it would be nice if they came up together as our #3 scary pairing w/ Carcillo. No heat or pressure and plenty of speed and scoring touch.
Kolarik, Tikhonov and Maclean are a tie for my 4th pick. I’d love to see Chad come up w/ Kevin and continue to work together because they truly seem to have a telepathic link. I think Tiki (who has been playing against men in Russia has speed and a damn fine shot) is definitely in the running, he has played in NA most of his career so the rink size shouldn’t be an issue either. Tiki developed a pretty good rapport w/ Ports/Kollie at camp too so there is a lot of chemistry waiting to be a factor. Maclean is fast, dangerous and determined… his skating needs work. But so did Winnie’s and Mule’s. If he works hard on his skating over the summer he’s a for sure challenger for the 4th rookie spot.

Which rookie will have the biggest (positive) impact on the team in 2008?
This one could go a LOT of ways. KT could be the guy if they put him in the right spot. On a line with Boedker, he could really burn a lot of opponents… so could Bods. This line would matchup w/ the secondary on a lot of teams and have great success. I see Bods and KT vying neck and neck for the Calder if Feds can keep up his end of the line. So I have a tie for most impact rookie.

If Bryz or Ollie gets hurt, we can kiss the playoffs goodbye. (you can insert up to 2 players here)

Both Bryz and Ollie are the pivotal players on the team. We’ve managed to get close enough to sniff w/ the Donor at the helm but we know that we require more than his sheer determination to get to the show. Ollie is essentially going to have to get his own points and Vrbata’s too. If we lose his 80 points we’re hosed.

If Bryz for any reason doesn’t perform to a high level we’re also hosed. We might be able to provide enough offense this year that Breezy doesn’t ‘have’ to keep us in every game but he’ll still have to steal us a few, especially at the beginning of the season when everyone is healthy and fresh out the gates. Telly is good for 2 - 3 games at a time but isn’t a #1 goalie and losing Bryz for any length of time would be devastating unless Montoya can come up and be a monster. Bryz is going to be very busy while the blueline works out its kinks.

If Maloney makes a trade this summer, I can definetely see (insert players name) Rhino, Telly or a combo like Winnik, a pick and one of the SA kids being involved. (multiple players can be used)

Who will be our leading goal scorer in 2008?
The Donor. I think he has a career high w/ the Joker as his center.

Top scoring player goals+assists in 2008?
The Joker. I think he gets his goals but also racks up assists from having 2 world class wingmen for once.

Top +/- player in 2008?
Sauer or Z depending on which pairing they play.

Worse +/- in 2008?
Yandle/Jones/Jovo take your pick or throw Lisin in there to add some offensive flair.

Who grabs Toc’s old job?
With so many coaches floating around right now, this is hard to call. It was open season on coaches and that means their assistants are left in the cold too. Not sure.