What's Next for the Coyotes?

davetherave wrote:Some interesting UFA pickups for the Coyotes...LaBarbera is a solid #2 goalie; Aucoin is a strong d-man, Vandermeer is reliable; Fiddler, a good all-round forward.

So they have some depth going into the 09/10 season, to go with the young guys like Turris, Boedker, Tikhonov, Mueller, etc and now Ekman-Larsson.

The Yotes played some very good hockey before fading late in the season.

Hopefully they can deliver on that promise next year.

Due to the age, lack of experience and body maturity of their young players. They're probably still 1 year away from playoff contention, but what's good is that they will probably be able to re-sign all those young kids before any of them become big $ production and value wise.

COYOTES SIGN DEAL WITH LAS VEGAS AFFILIATE
USA TODAY/AP, August 11, 2009

The Phoenix Coyotes have signed a one-year affiliation agreement with the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL.

The Wranglers play their home games at the Orleans Arena. Las Vegas is one of 20 teams in the ECHL, and last year it finished second in the Pacific Division with a 34-31-8 record and advanced to the conference finals.

The San Antonio Rampage of the AHL is the Coyotes' other minor-league affiliate.

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This news may be used in evidence by, for example, Shabbs, to show the Coyotes are moving to Vegas.

shabbs wrote:

SeawaySensFan wrote:The bid(s) is(are) in.

One bid: Reinsdorf @ 120 to 148 million dollars, no-cash offer

one non-binding letter-of-intent: Ice Edge Holdings led by former canadian, Daryl Jones. Wants to play 5 of their home game in Saskatoon or Halifax to generate revenue to fund the teams ability to stay in the desert (sure)

Does this Ice Edge Holdings bid "hold" any water? Are they even for real?

This far into the process, how seriously could a bid such as this be taken? Anyone know?

shabbs wrote:

davetherave wrote:This news may be used in evidence by, for example, Shabbs, to show the Coyotes are moving to Vegas.

Oh brother...

Hey Shabbs...darned good Elvis impression by you...

The season's just started, but there's already talk that new coach Dave Tippett has transformed the Coyotes.

After their victory over the Kings, The Globe & Mail's top hockey writer, Eric Duhatschek, gave the Yotes a rave review. From his article:

“Since May 5, we haven't had any real control over what's been going on,” (Coyotes Captain Shane) Doan said before the Coyotes opened their season here on Saturday night. “Starting with tonight, we had some control again – to provide some positive energy and positive news, instead of always hearing the negative.”

The Coyotes were positively impressive in their 2009-10 debut, rolling to a 6-3 win over the hometown Kings, who left the ice to a chorus of boos, largely because of a dominating performance by a Phoenix team many thought were destined for the bottom of the NHL barrel.

Tellingly, coach Dave Tippett's pressure fore-checking system led directly to three goals by forcing turnovers from the Kings' young defenders. It won't always be this easy – the Coyotes move on to Pittsburgh to play the Stanley Cup champion Penguins Tuesday – but their overall level of organization was apparent right away.

For as popular as Gretzky was among the majority of players, there is a direct correlation between coaching and results – especially for a team with the Coyotes' budget limitations.

Tippett looks as though he'll be the perfect fit, an ultra-organized professional, the antithesis of Gretzky, who came to the job with no previous experience behind the bench. As a player, Tippett's 262 career points pale in comparison to Gretzky's 2,857, but Tippett has a far superior track record as a coach, averaging more than 45 wins in six seasons with the Dallas Stars. Gretzky, in contrast, never had more than 38 in his four years behind the Coyotes' bench.

Full text here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/tippett-pays-instant-dividends/article1311793/

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Is Tippett the answer for the Phoenix team, and more importantly, for the franchise? A successful product makes marketing hockey a more viable proposition...in the meantime, the Coyotes might become a 'wild card' in the West.

They've certainly shown signs over the last two seasons of becoming a more than respectable squad. Maybe Tippett is the 'tipping point'...?

Coyotes all the way

Hot on the heels of their 2-0 start under Dave Tippett, the Yotes have a new cheerleader who will be firing up the sellout crowd at Jobing.com arena...

shabbs wrote:Last night's game was called the Balsillie Bowl.

And at the home opener, they'll have a steamroller crushing a pile of BlackBerrys in the parking lot.