One Fan's Perspective

“We’ve got to find a way to close those games out … when you get a 5-1 lead, you should defend it well…[hem] them in, don’t give them a chance to come out. Don’t give them any life.”

Dave Tippett quoted in the Arizona Republic

No kidding.  The Coyotes came out strong as they do on most nights, and find a way to score the first goal.  When they do, their record is just spectacular, second in the league behind New Jersey with 22-2-2.

Four-of-a-kind perhaps.

The current home stand has shown us that certain players are about to wake up.  We have seen a brilliant breakaway goal scored by Peter Mueller against the best goaltender in the league Martin Brodeur, Shane Doan finding a way to score points thanks to an on-ice experiment putting Daniel Winnik and Vernon Fiddler on his line, and Ed Jovanovski opening up for a huge night at a plus-four after serving his time away from the ice due to suspension.

Good stuff all around, really.

The concern though that in this homestand, where they’re 2-1-1, and in the previous six games, Bryzgalov and company have allowed their opposition to score three or more goals per game.   While it’s true that the Coyotes have been lighting the lamp at a high level lately, they are beating themselves if they keep allowing this trend to continue.

Because we know they are a good hockey team, fifth in the conference with 61 points, finding ways to put distance between themselves and those below them, but if they don’t shore up the defense, life will certainly get more difficult.

[sarcasm] I’m also very truly sorry that the rest of the NHL’s fan base hasn’t really caught on to the fact the Coyotes are doing well right now.  It’s a different world for these fans to adjust to and I get it.

[/sarcasm]

Yes Glen, a team can be both dealing with financial issues and a good hockey team, I mean the North Stars are still in Minnesota right?  Oh wait…no…that team won, went to the Stanley Cup playoffs, had an idiot owner, and then the team relocated to Dallas.  Good job there recognizing history.

Yes Glen, keep reminding us what happened this summer.  I trust the guys will give us reasons to cheer and continue to have a good fall and winter.  Besides, how many points have the Wild earned against the Coyotes this season?   Wait for it…zero.  Okay then, have your snark, if that helps you.

Next up is what seems to be an annual visit by the Buffalo Sabres on Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.  Whether that’s true or not, it just seems like the Coyotes play these guys every year on that day.  However, it will be another difficult test against a very difficult Eastern Conference team who is second in their conference right behind the New Jersey Devils.  They also have an Olympian goaltender in Ryan Miller.

If the Coyotes play their game, play defense to help Bryzgalov out, and if they get the lead and never let go,

then the summer can continue to be a distant memory.

Other views around the media universe?  Take a look:

Coyotes Hold Off Wild in Third, from Arizona Republic

Bid for Second Fairy Tale End Halted by Big Bad Coyotes

Tiny Signs of Life, from Mike Chen’s Hockey Blog

Minnesota Wild and Phoenix Coyotes Game Recap, from Hockey Wilderness

Tags: Buffalo Sabres, Financials, Hockey, Hockey History, Minnesota North Stars, Minnesota Wild, NHL, Phoenix Coyotes, Relocation, Sports Industry by pbcoyotes
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“Hockey will be a great sport in Phoenix and Glendale, probably way beyond my years.”

Jeff Shumway, quoted in Arizona Republic

As I still think there is more to the story, Jeff Shumway reveals that even though the financial situation is not the greatest right now (due to the typical issues such as our overall economy), the Phoenix Coyotes aren’t leaving town as reported by other media outlets.

From my experience, we have people on one side saying that the franchise is doomed and should pull out right away, and the other side has the company line with continuing to preach the line that the financial issues will get better and that reports of the Coyotes’ demise is not the whole story.

I think the truth is somewhere in the middle.

Ever since I’ve been writing about the Phoenix Coyotes, there always has been this rift between those north of the border and those of us passionate fans here in the states.  Earlier it was Nashville, and now it’s Phoenix.  I understand the frustration that NHL tickets are difficult to come by in some markets where down here there are empty seats.  I probably would feel it too.

However, there seems to have been this effort, with this team, and with this franchise, to write everthing possible to dismantle it.  Though the story keeps popping up, year after year, and now it’s happening during the season when the Coyotes are pushing for the post-season and the future looks very bright.

What I plan to do though is to figure out what the published reports have been saying, opining, and describing about the Coyotes since they arrived here.  I’m an anolamy; I’m a transplant and root for the team in my backyard, so I don’t have a notion of long term history except what I have picked up here and there.

Just like Buffalo, Ottawa, and Nashville before it, the Coyotes have a financial struggle right now.  One way to stem the tide is for more people to go to hockey games.  If there is no discretionary income to do that though, it might prove difficult for awhile.  I do have a cautious optimism that the Coyotes will be here for as long as Mr. Shumway says.

But I have learned that anything can happen, even when I don’t want it to.

Tags: Hockey, NHL, Phoenix Coyotes, Relocation by pbcoyotes
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If you are a Phoenix Coyotes’ fan, I’ll leave you to read these articles from The Globe and Mail.

The first one is penned by Steven Brunt, calling the Bettman era an unequivocal failure. Next, from the same Globe and Mail, another article by Allan Maki detailing how the NHLPA boss Paul Kelly wants more franchises in Canada. The final article comes from the Canadian newspaper The Province calling for the NHL to begin a northward expansion and place franchises north of the border.

There are two similar themes to these articles. First, Canada should have more hockey teams. Second, according to Paul Kelly, NHLPA boss, one of them should come from the “failed” market of the southern expansion, which includes Phoenix, Arizona.

What is the first indicator of a declining market share? Usually, it’s attendance and the Coyotes have one of the lowest in the NHL right now.

What people fail to realize is that attendance figures for hockey clubs have always fluctuated with franchises that have not won. Take a look at this chart compiled by Andrew Dallas Stars page. What do you notice?

Sure that Phoenix has struggled to put fans in the seats, but what about the Vancouver Canucks? Their attendance has fluctuated where they were below the league average. Was there talk of relocation?

The Ottawa Senators were an expansion franchise for the 1992-1993 season. By all rights, that should have been labeled a failed experiment and Bettman should have pulled out that franchise immediately. Now, after making playoff runs and an appearance in the Stanley Cup finals last year, the attendance problems went away.

Of course, it doesn’t come to the real issue (except where people in seats equals more revenue) of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and revenue sharing. The Canadian franchises, where revenue is at its highest for a variety of reasons, have supplemented the struggling franchises and people aren’t happy about it.

It’s a catch-22. If teams can’t spend money on talent, then they are not competitive. If they are not competitive, then people do not show up to games, if people do not show up to games, then teams can hemorriage money. Then…well, you get the point.

But, if there was a way to share revenue, because having competitive teams is good for the sport, people will show up if they think their team has a shot to win the Stanley Cup, and so on, the money issues will take care of themselves. Unless, the economy is down and no one has money to spend, which is the case right now in the U.S. and Detroit has seen that effect this season.

It’s not that easy but everyone likes to make these issues a slam dunk and not think about the larger concepts. Using the logic of people not coming to the arena and spending money, and if the attendance issues are a barometer of that effect, then I guess Vancouver should lose its team because they have been under the league average for awhile as well.

However, it’s the revenue sharing concept that get people going and that right now, the Coyotes benefit from it as they rebuild their franchise from a joke into something bettter.

What will it take for the Coyotes to leave? As I wrote six months ago, to have the Coyotes move would take close to a billion dollars, which combines both the cost of the team and with breaking its lease with the city of Glendale. I’m not sure the price tag is worth it.

If the Coyotes can’t make it work in 30 years, then take them away. However, I’m sure that we’ll see the same thing Pittsburgh has seen with its young team and I’m confident that the fans will come out and we’ll take less of the handout.

Besides, I’m sure there will be other franchises in the same situation someday and will need the assist.

For another take, view Coyotes Corner with Richard Nickerson:

Coyotes Lose $30 Million: Will They Stay in Phoenix?

Tags: Hockey, NHL, Phoenix Coyotes, Relocation, Revenue Sharing by pbcoyotes
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