One Fan's Perspective

It’s been awhile since I’ve written about our beloved Phoenix Coyotes.  Mainly, it’s due to my professional and personal obligations.  However, there is another concern.

I’m superstitious. I hate when our beloved sports announcers/analysts in Dave Strader and Tyson Nash “jinx” our team by talking about the opposition’s players that have been cold, only to score the timely goal against us.  But that hasn’t happened in awhile.

Still, since I’ve stopped writing, the Coyotes have gone on a tear having the fourth best record in the NHL, and did some remodeling by bringing in some quality players (one of them on a second tour with Derek Morris).  So all is well.

/self-indulgence

What I’ve noticed now is that the rumorsphere from those with a computer and access to the interwebs have decided to create an atmosphere of it’s-not-fair-itis (note: I’m not linking to them…not that I get a huge surge in traffic anyway, but the sources are very weak and I don’t want to participate in giving them any more credit than I have).  The Coyotes are winning, poised to make the playoffs, and quite possibly do some serious damage.  We have people who cry foul because that’s not supposed to happen, and posit that since the sale to the Tampa Bay Lightning group went so quickly, something is rotten in our Denmark because the sale of the Coyotes isn’t happening so quickly.

As Hip Shot Blog points out, our former wonderful ownership group, with Bal-silly, really tarnished what was right about Arizona hockey.  In fact, it has taken Todd Walsh to keep reminding us that hockey has been in the desert a long while – much to the “historians” dismay.

My point?  This article from the Phoenix Business Journal explains that our attendance issues are improving, in spite of the other entertainment vehicles that compete for the scare dollars that exist in the Phoenix Valley.  The article reminds us of what is happening in terms of Sports Entertainment out here, and the city can be a great sports town if one looks hard enough.

The Coyotes are winning, people are returning, and it’s what I’ve written all along.  Hopefully, the buyers from Ice Edge or others will step forward and put all this rumor mongering to rest.

Tags: Financials, Hockey, NHL, Phoenix Coyotes by pbcoyotes
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“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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I heard about this situation last night and Heather McWhorter over at Reflections from the Yotes Diva picked it up from TSN.ca as well, but it appears that Ice Edge Holdings is ready to close the deal.

To write that this is good news would be truly an understatement.  The attendance situation, in my mind, is a direct result of not having an ownership group (the control by the NHL has helped, but it’s not the same) willing to revitalize the brand in the Valley.  Having the Coyotes post a winning record so far hasn’t hurt either.

There are many casual fans out there wondering about the ownership issue and unwilling, at this point, to plunk down cash and invest in a team that, in their minds, “might be gone anyway.”

Darryl Jones said it best with this quote,

“(Fans need to)really believe definitively that the team is not leaving, to be able to open up their hearts again.”

Word….er so true.

People like Heather who fought back against the nay sayers that hockey can’t work here, to the point of setting up a website and an organization to keep everyone focused on the goal.

Or OdinMercer at Five for Howling who, along with Heather, went to court proceedings and reported it for everyone to read, and also had to fight back against those other groups up north that like Schadenfreude.

Or over at Hip Shot where hockey is a passion because it’s the greatest sport on the planet.

Or the other Coyotes blogs that after a summer of potential despair, they can now find even more reasons to be happy, especially as their team is winning.

Note, that I’m not ready to proclaim this as a done deal – far from it.  When they sign the paperwork and take control is only when I will really sigh a relief, because I didn’t want them to go either – I still remember the times when I wondered if I was the only fan of the Coyotes in the blogosphere.

All I’m writing now about this development is that it’s a cool thing to see some movement, and to see some interest in a team that is playing exceptional hockey.  Hopefully, if it does go through, they’ll find ways to generate interest and promote the team that is performing ahead of expectations.

Because hockey can work here.

Tags: Coyotes Hockey Blogs, Financials, Hockey, Ice Edge Holdings, NHL, Phoenix Coyotes by pbcoyotes
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