I certainly don’t need to tell you, the Arizona Coyotes fans, how bizarre the latest Yotes news has been. The unpaid taxes to both the city of Glendale and the state of Arizona caused by “human error” is yet another page in the book of strangeness that this franchise keeps writing.
Historically poor management, bad coaching, a curse, all of the above? Whatever it is, the Coyotes have had their fair share of odd stories over the years and you guys have lived each one with them.
Some could argue that the Yotes were “doomed” pretty much from the get-go. There have been teams who have relocated from Canada to the States, but I can’t think of an organization (at least off the top of my head) that left a hockey town like Winnipeg to settle in the non-traditional market of the American Southwest.
Leaving Winnipeg for a desert where the hot temperatures and need to educate new fans to the game had a lot of people scratching their heads - something that’s been held against Arizona from the ever since.
Throw in all the other missteps and poor decisions that have consistently plagued this team over the years and culminating with the current contentious relationship with the city of Glendale, and it’s no wonder fans are questioning if they should continue to support the organization as relocation rumors intensify yet again.
I’m a fan of a handful of teams. The Coyotes have worked their way into that mix over the years. This season’s play and the recent news out of Glendale makes for about as weird of a year that I can think of in recent memory.
I mean…how many teams have you seen in pro sports:
1) Not pay their bills
2) Be threatened with getting locked out of their own arena
If it was in a movie you would chuckle to yourself and say something like that could never happen in real life.
Except that it is happening in real life.
Just look at the latest news to come out of it. Potentially bluffing? What the heck is going on here?
There is still a widespread belief in team and league circles that the City of Glendale is bluffing with the Coyotes.
What isn’t being talked about nearly enough is this: Where will the Coyotes play if Glendale is not bluffing?
Like the many other instances in Coyotes’ history, I have no doubt that this will blow over as well - especially since they squared away their debts. But why did it come out in the first place? Who leaked it? Is this something that could have been handled behind closed doors?
The folks at PHNX Sports had a long discussion about all of this a few days ago where some fans chimed in with speculation and interesting theories a-plenty:
Whatever it all is, the reality is that these constant storylines and relocation rumors are bad business - both on and off the ice.
The cyclical effect is that it makes the organization look inept and unprofessional. As a result, the distraction makes its way to ice level, where coaches and players now have to deal with it - on top of trying to win games.
Arizona’s 5-20-2 record is no doubt a combination of poor play and constant pro wrasslin’ style silliness that haunts this team. What the exact ratio is, I don’t know, but the combination is obviously not good.
The frustrating thing is that this roster really isn’t that bad (at least in my opinion). Sure they can use more scoring, there’s some holes on defense, and the tandem in the blue paint is not ideal…but 5-20-2? We’ve entered the Twilight Zone.
I get it. They’re in “rebuild mode,” right? Err…at least I think they are? There were some changes in regards to players over the past year, but there’s a lot of guys on the roster I wouldn’t consider “rebuild” players.
So then what’s the plan? Better yet, what’s their identity?
Well…there doesn’t seem to be one.
Instead, this team looks like a ship without a captain - uninspired and directionless.
They have some ingredients for speed and skill but zero consistency. The ability to put together a 60-minute effort is nonexistent.
To me, this is a reflection on the coaching staff. Sure, the players are responsible for showing up and executing, but are the coaches getting the message across?
Some basic questions I have are as follows:
-Is the staff properly preparing these guys? -What exactly are they preaching to the players?
-What’s the mindset in practice and what are they working on/towards?
-What’s the vision/goal?
These are some of the things we don’t know with Arizona because to my knowledge it isn’t really shown.
And so the real question becomes: Where do they go from here?
As long as they’re in Arizona this organization will forever be plagued by relocation rumors - fair or unfair.
I think if you backtrack enough through their history you could certainly make a case that new ownership might benefit this organization, but that’s part of a much bigger discussion for a different time.
When it comes to the on-ice product, they have to take a step back in order to move forward.
Many years ago when the Chicago Blackhawks were playing abysmal hockey, Eddie Olcyzk said something that made a lot of sense. He said that when you’re playing bad you can’t think about winning this game or the the next one. You can’t even think about the next period. All your focus needs to be on the next shift. That’s what you have to win.
It’s a slow process of chipping away little victories from each shift. Then these little victories begin to add up - along with player and team confidence - eventually resulting in some wins.
Cliche? Ehh, maybe. But sometimes cliches are cliches for a reason - because they they speak the truth.
I’ll say this: If ever there was a candidate to incorporate what Eddie was talking about, it would be the 2021-22 Arizona Coyotes.
I thought when no-nonsense/tough guy Rick Tocchet stepped behind the bench in 2017 that his hard-nosed approach would whip the product on the ice into shape. In his four years behind the Coyotes’ bench he had two seasons over .500 and led them to the playoffs in the 2019-20 season, where they were knocked out by the Avs in the first round.
At the conclusion of the 2020-21 season he and the Coyotes mutually parted ways (more front office issues? ).
So they turned their sights to Andre Tourigny, a guy with a steady resume at the QMJHL, OHL and the Canadian Junior National Team level.
He had a short stint as an assistant coach for the Avalanche in 2013 but resigned after two seasons to take an assistant coaching role with the Ottawa Senators - who fired him in 2016.
Perhaps his best success came in the OHL where he won Coach of the Year honors a couple times with the Ottawa 67’s.
As you can see there’s not a lot of NHL experience there. Not that it’s mandatory to have it, but I think having an NHL background (former player and/or coach) goes a long way in the locker room. Most guys probably want to go into battle with/for a guy who has been there and knows what it takes to win.
While I don’t have insight into the Coyotes, and can only speak from the eye test of watching their games, it just feels like there’s a disconnect between Tourigny and the players. I don’t know if it’s the team struggling to learn his system, him, the distractions, or a combination of multiple things, when you’re 5-20-2, things just aren’t working.
Tourigny is signed for three years. Maybe the plan is to have him be the placeholder while Arizona goes through a rough rebuild and subsequent Glendale battle? Time will tell.
I guess I should wrap up this wordy blog at this point because we can chat for a long time about everything.
So here it goes…
What do you want to see happen with the Coyotes?
Personally, I’d like to see them stay in Arizona (Tempe next?). Stay out of the headlines, and get competitive.
Hey…Florida did it, and I know a thing or two about those guys.
Maybe the best place to start is to unload and restock with prospects and picks. Commit to a real rebuild and not a “soft”/on the fly one.
They have five wins under their belt. FIVE. I don’t see that number increasing by much with the way they’re currently playing. So for a team that doesn’t look like they will be competitive, has been hit by the injury bug, and stuck in general limbo…why not shake things up and sell off some assets to get pieces back to start developing? They have done it before, so why not do it again (regardless of how painful it is). Seems like now is as good a time as any to do so.
Do the fans feel like this current team has direction and in the midst of a true rebuild? Or is it a bandaid product that’s performing poorly?
Whatever direction they decide to go in, I think we can all agree…keep those Kachina sweaters!
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