Things are not looking too good in Phoenix nowadays. Their team was just swept out of the first round of the playoffs, they have 7 players that become unrestricted free agents in the summer, AND to top it all off, they might have to relocate for next season.
The disappointing playoff performance by the Yotes left their fans heartbroken yet again. They were empty for a couple of the games and looked very monotonous in the 3rd period of game 4. Their all-star caliber goaltender gave up 2 weak goals in game 4 to give up the lead and he didn't look good in the other games either. They somehow looked unmotivated eventhough it seemed like the state of their team remaining in Phoenix depended on their performance. But now all they (the players and fans) can do is just sit and wait and watch until a decision is made.
The Coyotes also may have a different looking team entirely next year. 7 players may be lost due to free agency. Who's on that list? Vernon Fidler, Petr Prucha, Andrew Ebbett, Radim Vrbata, Ed Jovanovski, and goaltenders Ilya Bryzgalov and Jason Labarbera. The importance of these players? Well to begin with, both goalies have been excellent. Labarbera displays a lot of promise and Bryzgalov has been very good for them as well. Bryzgalov, however, already expressed he's probably going to go to the KHL for next year. Jovanovski played well for them on defense and Vrbata was their only shining star in the playoffs this year. Prucha and Fidler also played exceptionally well. The Coyotes might have a tough time signing these guys and will definitely have a new look by next season.
And of course, they may not be in the desert anymore next season either. The still ownerless Coyotes were moved to Phoenix from Winnipeg (formerly the Jets) in 1996. They've made the playoffs 7 times in their 15 years in the desert but never made it past round 1. They could potentially have an owner in Matthew Hulsizer but no deal has been made yet. Bettman has done all he could to keep the team in Arizona. He thinks it's a big market and could draw a lot of attention. Surely, if the Coyotes had an owner, it'd make it easier to breathe and they could focus more on the hockey. Also, this franchise (including the Jets era) has always had a problem selling out for their games. But now the people in Winnipeg are hungrier than ever for a hockey and built a new arena. They even started to try to sell tickets to prove they can keep a team http://liveflashscore.com/winnipeg-season-ticket-drive-to-prove-canada-really-likes-hockey/. Theres no doubt that the fan base in Winnipeg will be more aggressive with their team and better supporters than what they have now in Phoenix. A tiny 200 people showed up to a rally to keep the team in Arizona. An estimated .01 percent of the population of Phoenix went to that rally. That's not gonna be enough I don't think to keep an NHL team.
To sum it all up, I have to say that the Coyotes may very well end up in Winnipeg next season. Those die hard Jet fans will have a team back and everything will go back to normal. I do feel bad for the fans in Phoenix that actually DID care about their team (and yes. there were people like that). But sports is a business and soon everyone will realize.
HOCKEY IN CANADA > HOCKEY IN THE DESERT
EDIT: Well last night there were meetings in Glenndale to decide about the Coyotes' future in Glenndale. I DID watch some of it. A few interesting points were made by hockey fans and non-hockey fans alike. In the end though, they decided to bring back the team to Phoenix for the same deal of $25 million for the 2011-2012 season. This is probably a good thing for the team because players like Ilya Bryzgalov may not have wanted to make the trip to Winnipeg. (once again kudos to Puck Daddy for the video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFkaPlIdQgg&feature=channel_video_title
The disappointing playoff performance by the Yotes left their fans heartbroken yet again. They were empty for a couple of the games and looked very monotonous in the 3rd period of game 4. Their all-star caliber goaltender gave up 2 weak goals in game 4 to give up the lead and he didn't look good in the other games either. They somehow looked unmotivated eventhough it seemed like the state of their team remaining in Phoenix depended on their performance. But now all they (the players and fans) can do is just sit and wait and watch until a decision is made.
The Coyotes also may have a different looking team entirely next year. 7 players may be lost due to free agency. Who's on that list? Vernon Fidler, Petr Prucha, Andrew Ebbett, Radim Vrbata, Ed Jovanovski, and goaltenders Ilya Bryzgalov and Jason Labarbera. The importance of these players? Well to begin with, both goalies have been excellent. Labarbera displays a lot of promise and Bryzgalov has been very good for them as well. Bryzgalov, however, already expressed he's probably going to go to the KHL for next year. Jovanovski played well for them on defense and Vrbata was their only shining star in the playoffs this year. Prucha and Fidler also played exceptionally well. The Coyotes might have a tough time signing these guys and will definitely have a new look by next season.
And of course, they may not be in the desert anymore next season either. The still ownerless Coyotes were moved to Phoenix from Winnipeg (formerly the Jets) in 1996. They've made the playoffs 7 times in their 15 years in the desert but never made it past round 1. They could potentially have an owner in Matthew Hulsizer but no deal has been made yet. Bettman has done all he could to keep the team in Arizona. He thinks it's a big market and could draw a lot of attention. Surely, if the Coyotes had an owner, it'd make it easier to breathe and they could focus more on the hockey. Also, this franchise (including the Jets era) has always had a problem selling out for their games. But now the people in Winnipeg are hungrier than ever for a hockey and built a new arena. They even started to try to sell tickets to prove they can keep a team http://liveflashscore.com/winnipeg-season-ticket-drive-to-prove-canada-really-likes-hockey/. Theres no doubt that the fan base in Winnipeg will be more aggressive with their team and better supporters than what they have now in Phoenix. A tiny 200 people showed up to a rally to keep the team in Arizona. An estimated .01 percent of the population of Phoenix went to that rally. That's not gonna be enough I don't think to keep an NHL team.
To sum it all up, I have to say that the Coyotes may very well end up in Winnipeg next season. Those die hard Jet fans will have a team back and everything will go back to normal. I do feel bad for the fans in Phoenix that actually DID care about their team (and yes. there were people like that). But sports is a business and soon everyone will realize.
HOCKEY IN CANADA > HOCKEY IN THE DESERT
EDIT: Well last night there were meetings in Glenndale to decide about the Coyotes' future in Glenndale. I DID watch some of it. A few interesting points were made by hockey fans and non-hockey fans alike. In the end though, they decided to bring back the team to Phoenix for the same deal of $25 million for the 2011-2012 season. This is probably a good thing for the team because players like Ilya Bryzgalov may not have wanted to make the trip to Winnipeg. (once again kudos to Puck Daddy for the video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFkaPlIdQgg&feature=channel_video_title
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