Well, as we're advancing toward the semi-finals of the playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're eliminated from the playoffs. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.
Now the final team to be eliminated from the Western Conference Quarterfinals: The Phoenix Coyotes.
Season expectations: Woah. There was a media circus focusing on these guys after former owner Jerry Moyes put them into bankruptcy with the goal of selling the team to Jim Balsillie, who would then move them to Ontario. The league took ownership of the team and gave Don Maloney a shoestring budget to put together a competitive team. Maloney managed to attract a group of veterans whom weren't large on anyone's radar, but were more experienced than the players they had on their previous roster. With young players like Martin Hanzal and Keith Yandle starting to come into their own and unsung players like Zbyenk Michalek and Shane Doan playing with the will to win, the team looked respectable enough to contend for a playoff spot. The with the ownership situation in flux, Dave Tippett was named the new head coach of the team. Despite the coaching change, many viewed the Coyotes to be a bottom-feeding team who would be among the worst in the league; leaving the Coyotes to have them against the world.
My prediction: I predicted the Coyotes would finish third in the Pacific Division and eighth in the Western Conference.
The truth: Thanks to a winning streak at the end, the team finished second in the division and fourth in the conference (they would have been third had divisions not mattered.) They lost to the Detroit Red Wings in a grueling seven game series.
What went right?: With Tippett's mantra of playing tighter defense, Ilya Bryzgalov managed to put up a spectacular season that saw him nominated for the Vezina trophy posting a 42-20-6 record with a .920 save percentage, a 2.29 GAA, and 8 shutouts. The team featured a copious amount of defensive scoring thanks to Keith Yandle, Ed Jovanovski, and Adrian Aucoin while having some offensive production from Doan, Radim Vrbata, Matthew Lombardi, and Scottie Upshall. Michalek, Sami Lepisto, and Jim Vandermeer were effective in shutting down defenders while Taylor Pyatt, Vern Fiddler, and Dan Winnik were great in shutting down other team's big lines. While there wasn't a huge element of team toughness, enforcer Paul Bissonnette played an important role with the team and earned himself a two-year contract extension for his commitment to do the rough stuff. At the trade deadline, the team acquired Derek Morris, Wojtek Wolski, Lee Stempniak, and Matthew Schneider, which lead to them being on a tear toward the end of the season. The team faced the Red Wings in the first round and while many analysts favored the Wings, few predicted that the Coyotes would have it be close, or even go to seven games.
What went wrong?: Once Shane Doan was out for the Coyotes, the season was over. Sometimes a player isn't that important and the team can do well without him. Yet when it's the guy who the coaches rely on to get the message across, he is that important. When it's the guy that management asks whom they should sign, he is that important. When it's the guy who the other teammates call-scared that they'll be forced to leave their newly-rooted families behind in Phoenix while they play in some obscure city elsewhere-and he keeps the fort down and the players collected, he is that important. He couldn't get out there and play tonight and in the end, the hustle, intensity, and soul that he brings to the team was just absent in the one game which they truly needed to pull through. The team broke down in front of Bryzgalov and all hell proceeded to break loose. Maybe that's not representative of their entire season, but it's the reason they're not playing anymore hockey until September.
So what's next?: First off, the ownership situation needs to be finalized. Then, GM Maloney's got his work cut out for him, as many of the players he procured in the offseason are either going to be RFAs or UFAs. Nevertheless, the fans really showed their support for the team tonight, so I hope that convinces everyone - from the players to the management to the league itself - that a team really belongs there, the players need to stay, and that the management needs to get that marquee player (or two) to put their already competitive squad into the stratosphere. If Reinsdorf makes good on his ability to own a team, Phoenix will go from being a laughing stock to being a respected and successful hockey city.
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