25.10.2006 von Coyote.

David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 25, 2006 12:00 AM
CALGARY, Alberta - Wayne Gretzky was only joking the other day when he told reporters that if the Coyotes keep losing that he might become the first NHL owner to fire himself as head coach.

On Tuesday, he made it clear that he is not considering taking such a drastic measure, even though his team has limped to a 2-8-0-0 start in his second season.

“I’ll do anything that will help us win,” Gretzky said before Tuesday’s game against the Flames. “At this point in time, I don’t think (resigning) is the issue for me to even address. We just need a good, solid effort out of everybody. If we do that, then winning will take care of itself.”
Gretzky also reiterated that the Coyotes are not pursuing trades for new players.

“Are we actively trying to trade anybody right now? No,” Gretzky said. “Would we listen to each and every phone call? Absolutely. . . . Right now (a player’s) goals and assists don’t cut it for me. Points don’t cut it for me. Winning games cuts it for me.”

Gretzky led Phoenix to a 38-39-5 record in 2005-06.

Expectations were higher entering this season because of some off-season acquisitions - Ed Jovanovski, Georges Laraque and Jeremy Roenick - that appeared to make the team stronger. Through the first nine games, those players had not made an impact, and the team’s chemistry appeared to be off.
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25.10.2006 von Coyote.

David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 25, 2006 12:00 AM

CALGARY, Alberta - Just when it appears the Coyotes have reached rock bottom, they blast through yet another layer of futility bedrock.

The struggling Calgary Flames beat Phoenix 6-1 Tuesday night at Pengrowth Saddledome to drop the Coyotes’ record to 2-8-0-0.

The four points earned are the fewest the franchise has earned after 10 games in its history dating to 1979-80.

Before the season started, coach Wayne Gretzky said the Coyotes needed to win the majority of their first 10 games to show the league they were a legitimate playoff contender.

Tuesday’s game was decided in the second period when Calgary’s Tony Amonte took the puck from rookie defenseman Keith Yandle and scored a short-handed breakaway goal for a 3-1 lead.

Coyotes backup goalie Mike Morrison gave up Amonte’s goal, and two others in the first period, and earned a second consecutive midgame benching and perhaps a demotion to San Antonio.

“The game was terrible,” Morrison said. “Nobody played well again, including myself. I don’t think there’s a player on this team that’s been involved in something like this. Maybe that’s why we can’t get out of this.

“At least we’re still healthy individuals that have moms and dads that love us. That’s about the only positive thing going for us right now.”

Doan in, out
Captain Shane Doan started Tuesday despite a sore back. However, he left the game near the end of the second period and did not return.

Doan first injured his back a week ago but has kept playing.

Gretzky came close to scratching Doan on Tuesday, but Doan talked him out of it.

Doan said neither his sore back nor his stagnant contract-extension negotiations have affected his lackluster offensive output. He has scored just two goals.

“As long as I stick with it, the goals will come,” Doan said.

This line rocks
Dave Scatchard is hoping Gretzky doesn’t break up the line he’s centering with Russian wingers Oleg Saprykin and Enver Lisin.

“We’re having a lot fun,” Scatchard said. “With their speed and skill, they really create gaps and space which allows us to get a lot of shots and chances. I love playing with them. Finally, I’ve found some chemistry. Hopefully we’ll get to stay together and start putting up some numbers.”

Ice chips
Center Steven Reinprecht will be sidelined for a week or two longer than originally expected. Reinprecht fractured his right clavicle on Oct. 14. He’ll likely be out another two months. Center Mike Zigomanis was scratched because of a groin injury.

View from the press box
Coyotes center Dave Scatchard shaved his head before Tuesday’s game in an effort to change the team’s luck after a 2-7-0-0 start. Scatchard looked, um, how can I put this? He looked different. Even coach Wayne Gretzky did a double take when Scatchard walked into the dressing room before the game. “I told (Josh) Gratton if he stands beside Scatchard he’d look like Brad Pitt.”

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25.10.2006 von Coyote.

Carrie Watters
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 25, 2006 12:00 AM

Glendale Arena is expected to transform into Jobing.com Arena this morning.

That is when the Phoenix Coyotes owner, president and head coach say they will make a “major announcement” at a news conference. Team President Doug Moss has said in recent weeks that he was closing a naming-rights deal on the arena that is home to the hockey team and a lacrosse team, the Sting. Sports insiders last week said the team was looking for a multiyear deal in the $3 million-a-year range and negotiating with Jobing.com. The Phoenix-based Internet company hosts career fairs and allows people to post resumes and search for jobs on its Web site.

The naming-rights deal would come a month after the Arizona Cardinals announced a 20-year, $154.5 million agreement to rename its new dome the University of Phoenix Stadium. While the Valley buzzed over that new name, hockey fans say the arena’s name change is easier to swallow because it wasn’t named after the team. Also, some had wanted the football stadium named after former Cardinal Pat Tillman, who left the NFL for the Army and died in Afghanistan. “This has no history like the Cards,” said Tommy Weber, a Coyotes fan from Phoenix. He and hockey fan Scott Crozier of Scottsdale said name changes are part of today’s sports world. “Years ago many stadiums stayed the same name. Now, that’s just part of the deal,” Crozier said.

Even the San Francisco 49ers’ Candlestick Park now goes by Monster Park, after Monster Cable Products Inc. Crozier said he might care more about the new moniker if he were a Glendale taxpayer, who largely paid for the arena. But city officials, who learned of the Cardinals deal on the eve of its announcement, said the Coyotes have kept them informed on negotiations. Like Moss, they were not talking details on Tuesday. Glendale Mayor Elaine Scruggs said she would be at today’s news conference. The city paid $180 million of the $220 million cost for the arena. The city reaps sales taxes at the venue and benefits from the development momentum it ushered in along the city’s west side on the Loop 101 corridor.

The arena opened in 2003 and team owners have spent three years scouring for a partner, one of just a handful of National Hockey League franchises playing in unnamed stadiums. The search hit roadblocks when a dispute between players and owners led to an NHL lockout and erased the entire 2004-05 season. Unlike their football neighbors, who needed naming approval from the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority that oversees the stadium, the Coyotes require no third-party approval.

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25.10.2006 von Coyote.

Im traditionellen Duell zwischen den Coyotes und den Pittsburgh Penguins gab es gestern für die Coyoten der ersten Sieg im ersten Spiel. Mit 7:2 (0:0/5:1/2:1) siegte Phoenix in Pittsburgh.

Während es im ersten Drittel neben dem üblichen Abtasten nur Strafzeiten gab legten die Coyoten im zweiten Drittel richtig los. Nach gerade einmal 132 Sekunden stand es 3:0 für die Mannen aus der Wüste. Vor allem die dritte Reihe überzeugte beim ersten Auftritt in der Vorbereitung. Jere Lehtinen (Handzus, Michalek) und Brendan Morrison (Vaananen, Handzus) brachten Phoenix nach vorn, Defender Zbynek Michalek sorgte mit seinem trockenen Schuss von der blauen Linie für eine beruhigende 3:0 Führung. Als Steven Reinprecht (Zubov, Sjostrom) nach knapp 9 Minuten im Mittelabschnitt dann auf 4:0 erhöhte schien der Wille der Penguins schon gebrochen. Doch man sollte die sympathische Truppe aus Pittsburgh nicht zu schnell abschreiben. Im Powerplay brachte Jay McKee (Morrow, Brewer) Pittsburgh zurück ins Spiel. Den 4-Tore Abstand stellte dann jedoch Mike Comrie (Nagy, Boynton) wieder her. So ging es mit 5:1 in die zweite Pause.

Im letzten Drittel zeigte sich dann, dass alle vier Sturmreihen der Coyotes für Tore gut sein können. Mike Johnosn (Morrison, Morris) erhöhte auf 6:1 ehe Rod Brind’Amour, der in seiner wohl letzten Saison in Phoenix spielt, auf Vorlage von Shane Doan und Derek Morris auf 7:1 erhöhte. Die Penguins waren nun völlig von der Rolle, schafften aber durch Robyn Regehr noch den Schlusspunkt zum 7:2.

Alles in allem konnte man also in Phoenix mit dem Start in die Pre-Season zufrieden sein. Man feuerte mit 27 Schüssen drei mehr ab als der Gegner und zeigte sich damit auch treffsicherer. Ed Belfour im Tor konnte damit 22 von 24 Schüssen halten was eine durchaus gute Quote ist. Ausbaufähig ist dagegen das Powerplay. Bei vier Möglichkeiten gelang den Coyoten kein Treffer, stattdessen musste man bei den vier Unterzahlsituationen einen Treffer hinnehmen.

Schon heute geht es für die Coyoten nach Buffalo, wo der nächste schwere Brocken der Vorbereitung wartet. Ein weiteres Prestige-Duell steht also an und man darf gespannt sein ob sich die Coyoten in einer ähnlich guten Verfassung präsentieren wie im ersten Spiel.

Boxscore Pressemitteilung GFHL

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25.10.2006 von Coyote.

Associated Press
Oct. 24, 2006 09:54 PM
CALGARY, Alberta - Roman Hamrlik led the way for Calgary with a goal and an assist Tuesday night, when the Flames scored three times on the power play and once short-handed in a 6-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes.

Chuck Kobasew, Kristian Huselius, Tony Amonte, Jarome Iginla and Marcus Nilson also scored for the Flames, who also got a pair of assists from Daymond Langkow in halting a three-game losing streak.

Miikka Kiprusoff stopped 26 shots to improve to 3-4-1. Last year’s Vezina Trophy and Jennings Trophy winner has played all eight games for Calgary this season.
Owen Nolan scored for the Coyotes (2-8-0), who have now lost four straight and are in last place in the Western Conference.

The Flames killed off three first-period power-play opportunities for Phoenix, including a two-man advantage that lasted 42 seconds. Kiprusoff made a pair of nice saves off point shots fired by defenseman Ed Jovanovski to keep the game scoreless.

Calgary opened the scoring on a two-man advantage when Kobasew took a pass from Jamie Lundmark and quickly shoveled the puck past Phoenix netminder Mike Morrison with just more than five minutes to play in the first period.

Just 65 seconds later, Huselius scored his first of the season on another power play when he kicked the puck onto his stick and swatted it past Morrison.

Nolan replied for Phoenix at the end of the period when he backhanded a shot over Kiprusoff’s shoulder and into the top corner.

Amonte scored short-handed in the second period when he pounced on a turnover in the neutral zone and sped into the Phoenix territory before sending a wrist shot past Morrison, who was subsequently replaced in goal by Curtis Joseph.

Iginla opened scoring in the third with a perfect shot into the top corner past Joseph. Nilson’s goal followed when he converted a feed from Lombardi to make the score 5-1. Hamrlik rounded out the scoring with his first goal of the season on another Calgary man advantage.

Daymond Langkow had a great chance to add to Calgary’s lead, but his penalty shot attempt in the third hit the left post behind.

The Flames finished 3-for-10 on the man advantage, while the Coyotes failed to score on nine power-play opportunities.

Notes: Kiprusoff started the last season 2-4-1 as well before he backstopped the Flames to a 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on home ice on Oct. 20, 2005. He went on to win eight games in a row and finished the season with a 42-10-11 record and 2.07 goals-against average. … Phoenix center Mike Zigomanis, who has won 59.6 percent of his faceoffs to rank third in the NHL so far this season, missed the game with a groin injury from a loss Monday to Edmonton. … The Flames improved their all-time record over the Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets franchise to 66-57-22.

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25.10.2006 von Coyote.

Es ist zum heulen - und das ist etwas was Coyoten können. Entweder sind die Jungs weit sclechter als gedacht oder ise haben nur tierisch Lust darauf das Feld von hinten aufzurollen. In Calgary gab es vergangene Nacht eine 1:6 Klatsche. Owen Nolan (Boynton) erzielte den einzigen Treffer. Schlucken mussten die Coyoten dagegen 3 Powerplaytore und einen Shorthander. Scheinbar entwickelt sich also das Penaltykilling zu einer absoluten Stärke…

Boxscore Recap

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24.10.2006 von Coyote.

John Gambadoro
Special for azcentral.com
Oct. 23, 2006 10:05 AM
Shane Doan doesn’t deserve this. He needs to find out that the grass really is greener on the other side. He needs to go play for an organization committed to winning. He needs to go somewhere where he has a chance to win.

Doan has been with the Coyotes organization for all of his 10 NHL seasons. He is not a superstar and never will be. He is a solid player who can help many teams win by being a solid second line winger. He is well respected and is a good lockeroom leader.

But there’s not much to lead in Phoenix. The Coyotes are awful. Eight games into the season, they have already dropped six. And it’s not the 2-6 record that has fans concerned, it’s the way the Coyotes are playing - with little heart, little emotion.

On Saturday night the Coyotes got shut out for the second consecutive game in their own building by a backup goaltender. Dallas netminder Mike Morris followed Los Angeles goalie Mathieu Garon in blanking the Coyotes. Just eight games into the season, the Coyotes have become the team in which opponents will rest their starting keeper and go with the backup.

The Coyotes are no threat to put the puck in the net. Since the opening 6-3 win over the New York Islanders, Phoenix has scored just 10 goals in its last seven games and five of those came against St. Louis.

The Coyotes were embarrassed in Detroit, losing 9-2, and gave fans nothing to cheer about in consecutive 4-0 home losses to the Kings and Stars

Doan is the captain. It is his team. He becomes a free agent after the season and although he has stated his desire to stay, why would he want to. The Coyotes are farther from winning now than at any point in their desert existence.

Doan could demand a trade and go to a contending team where he would have a chance to win, maybe the Calgary Flames, his hometown team. He could force the Coyotes’ hands. Although neither side has attempted to negotiate a new deal at this point, if Doan comes out publicly and say he will test the market the Coyotes would have to trade him. They are going nowhere fast and maybe trading Doan could net them something for the future, plus save them some money this year.

The way the team is playing, saving money may be a good idea. The stands at the Glendale Arena are half empty and when you can’t score in back-to-back home games against Pacific Division rivals, then you can’t expect the few fans you have to be excited about coming to the next game, and you certainly cannot win over new fans.

Everyone’s job should be on the line this season, from GM and the coach to the players. The Coyotes’ four points this season are the lowest in the Western Conference and the second worst in the NHL.

The power play stinks, as does the penalty kill. The team takes too many dumb penalties. They were supposed to be bigger and stronger this year and weren’t going to be pushed around. Thus far, they are being stomped on.

This collection of misfits that General Manager Mike Barnett and Vice President Cliff Fletcher put together look completely out of place. There is no chemistry among the players and no cohesiveness in the lockeroom. The players aren’t on the same page with each other or with the coaches.

Ed Jovanovski, he of the $7 million per year deal, has been terrible anchoring the worst defense in the NHL. Owen Nolan, who hadn’t played in almost three years before signing with Phoenix, looks more like last year’s version of Brett Hull than he does of his former self. Nolan can’t get to the puck. Mike Comrie was supposed to be traded after his 30-goal season last year but he is still here and part of the reason there is no chemistry. Georges Laraque needs to stop worrying about being Dr. Phil and giving love advice on his weekly radio show and work a little harder in practice. You can watch an entire game and not know for sure if Ladislav Nagy was on the ice.

Yes, the Coyotes miss Keith Ballard and Steven Reinprecht but that is no excuse for this horrific start to the season. As for Doan, you have to wonder if all the losing is starting to get to him. At some point, he needs to picture himself somewhere else. It may be nice living in Arizona and wearing the C on his jersey. He may not want to leave the only place he has ever known. But when is enough enough? As players get older winning becomes more important. And for Doan to win, he needs to leave.

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24.10.2006 von Coyote.

Coyotes drop another one

David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 23, 2006 10:21 PM 

EDMONTON, Alberta - Because they are struggling, the Coyotes are considered a dangerous team.

At least that’s what opponents are saying about them before games start.

Afterward, Phoenix’s foes must be wondering what they were so worried about.

The Edmonton Oilers jumped to a 3-0 lead and beat the Coyotes 5-2 on Monday night at Rexall Place.

The loss was Phoenix’s seventh in the past nine games.

“We need to start with a lead,” Coyotes captain Shane Doan said. “We need to figure out how to get the first goal and get some momentum on our side and play a smart game.”

Trailing 3-0, the Coyotes surprisingly sneaked back into the game in the second period when Jeremy Roenick scored his first goal since coming back to Phoenix with 12:33 left.

Roenick’s goal ended a nearly 148-minute Coyotes scoring drought.

Mike Comrie then scored a backhanded power-play goal two minutes later to make the score 3-2.

But defenseman Nick Boynton turned the puck over in the Phoenix zone five minutes into the third period, and Ales Hemsky parlayed the miscue into a goal for a 4-2 lead and the Coyotes were toast.

Again.

Asked if the Coyotes knew how to win at this point, right wing Fredrik Sjostrom sighed deeply.

“All I can say is all the guys around me want to win so bad,” Sjostrom said. “We’re not doing the things we have to do, and that’s every guy in here. I think every guy can play better.”

To their credit, the Coyotes skated hard. But their passing was sloppy, they took too many stupid/lazy penalties, especially in third period, and goalie Curtis Joseph was mediocre at best.

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24.10.2006 von Coyote.

Die Coyoten haben das nächste Spiel verloren. In Edmonton setzte es eine 2:5 Niederlage. Ein katastrophaler Saisonstart also, scheinbar können die Coyotes gar nichts in dieser Saison.

Erst nach einem 0:3 Rückstand wachten die Coyoten auf, JR erzielte sein erstes Saisontor (Nagy, Michalek), Comrie (Doan, Yandle) brachte die Yotes im Powerplay auf 2:3 ran.

Wie immer kann man nur sagen: es kann doch eigentlich nur besser werden. Immerhin haben sie das Tor mal wieder getroffen…

Boxscore Recap

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23.10.2006 von Coyote.

CEO still confident in Gretzky