Coyotes Getting Better?

[ndjmc]

Hey all, I see a lot of talk of the draft on here and it leaves me shaking my head. I love the yotes and I want to see them improve as much as any of you. But this talk of the draft fixing the issues they are having is pathetic.

I have been watching Hockey since 1986 and I have seen many bad teams along the way. This is one of the worst I have seen that I was pulling for. I was a LA Kings fan proir to the yotes coming to town. They had MISERABLE years before they got 99. Amazing how bad they could be. They drafted Luc Robitaille in 1984 a 9th round pick that became the greatest left wing in the history of the game! His Rookie Season was 1986.

The draft is like the one in baseball. They pick up a kid who is good right now but who knows in 2 or 3 years if he will even have the skill set to stay in the game.

Want another example? Pavel Bure, one of the most exciting RW to ever play was selected in the 6th round in 1989. His Rookie season was 91-92.

The draft is a not a quick fix people. Trades and free agency fixes teams. The NHL is about blockbuster trades and free angents that sign on with teams who can make a run at the cup. The Coyotes are not one of those teams.

And it is not Gretzky as a coach that is failing this team. NOBODY IN THE HISTORY OF THE GAME COULD MAKE THIS TEAM GOOD! TOE BLAKE, SCOTTIE BOWMAN WHOEVER! You cant ask a 2nd year coach to turn a band of scrubs in to the 92 Penguins. They are a miserable hockey team with nothing left in the tank. They quit on the season and I dont blame them. They suck!

Thanks for your time.

 

[Diamondback Jay]

Now that's telling 'em who's boss.

To rebut your one question though, if the team drafts properly, they CAN win in an unabridged period of time. Look at the Penguins, who stunk for several years, but now are in the playoffs with guys like Crosby and Malkin, who were products of... The NHL draft.

It can be done. It's just going to take patience.

 

[ndjmc]

true.

Now that's telling 'em who's boss.

To rebut your one question though, if the team drafts properly, they CAN win in an unabridged period of time. Look at the Penguins, who stunk for several years, but now are in the playoffs with guys like Crosby and Malkin, who were products of... The NHL draft.

It can be done. It's just going to take patience.

I agree. Patientce. But they have stunk up the joint for too long and I would hate to see the Great One get fired and tagged as a loser. He entered a horse race with a mule and it is not his fault.

Some folks are getting fiesty, and frankly I am really missing hockey. The game is getting better (thanks to the red line getting wacked) and the Coyotes are building a team that is slow and untalented.

The defense is set and I love the future of the goaltending, but the front line is just PAINFUL to watch.

God help us all.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Yes and no. It is too shortsighted to say that the draft isn't as important as free agency and trading because it doesn't typically pay instant dividends. With the NHL now in a new salary cap world, I would contend that drafting is by far the most important of the three in the long run. While it is not like the NBA or NFL where most picks play immediately, there are many top picks in the NHL that do play right after the draft. Jordan Staal was the 2nd pick in the 2006 draft and is already having a big impact for the Penguins, as is Phil Kessel with Boston who was picked 5th. Peter Mueller of the Coyotes was selected 8th last summer and nearly made the team out of camp. He is almost a lock to be playing with Phoenix next season.

The Coyotes currently hold the second pick in the 2007 draft and even though it appears to be weaker than average they still have a good chance at an impact player. While they may not reach instant gratification with their selection, it should not be long before their pick makes their mark. It is critical to their not too distant future that they make the pick count as it is probably the highest they will see in quite some time.

Luckily for Gretzky, he is a minority owner and can't be scapegoated and fired.

 

[ndjmc]

Yes and no. It is too shortsighted to say that the draft isn't as important as free agency and trading because it doesn't typically pay instant dividends. With the NHL now in a new salary cap world, I would contend that drafting is by far the most important of the three in the long run. While it is not like the NBA or NFL where most picks play immediately, there are many top picks in the NHL that do play right after the draft. Jordan Staal was the 2nd pick in the 2006 draft and is already having a big impact for the Penguins, as is Phil Kessel with Boston who was picked 5th. Peter Mueller of the Coyotes was selected 8th last summer and nearly made the team out of camp. He is almost a lock to be playing with Phoenix next season.

The Coyotes currently hold the second pick in the 2007 draft and even though it appears to be weaker than average they still have a good chance at an impact player. While they may not reach instant gratification with their selection, it should not be long before their pick makes their mark. It is critical to their not too distant future that they make the pick count as it is probably the highest they will see in quite some time.

Luckily for Gretzky, he is a minority owner and can't be scapegoated and fired.

Great point. Those are exeptions though. I do fear Gretzky having to resign with out a fair shot with a squad you can hang your hat on. Not fired, you are right.

 

[ndjmc]

I just want them to be contenders folks!!!!
We deserve a good hockey team right?

 

[Diamondback Jay]

I just want them to be contenders folks!!!!
We deserve a good hockey team right?

Of course we do, but Rome wasn't built over night.

It's gonna take time my man. This team has the pieces, like Wheeler and Doan, who can build them in to a solid team for the future. What they need to do is to continue to build through this route and less through the veteran, "Win Now" mode that they seem to operate in.

Guys like Roenick, Hull, Nolan and CuJo are good for putting butts in the seats, but in reality, this team's not going to win with them, therefore they should really start looking at what they have both on the farm and in the interim.

 

[ndjmc]

Of course we do, but Rome wasn't built over night.

It's gonna take time my man. This team has the pieces, like Wheeler and Doan, who can build them in to a solid team for the future. What they need to do is to continue to build through this route and less through the veteran, "Win Now" mode that they seem to operate in.

Guys like Roenick, Hull, Nolan and CuJo are good for putting butts in the seats, but in reality, this team's not going to win with them, therefore they should really start looking at what they have both on the farm and in the interim.

Too right. Too right. Well then we all must pull together and get through one more season of MISERABLE hockey. Shame. Hopefully these young guys can play, learn a little from the Great One and get a Warhead to solidify the squad for the 08-09 season. Maybe we will get Sydney Crosby, who the hell knows, I mean 99 got traded, twice!

TO ALL!!!!
If anyone gives you static about Gretzkys inept coaching abilities, slap them. That kind of talk really stinks up the joint. If they happen to call them selfs a Yotes fan, it would be high time for a sit down to help them understand the game a little better.