Unfortunately we're witnessing another NHL post-season minus our beloved Phoenix Coyotes and are left wondering if they're finally headed in the right direction to become more 'legit contenders and rank w/in the top-8 next year in the Western Conference. Personally from my perspective I believe they are since they have identified a nucleus of players and have signed most to long-term deals. That nucleus consists of Doan, Mike Johnson, Comrie, Michalek, Reinprecht, Morris, Mara, and Ballard. With late season additions Jamie Rivers, Dennis Seidenberg, Oleg Kvasha, Josh Gratton, and Bill Thomas might factor into the Coyotes long-term future....
First... there are a few major questions that must be addressed:
Q: Will the Coyotes re-sign Ladislav Nagy to a long-term deal?
A: We all know how his past couple of seasons ended too prematurely due to severe injuries, but the fact that he has immense talent and still has some upside makes it worth considering. However, it would be a major risk to sign a player who cannot seem to remain healthy..perhaps the Coyotes will offer Nagy a one-year deal with an option along with several incentives, but I am unaware that the player who was the 3rd leading scorer who missed the final 30 games would accept that type of deal....
Q: Will CuJo return back for '05-'06?
A: CuJo toward the end of the season performed at an extremely high level, but was rather erractic at times.... The one event that truly set him back was the early season injury to Boucher.... If Boucher remained healthy, that would have put more pressure on CuJo to remain at the top of his game, however, he became complacent since he did not have anyone near his magnitude to push him.... In fact.. that is exactly what happened to Boucher after Burke was traded.... LeNeveu showed some potential, but it might be too premature to depend on him in any major role.... Sauve was horrid in his starts and is nothing more than a Minor League goalie at this time....Pelletier has at least another 3-4 years of seasoning until he can be depended as a NHL ready goalie.... It would be a must to sign CuJo to at least a 2-3 year contract, but he's nearly or already is beyond his prime... There are some decent FA goaltenders available such as Martin Gerber who really dominated for the Hurricanes this past season, however, he might be way out of the Coyotes price range.... One scenario that intrigues me is '03-'04 Calder trophy recipient, Andrew Raycroft... True.. he had the usual Sophomore Jinx last season, but that was mainly due to him playing thru quite a few injuries... Now.. he is on a mission to prove his rookie season wasnt a fluke... The Bruins by signing Tim Thomas to a long-term contract and the fact that they have Hannu Toivonen waiting in the wings even makes Raycroft more expendable.... Their asking price shouldnt be too high and it would be one of those low-risk, high reward type situation... Raycroft would be a good stop-gap until Pelletier is ready. and Raycroft at 25 (will be 26 next week) is still young himself and has many quality years ahead....
Q: Will "the Great One" return back behind the bench?
A: Wayne must make a decision immediately after the Stanley Cup Playoffs has ended... Mainly because his potential successor might be hired away.. That being Barry Smith... Smith was one of the masterminds during both the Penguins and the Red Wings successful runs and learned a lot under the guidance of the legendary Scotty Bowman. Smith has been highly sought after as a headcoach before and this year is no exception... If Wayne decides to step down... Smith would succeed him and look for the Coyotes to add former Red Wings coach Dave Lewis as one of his assistants and perhaps another highly respectful former player... Smith and Lewis both have lots of credentials and the players would definitely take them seriously.. Perhaps playing for Wayne still intimidates the players, but then it is a major selling point to attract some of the uber FAs..... If Wayne decides to return and Barry Smith leaves, expect Wayne to lure some of his best friends from his championship years in Edmonton... one would certainly include Paul Coffey who was with the Coyotes if I remember under advisor capacity during training camp.... If Wayne procrastinates and decides not to return (and Smith have already accepting a headcoaching role elsewhere) would make it extremely difficult for the franchise to hire a successor.... Obviously Tocchet was poised in that capacity, however, we all know his Wally Backmanesque fate..... True.. both their off-the-field exploits were quite different, but still affected any chance it had them to advance further.... Please say no to Barry Melrose... perhaps Rick Bowness would be re-hired.. or perhaps the Coyotes would even consider bringing Bob Francis back who shouldnt have left the organization in the first place.... Perhaps there are a few other candidates, but the Coyotes dont seem to invest that lucratively when it comes to paying for head coaches, but let's hope for everyone's sake that Wayne returns for '06-'07 and beyond....
Q:Will the Coyotes be MAJOR players in FA?
A: More than likely they will acquire 2 high quality FAs, but let's hope they stop bringing in players who are beyond their prime or skills have diminished... My philosophy on why Amonte failed a couple years ago and Nedved did the same last year is because both are East Coast type players... Meaning.. as soon as they came out West here, they immediately experienced some culture-shock and struggled immensely, but notice when they returned back to the East Coast, they reverted back to their former ways.... The Coyotes are not too far away from what one may perceive/believe them to be... The key word (similar to the AZ Cardinals OL) is CONTINUITY.... I dont seem to recall a team making a flurry of trades that the Coyotes did last season..especially after they broke from Training Camp.. True.. some moves were necessitated due to injuries, but it seemed toward the end of the season, the players were unifying and establishing their own roles..... The essence is that they had too many players that possessed the same dimension... An over abundance of players who are fast skaters, but lack physical presence.... that changed with the emergence of Ballard and the addition of Gratton.. Those 2 along w/Ricci will form a "Grind Line" similar to what the Red Wings had w/McCarty, Draper, and Maltby.... They would protect the more skilled players which would prevent them from being roughed up constantly and enduring those constant lingering injuries.... They also had an excess of offensive minded defenseman that couldnt take or dish out a hit, but Seidenberg and Rivers will occupy that need... They should add another enforcer before the season since that type of play is what helps teams excel in the play-offs to eventually win the coveted Stanley Cup.....
Q: Will Geoff Sanderson return back?
A: I believe he would have re-signed along with Reinprecht, Morris, and Comrie, but his contract demands might have been out the Coyotes price range.. Plus... Kvasha and Saprykin are cheaper alternatives with a bunch of upside....
Q: What roles will Tyson Nash and Dave Scatchard play next season?
A: Nash provides all the necessary intangibles, but he must remain healthy.. Scatchard can make interesting trade-bait, but he seemed to flourish and gives the Coyotes lots of intensity...It might be awfully complex to trade him since he still has 3-years left on his contract and it did cost the Coyotes Dave Tanabe to acquire him....
In terms of other players, Boyd Devereaux more than likely will not return.. It's unfortunate that he had a very promising career ahead, but then he sustained a freakish head injury when he was hit by a puck when he was with Edmonton and he hasnt been the same since...
This is Fredrik Sjostrom's most crucial off-season... He has so much amassed, but unrealized potential.. .I have been expecting him to break-out the past couple of seasons to only be left extremely disappointed... Perhaps he needs to have more fire... focus.. because the talent is all there.. He's shown some brief flashes, but must do it on a more consistent basis... especially since there are other forwards who are looking to surpass him on the depth chart...which includes Perrault, Brendl, and the aforementioned Bill Thomas and Kvasha...Perhaps even Yanick Lehoux will live-up to his overall potential as well.....
So.. essentially.. the key for the Coyotes generate more howls in '06-'07 is to have more cohesion, have more physical play, more consistent goaltending, and for Wayne Gretzky to return back behind the bench.... True.. signing 2 top-notch FAs would be a major boon, but even if they dont manage to achieve the latter..they still should rise in the Western Conference and bring the "White Outs" back to Phoenix (now Glendale).....
First... there are a few major questions that must be addressed:
Q: Will the Coyotes re-sign Ladislav Nagy to a long-term deal?
A: We all know how his past couple of seasons ended too prematurely due to severe injuries, but the fact that he has immense talent and still has some upside makes it worth considering. However, it would be a major risk to sign a player who cannot seem to remain healthy..perhaps the Coyotes will offer Nagy a one-year deal with an option along with several incentives, but I am unaware that the player who was the 3rd leading scorer who missed the final 30 games would accept that type of deal....
Q: Will CuJo return back for '05-'06?
A: CuJo toward the end of the season performed at an extremely high level, but was rather erractic at times.... The one event that truly set him back was the early season injury to Boucher.... If Boucher remained healthy, that would have put more pressure on CuJo to remain at the top of his game, however, he became complacent since he did not have anyone near his magnitude to push him.... In fact.. that is exactly what happened to Boucher after Burke was traded.... LeNeveu showed some potential, but it might be too premature to depend on him in any major role.... Sauve was horrid in his starts and is nothing more than a Minor League goalie at this time....Pelletier has at least another 3-4 years of seasoning until he can be depended as a NHL ready goalie.... It would be a must to sign CuJo to at least a 2-3 year contract, but he's nearly or already is beyond his prime... There are some decent FA goaltenders available such as Martin Gerber who really dominated for the Hurricanes this past season, however, he might be way out of the Coyotes price range.... One scenario that intrigues me is '03-'04 Calder trophy recipient, Andrew Raycroft... True.. he had the usual Sophomore Jinx last season, but that was mainly due to him playing thru quite a few injuries... Now.. he is on a mission to prove his rookie season wasnt a fluke... The Bruins by signing Tim Thomas to a long-term contract and the fact that they have Hannu Toivonen waiting in the wings even makes Raycroft more expendable.... Their asking price shouldnt be too high and it would be one of those low-risk, high reward type situation... Raycroft would be a good stop-gap until Pelletier is ready. and Raycroft at 25 (will be 26 next week) is still young himself and has many quality years ahead....
Q: Will "the Great One" return back behind the bench?
A: Wayne must make a decision immediately after the Stanley Cup Playoffs has ended... Mainly because his potential successor might be hired away.. That being Barry Smith... Smith was one of the masterminds during both the Penguins and the Red Wings successful runs and learned a lot under the guidance of the legendary Scotty Bowman. Smith has been highly sought after as a headcoach before and this year is no exception... If Wayne decides to step down... Smith would succeed him and look for the Coyotes to add former Red Wings coach Dave Lewis as one of his assistants and perhaps another highly respectful former player... Smith and Lewis both have lots of credentials and the players would definitely take them seriously.. Perhaps playing for Wayne still intimidates the players, but then it is a major selling point to attract some of the uber FAs..... If Wayne decides to return and Barry Smith leaves, expect Wayne to lure some of his best friends from his championship years in Edmonton... one would certainly include Paul Coffey who was with the Coyotes if I remember under advisor capacity during training camp.... If Wayne procrastinates and decides not to return (and Smith have already accepting a headcoaching role elsewhere) would make it extremely difficult for the franchise to hire a successor.... Obviously Tocchet was poised in that capacity, however, we all know his Wally Backmanesque fate..... True.. both their off-the-field exploits were quite different, but still affected any chance it had them to advance further.... Please say no to Barry Melrose... perhaps Rick Bowness would be re-hired.. or perhaps the Coyotes would even consider bringing Bob Francis back who shouldnt have left the organization in the first place.... Perhaps there are a few other candidates, but the Coyotes dont seem to invest that lucratively when it comes to paying for head coaches, but let's hope for everyone's sake that Wayne returns for '06-'07 and beyond....
Q:Will the Coyotes be MAJOR players in FA?
A: More than likely they will acquire 2 high quality FAs, but let's hope they stop bringing in players who are beyond their prime or skills have diminished... My philosophy on why Amonte failed a couple years ago and Nedved did the same last year is because both are East Coast type players... Meaning.. as soon as they came out West here, they immediately experienced some culture-shock and struggled immensely, but notice when they returned back to the East Coast, they reverted back to their former ways.... The Coyotes are not too far away from what one may perceive/believe them to be... The key word (similar to the AZ Cardinals OL) is CONTINUITY.... I dont seem to recall a team making a flurry of trades that the Coyotes did last season..especially after they broke from Training Camp.. True.. some moves were necessitated due to injuries, but it seemed toward the end of the season, the players were unifying and establishing their own roles..... The essence is that they had too many players that possessed the same dimension... An over abundance of players who are fast skaters, but lack physical presence.... that changed with the emergence of Ballard and the addition of Gratton.. Those 2 along w/Ricci will form a "Grind Line" similar to what the Red Wings had w/McCarty, Draper, and Maltby.... They would protect the more skilled players which would prevent them from being roughed up constantly and enduring those constant lingering injuries.... They also had an excess of offensive minded defenseman that couldnt take or dish out a hit, but Seidenberg and Rivers will occupy that need... They should add another enforcer before the season since that type of play is what helps teams excel in the play-offs to eventually win the coveted Stanley Cup.....
Q: Will Geoff Sanderson return back?
A: I believe he would have re-signed along with Reinprecht, Morris, and Comrie, but his contract demands might have been out the Coyotes price range.. Plus... Kvasha and Saprykin are cheaper alternatives with a bunch of upside....
Q: What roles will Tyson Nash and Dave Scatchard play next season?
A: Nash provides all the necessary intangibles, but he must remain healthy.. Scatchard can make interesting trade-bait, but he seemed to flourish and gives the Coyotes lots of intensity...It might be awfully complex to trade him since he still has 3-years left on his contract and it did cost the Coyotes Dave Tanabe to acquire him....
In terms of other players, Boyd Devereaux more than likely will not return.. It's unfortunate that he had a very promising career ahead, but then he sustained a freakish head injury when he was hit by a puck when he was with Edmonton and he hasnt been the same since...
This is Fredrik Sjostrom's most crucial off-season... He has so much amassed, but unrealized potential.. .I have been expecting him to break-out the past couple of seasons to only be left extremely disappointed... Perhaps he needs to have more fire... focus.. because the talent is all there.. He's shown some brief flashes, but must do it on a more consistent basis... especially since there are other forwards who are looking to surpass him on the depth chart...which includes Perrault, Brendl, and the aforementioned Bill Thomas and Kvasha...Perhaps even Yanick Lehoux will live-up to his overall potential as well.....
So.. essentially.. the key for the Coyotes generate more howls in '06-'07 is to have more cohesion, have more physical play, more consistent goaltending, and for Wayne Gretzky to return back behind the bench.... True.. signing 2 top-notch FAs would be a major boon, but even if they dont manage to achieve the latter..they still should rise in the Western Conference and bring the "White Outs" back to Phoenix (now Glendale).....
Last edited:
