The Hitchcock rumor was addressed by Gretzky yesterday in the Republic:
Players get hard skate
David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 31, 2006 12:00 AM
Coach Wayne Gretzky abandoned his good-cop approach to the Coyotes' woes Monday and shifted into bad-cop mode by running an hourlong practice that was nearly skating-only at Jobing.com Arena.
The Coyotes have lost nine of their first 12 games and do not play again until Friday.
After starting the season 1-3-0, Gretzky took the team bowling, hoping the outing would help team chemistry and spark more victories. The move failed, so Gretzky has turned to more in-your-face techniques.
Gretzky ended Monday's practice with a five-minute on-ice lecture, during which he pointed out, between expletives, what bothered him most about Saturday's 7-3 home loss to the New York Rangers.
Gretzky then addressed the media and announced that the players can expect another grueling workout today.
"It's one thing to get beat, and it's another thing not to have a great effort," Gretzky said. " . . . We were just basically talking about the fact that at this level, you've got to play with a strong effort, and if you don't you're going to get beat every night. That's really what my message was."
Gretzky said he probably would have skated the team just as hard had they won Saturday, and many of the players were not surprised by the intense workout.
"To be honest with you, I expected it earlier," right wing Fredrik Sjostrom said. "There's nothing to say except we deserved this, 10 times over. Sometimes, talk just doesn't cut it."
After Gretzky and the other coaches left the ice Monday, center Jeremy Roenick essentially challenged his teammates "to come together or get out."
As for Monday's skate-heavy practice, Roenick said: "I've never seen a team play better because they got 'skated.' A team plays better because they want to play better and they focus themselves."
Not hiring Hitchcock
Gretzky vehemently denied rumors that former Philadelphia Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock would soon join the Coyotes in some capacity.
"The only thing I've said to Ken was to come out and spend a few days with me and get away and play some golf and watch some hockey out here if he wanted to," Gretzky said. "As far as him coming on board with us, (the answer is) unequivocally no."
Welcome aboard
Center Yanic Perreault practiced with his new teammates for the first time since being signed Sunday.
"It was a tough practice, but in my case I needed it," Perreault said. "I've been away from the game for a while, and this will help me get ready for my first game."
To make room for Perreault, defenseman Keith Yandle was reassigned to San Antonio of the American Hockey League.
A tough crowd
Sjostrom scored what he called probably the best goal of his career Saturday, when he skated nearly the length of the ice, weaved his way around defenders and capped his rush with an acrobatic shot that beat goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
"We need him playing at that level all the time," Gretzky said of Sjostrom, the 11th overall pick in the 2001 NHL draft. "We continuously talk to Freddie about it. He has to step up and be the guy that does it every night. The excuse of being young is over with now for Freddie."
