Thanks For Playing: Phoenix Coyotes

Each spring 16 NHL teams play for Lord Stanley's Cup. At the end one team is left holding the cup while the other 15 teams can only think of what might have been.

This is about one of the 15 teams who wasn't so lucky. 

How They Finished: 

42-27-13   92 points  Won Pacific Division, Finished 3rd in Western Conference. Lost in Conference Finals to Los Angeles.

What Went Wrong: 

Simply put the Los Angeles Kings were a better team.

That statement seems obvious when you lose a series in five games but if you took the time to watch both teams in this series it wasn't even close.

From the outset of game one the Kings used their relentless forecheck to smother Phoenix whenever they had the puck. Because of this the Coyotes had few chances offensively to score. When Jonathan Quick is the opposing goaltender you need all the chances you can get.

Speaking of Quick, that's another reason Phoenix's season has come to an end. Quick was better in net that his counterpart Coyotes goalie Mike Smith.

In my last blog I praised Smith for the job he had done in the playoffs for Phoenix. However he had to be the best player in the series if the Coyotes were to advance.

I thought Smith played well in two of the five games of the series. He was the best player on the ice in game four and he was very goo in game three in Los Angeles.

In the games in Phoenix I thought Smith was average at best. Being average in net wasn't going to be good enough for Phoenix to advance.

 Where Do They Go From Here: 

This is a very tricky question because of the perspectives of which it is asked.

From a team standpoint things look good. Phoenix has a projected cap space of just over $29 million for next season. More importantly the top players who produced this post-season for the Coyotes are all under contract for next year with the exception of Shane Doan and Ray Whitney.

I expect Doan to re-sign with Phoenix this off-season. He has been with the franchise since they moved from Winnipeg in 1996 and has become the face of the franchise in the desert.

Yes there will be a market for him if he isn't signed by July 1st but Doan was productive this season (22G, 28A) for the Coyotes. It would be a PR disaster if they let him leave as a free agent.

Whitney I'm not so sure about. He just turned 40 earlier this month. While he was the leading scorer this season for Phoenix (24G, 53A) there is always the possibility he may call it a career.

If Whitney does choose to play  I'm sure he will be in high demand after the season he had. If it was any other team Whitney would probably have been re-signed already. Being that it's Phoenix though that isn't the case.

And that brings me to the other part of this question, where DO they go from here.

The Coyotes are still without an owner. Former San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison is now the front-runner to buy the hockey club. By my count this is the 4th person/group to attempt to buy the club since it was put on the market four seasons ago.

The problem isn't so much finding an owner as it is getting through all the bureaucratic tape involving the city of Glendale to operate the hockey club.

I know the NHL is very adamant about making this work in Phoenix but at some point they have to say enough is enough. The NHL can't be happy about putting money into a club year after year with nothing to show for it.

There are a couple cities in North America (Quebec City, Seattle) that I think would love to have an NHL franchise. I don't see this situation like the one in Atlanta last year where the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg because there is a prospective buyer who wants to keep the Coyotes in Arizona.

However if Jamison's group can't work around the bond issue that has plagued the sale of this club I can easily see him walking away from buying the team. If he walks away I can see the NHL selling the Coyotes to the highest bidder with the franchise relocating somewhere else.

In the meantime while ownership remains in limbo it effects any personnel moves the franchise can make.

GM Don Maloney has done a terrific job with this roster the last three seasons. This year Phoenix finally broke through and won their first playoff series in 25 years en route to the Western Conference Finals.

While I'm skeptical of the Coyotes doing it again next year I have learned not to doubt coach Dave Tippett and his coaching staff. Phoenix can't control what happens off the ice they can only control what happens on the ice.

Under Tippett and Maloney that should be enough for them to contend for a playoff spot once again.