If the Phoenix Coyotes aren’t able to put bodies in the stands they are at the very least able to provide some fodder for NHL pundits and fans alike. The situation that we are seeing in the desert is one that will set a new precedent for NHL teams in the future, because for those of you who don’t realize it there are about 6-8 other teams that may be in a similar predicament to the Desert Dogs very soon. With the NHL acting as temporary owners of the Coyotes until a “suitable owner” is found, this season has proven to be an interesting case study.
With a somewhat controversial revenue sharing program now firmly entrenched in the NHL’s economic structure, the question of Phoenix’ trade deadline moves must be examined. With Phoenix currently in the hunt for a 4th or 5th place finish in the Western Conference the moves that General Manager Don Maloney made at the deadline could end up highly revered or criticized. With 29 other NHL teams essentially footing the bill for Maloney’s moves, what exactly are they getting for a return? Let me just point out right now, I realize that the Coyotes Management and the NHL agreed to a $50 million operating budget before the season and that with pro-rated contracts the Yotes are still within this number. According to Gary Bettman, the franchise is set to "only" lose 20
million dollars in 2009-10. My argument is with no certain future for the franchise, will this help anything? The obvious answer to this is NO!
The Coyotes were one of the busiest teams on deadline day and made some of the biggest (by comparison) moves in the league. Maloney has been speaking to the media since his busy deadline day and has said that he has greatly improved the depth of the Coyotes and has positioned them to make a strong playoff push. However, the Coyotes were a team in rebuild mode just a season ago and had a keen eye on the future of many of their prospects. One of those was 21 year old American Peter Mueller. Having scored 54 points in 81 games over his 2007-08 rookie season Mueller was considered a can’t miss prospect. Since that strong campaign Mueller has failed to live up to expectations and was shipped out for Wojtek Wolski last week. With many of the moves Maloney made it seems the team has just gotten older and more expensive.
With an additional 10 million plus on the books in Phoenix, the team has added a 40 year old defenseman in Mathieu Schneider, known in his prime for speed and point production, who couldn’t crack the Canucks starting lineup for more than 17 games this season; a 24 year old 50 point a year left winger in Wojtek Wolski who will become an Unrestricted Free Agent at season’s end; a journeyman right winger that is making $3.5 million a year and has never recorded more than 44 points in a season in Lee Stempniak; a defenseman making $3.3 million a season who is a 20-30 point a year player that can at times be a defensive liability in Derek Morris. They also added Petteri Nokelainen, a name that many fantasy owners may have been big on 5 years ago but have since forgotten about. Since the 2004 16th overall pick has entered the league he has proven no better than a career 3rd liner with minimal point production. Maybe Maloney is a genius and has created a group that will have great chemistry and be a real contender come the playoffs or maybe he just went out and added whatever name was thrown at him. No matter what the outcome of the moves, I don’t believe it will do much to improve the franchise’s situation in Phoenix.
I have heard the rational that if the Coyotes win it will help to rebuild (build) the team. No it won’t! Anyone who believes this is a blind, diehard fan and although I appreciate the passion you may have for the team you need to recruit a couple hundred thousand other people to give a damn. If you honestly think that winning is the solution I would ask you to look at the less than rosy situations in Tampa Bay, Carolina and Anaheim. Since 2004 all of these teams have won Stanley cups and their attendance has continued to slide. With their numbers sitting at 14,716, 14,369 and 14,886 respectively winning certainly is not always the answer. In case anyone is wondering, the Coyotes are statistically having their best season in ten years and have an average attendance of 9,914.
I’m not going to cite any Canadian teams for attendance because Canadians are supposedly more dedicated as a nation to the game of Hockey and after already losing 2 franchises (one to Phoenix) will not likely allow another to be relocated no matter how poor a product their franchise puts on the ice. However, in American markets where hockey is well known and fans care, they can still support a poorer on ice product. If you look at cities like New York (Rangers), Minnesota, Detroit and St. Louis they are all fighting for a playoff spot and at least a few will not make it. Yet the average attendances for franchises in these cities are 18,200, 18,201, 19,215 and 18,587 respectively this season. There is no great secret to why this is, the NHL is not appealing to all markets, but they need to realize this and stop trying to hold on to failed experiments. The answer may be painful for some and obvious for others, but the NHL needs to put teams in markets where fans care about hockey, not where they think they can ambitiously expand the game.
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