The Coyotes are trying to turn things back in a direction where, perhaps, someone in Phoenix might take notice.
CALGARY -- There is a rule to live by when it comes to picking teams like the Phoenix Coyotes, the Columbus Blue Jackets, or the perennially awful Florida Panthers and Los Angeles Kings to make the National Hockey League playoffs.
The rule goes like this: Never pick one of those teams to make the playoffs before they actually make them on their own first.
As such, we are not picking the Coyotes to make the Western Conference playoffs this season, and though Wayne Gretzky no doubt could not care less what we are predicting, in his heart of hearts, he would probably agree that Arizona has become the Show Me State where NHL hockey is concerned.
"Last year we would talk about it, but it was still a little bit foggy," the Coyotes head coach admitted after Thursday's morning skate in Calgary. "It's definitely clear (now) that this group is going to be good down the road. It's just a matter of will we be really good right now? Or is it going to take a year? But the skill level is definitely higher."
When Wayne Gretzky assesses skill, who is anybody to quibble? Particularly now, when he can be much more frank about the team he took over when he stepped behind the bench three seasons ago.
When Gretzky took over before the 2005-06 season, "we didn't have anyone in the minors," he said. "We couldn't trade away our picks anymore. We had to stockpile them, and we started doing that three years ago."
Phoenix did then precisely what the Toronto Maple Leafs should have done a few years ago as well. They bit the bullet, lost some games and built through the draft.
Now some of you will tip your blue and white glasses nearer the end of your noses, and say, "Yeah that's easy to do in Phoenix -- not in Toronto."
Actually, the opposite is true.
They don't write season tickets into their wills in Phoenix the way they do in Toronto. Nor are the hockey fans in Arizona savvy enough to appreciate a young, promising group of players the way they would be in Toronto.
Rebuilding has been an expensive affair in Phoenix however, and yes, the business model is still very much a problem for the Coyotes. An empty, cavernous new building and a culture of losing are two things that have to be eliminated if this team hopes still to be the desert 10 years from now.
In Gretzky's three seasons behind the Phoenix bench, home wins have declined from 19, to 18, to 17 last season. The 'Yotes were three games under .500 at home in '07-08.
"We've got to figure out a way to change that," Gretzky said. "On the road (they were 21-17-3 last season) a .500 team is really solid in this day and age. Our conference record was solid, in a division that is really difficult. But our home record was horrendous. We need to figure that out."
Phoenix missed the playoffs by eight points. "To be 17-20 at home and miss the playoffs is absolutely asinine."
Gretzky starts the season this year with the most important position filled -- "(Ilya) Bryzgalov kind of fell into our laps last year" -- but his defensive corps is weak.
The Phoenix forwards now include Olli Jokinen as the No. 1 centre, youngsters Martin Hanzal, Peter Mueller, Kyle Turris, an effective disturber in Daniel Carcillo, and some legitimate and much needed toughness in Brian McGrattan and Todd Fedoruk. Plus there are more prospects on the come, including Hobey Baker winner Kevin Porter and The Grandson -- Viktor Tikhonov, both Coyotes draft picks.
But the defensive corps is weak, and that could be the difference this year between eighth and 10th place in a Pacific Division that might once again be the strongest in the NHL.
"The bad news for us is, Edmonton is better, Calgary is better, Chicago is better… It's a tough conference."
And a tough market. And a tough league to be where the Coyotes have been for so long, trying to turn things back in a direction where, perhaps, someone down in the desert might take notice.
"Our skill level is much higher now," Gretzky said. "Look at the success of Ottawa, Pittsburgh and Buffalo. You've got to bottom out, to be able to pluck from the pool.
"It's a young team, it's talented, and the future is really bright. Finally."
