Coyotes Owners Need to Go All Out To Keep Team In Phoenix

This off-season is a very important one for the future of the team, and I am not referring to the draft and picking the right prospect. That is not something the Coyotes really need to be worried about due to their over populated list of top-end prospects. What the Coyotes need to worry about is getting the fans of Arizona to come watch them play that winter sport of ice hockey at “The Job".

The one thing the new owner needs to be aware of when it comes to fans in Phoenix is that they are notorious for being fair-weather fans.

Think Field of Dreams “If you win it, they will come” when it comes to the fans of Phoenix sports teams, so what the new owner needs to do is go BALLS TO THE WALL. “Spend money to make money” will have to be the motto of the new owner if he wants to put together a hockey team that fans will start paying attention to in the desert.

Besides the obvious re-signings that they need to do with their restricted free agents such as Scottie Upshall, Keith Yandle, and Nigel Dawes, the Coyotes need to look further than San Antonio to fill out their roster next year.  It might be difficult to attract a big free agent looking for a long term contract to Phoenix, seeing how they were almost moved to Hamilton just a month ago.

But who knows?  It doesn’t hurt to try and have a talk to some of them. One player who will get a lot of attention, but may scare a few teams due to injury problems is Marian Gaborik. He is a player who, when healthy, can be a franchise player and carry a team on his back. But he has been no stranger to the IR the past few years and some teams may shy away from over paying for him in a long-term contract. 

The Coyotes should pounce on this, no pun intended (ok there was a little intended) and try to lure Gaborik to Phoenix for a seven-year contract worth $49 million. Not many teams may feel he is worth that much for that long, but when he isn’t hurt, that is exactly what he would be worth. 

Another player that could be a smart move to help put up some points for the Coyotes is Mike Cammalleri, where it’s been said he will follow the most money and not the team for success, which can work out for us.  He put in a lot of goals for the Kings and even more when with the Flames, so his goals will be a blessing to the Coyotes. 

The Coyotes are also one of the few teams with enough room to try and sign the Sedins, assuming they want to go from cold winters to slightly cool winters in Phoenix. Remember the old saying “Never say never” because all it can take is one meeting with GM Don Maloney or the new owner that can have them walk out and say, “Wow, I really like this organization."

Other options could be Alex Tanguay, who could be that playmaker Peter Mueller needs to score 30 goals, Nik Antropov, whose big body could be just like Tkachuk was for us back in the day and help bolster our god-awful power play, or Marty Havlat if he doesn’t sign with Chicago first. 

The Coyotes need to also think about filling out their defense this off-season too and while we have some prospects who may be ready to make the jump, we need some NHL ready D-men as well.  Derek Morris has always expressed his desire to come back to Phoenix but only for a multi-year deal, which with new ownership shouldn’t be a problem. 

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?