The Great Shun: If Phoenix Fans Turn Backs on Wayne Gretzky, He May Leave

Written by "The Hard Hitter" Mark Ritter

If a tree fell in the forest, would anybody care? Or, in this case, if Wayne Gretzky is fired from or leaves the Phoenix Coyotes' coaching staff, should Coyote fans be concerned?

It says here Coyote fans should let “The Great One” walk—the team might actually be better off without him.

Yesterday (Monday, Sept. 21), Phoenix Coyotes general manager Dan Maloney announced that the Phoenix Coyotes had hired Dave King as assistant coach. Given King’s impressive coaching credentials, his hiring has led many to speculate that Gretzky would soon be stepping down or be fired from his position as head coach of the Coyotes.

Ulf Samuelsson, who has been filling the void left by Gretzky’s absence, will continue to serve as the Coyotes' interim head coach until such time as a decision is made regarding Gretzky’s future, but to some, the decision to bring in King all but signals that Gretzky will be leaving the desert, regardless of the outcome from the bankruptcy courts.

Gretzky, arguably the best player to ever lace up the skates, has had a less than stellar coaching career. Many point to the fact that Gretzky was hampered by thin rosters and low budgets, but when you consider the talent the Coyotes have had in camp the past two seasons, it is hard to imagine the Coyotes failing as miserably as they have.

To a man, part of the blame falls on the players' shoulders, and part of the blame falls directly on Gretzky’s shoulders. But when you delve into the facts a little deeper, Gretzky’s results, or lack thereof, stick out like a sore thumb.

In 2003-04, the Coyotes franchise was in dire straits. They had just compiled a record of 22-36-18-6, good enough for the fifth-worst record in the entire NHL. With a poor record, a dwindling fanbase, and a future that looked grim, the Coyotes needed to shake things up.

Enter head coach Wayne Gretzky, hockey’s very own Messiah...

Gretzky took over the head coaching job for the Coyotes in 2005-06. He led to the team to a much improved record that season, as the team posted a record of 38-39-5, a 13-point increase from the previous season (23rd overall). It was a great beginning; question was, could it last?

With expectations high and a renewed interest from the fans, everything looked to be headed in the right direction for the Coyotes. They had stockpiled some impressive prospects and seemed to be making progress on the ice. Much of the praise fell on Gretzky’s shoulders, and rightfully so.

Gretzky would spend the next three seasons behind the glass as the Coyotes' bench boss, posting records of 31-46-5 in 2006-07 (29th overall), 38-37-7 in 2007-08 (23rd overall), and 36-39-7 in 2008-09 (25th overall).

The team missed the playoffs all four seasons Gretzky was head coach, never finishing higher than fourth in the Pacific Division and never finishing better than 23rd overall (2005-06 and 2007-08).

It is tough to call Gretzky’s coaching record a “failure,” but with a career coaching record of 143-161-24 (.473 winning percentage), it’s safe to say his coaching tenure has been unimpressive, certainly far off many people's expectations.

Many NHL prognosticators felt the Coyotes should have been a playoff team in 2008-09—in the end they were anything but. In fact, many experts felt the Coyotes regressed, including many of their young prospects, such as Kyle Turris and Viktor Tikhonov, who, coincidentally, were recently sent down for more seasoning.

Blaming Gretzky for all of the franchise's shortcomings would be idiotic. That said, Gretzky was responsible for the on-ice performance and development of his players.

He hand-selected many of his coaching staff, including former teammate Grant Fuhr (goaltending coach) and Rick Tocchet (former assistant coach), as well as having a hand in selecting his brother, Keith Gretzky, to be the Director of Amateur Scouting.

Clearly, with his fingerprints all over the franchise, Gretzky is a huge factor in the Coyotes' shortcomings, something that has many Coyote fans—at least the 3,000 or so that are left at this point—calling for the Gretzky’s scalp!

The bottom line is, Gretzky didn’t get it done. After four years behind the Coyotes bench, Gretzky’s results were nowhere near acceptable, and if he was anybody else, he surely would have been fired by now, which is exactly what the Coyotes should have done with Gretzky after the 2008-09 season—fired him!

Gretzky, who has remained very quiet while the Phoenix Coyotes' bankruptcy proceedings are going on, has thus far been absent from the Coyotes' training camp. It is believed that he is still collecting a salary of upwards of $8 million to “not” coach the Coyotes at this time, which, by all accounts, is absurd!

How does Gretzky get away with this? If it were any NHL player sitting out of training camp, he would be fined and/or have his pay withheld until such time as he showed up and got back to work. Talk about your silver-spooned celebrity—geezzzz!

Word on the street says that Coyote fans are fed up with Gretzky’s inability to lead this team to the playoffs and have been lobbying for his dismissal. To the casual observer, it may seem cruel and unfair of Coyote fans to throw Gretzky “under the bus,” but with all due respect to Gretzky, the reality is, outside of shaking hands and kissing a few babies, he has not moved this franchise ahead one iota.

The team is in desperate shape financially and has watched its fanbase disappear. The decision to move the arena to Glendale was a disaster, and outside of the 2005-06 season, the team has failed to improve on the ice with Gretzky behind the bench.

The idea that fans are showing up to see the Great One behind the bench is bullocks! What the fans long for is the playoffs, not to watch the back of Gretzky’s head or watch one of his now famous temper tantrums. Just win baby, just win...

Regardless of where the Coyotes may end up playing this year, the team needs a fresh start and a new philosophy. Nobody is buying what the “Great One” is cooking any longer. Gretzky and his coaching “abilities” expired a long time ago; it is time for the Coyotes to try a new recipe for success.

Until next time,

Peace!