SB Nation - Vernon Fiddler

Coyotes Celebrate Cinco de Coyo(te), Bryzgalov Gets Shutout in 2-0 Win.

OdinMercer — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:15:48 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

8 days ago: Phoenix Coyotes' Ilya Bryzgalov (30), of Russia, celebrates his shutout win with teammate Keith Yandle (3) at the end of the third period after an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild Monday, Dec. 7, 2009, in Glendale, Ariz. The Coyotes defeated the Wild 2-0. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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Woooooo! 5 wins in a row baby! Have a Margarita tonight because it's Cinco de Coyo! The fans around the arena were certainly high-fiving and celebrating and while there's still a long way to go, a shutout win over the Wild certainly made everyone feel good and elevated the Coyotes to 37 points on the season. It also sets up a matchup with the Kings on Thursday that will be for the fifth place spot in the West and 2nd in the division either way. But enough with standings and all that poppycock. To the gameness!

First of all I was really annoyed that Mikkel Boedker was a scratch tonight. I'm glad Peter Mueller got to come back and played fairly well but Mikkel Boedker has played his pants off lately and not gotten any reward for it. I get that Tippett doesn't want to use younger layers as that just doesn't fint into his scheme, but to call him up and use the minutes he's played pretty well and get no reward is disappointing at best. Then the guy I highlighted in the pregame Cal Clutterbuck, was a scratch as well as I guess he got some sort of illness that's been going around. His absence didn't really decrease the amount of hitting and all around scrapping as the teams would get into hitting matches and fights especially later in the game.

For the most part the game itself was an outstanding goalie battle. Both Ilya Bryzgalov and Niklas Backstrom were outstanding, but the Phoenix offense was just good enough to get a missed rebound past him for the first goal by Scottie Upshall. Then Shane Doan made a fantastic move to get the puck to Taylor Pyatt who scored his third goal in as many games. On the offensive end that was the entirety of the production offensively.

In the third period though the game started to get away from the officials in a big way. Mid way through the period Ed Jovanovski made a big hit on one of the Wild players (I can't recall who it was) but there was no penalty and the Minnesota players wanted to go after him. The hitting picked up in a big way after that with Winnik, Upshall and Jovo all getting hits on people within a short time. The emotions boiled over at the end of the game with a huge scrum in the corner. Keith Yandle threw a few punches in the middle of the crowd, but Vernon Fiddler grabbed a guy out of the pile and simply beat the hell out of him. Owen Nolan and Keith Yandle almost went after each other too, but the officials were able to clear the players off the ice so that the team and the crowd could celebrate what really mattered in Ilya Bryzgalov's shutout. I wouldn't be surprised if there were some fines or suspensions handed out because of the after the horn activities.

Coyotes at Ducks: Game Preview #27

zyllyx — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:04:30 -0000

More photos » by Jason Redmond - AP

Phoenix Coyotes center Martin Hanzal of the Czech Republic (11) shoots wide as Anaheim Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller of Switzerland defends in the third period of a NHL hockey game in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Jason Redmond)

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The Phoenix Coyotes bring an end to a grueling three-week stretch of games with only seven off days on Sunday with a divisional matchup with the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Sunday's game will be the third game already between the bitter rivals in the young season, each team with a victory apiece in the previous two tilts.

What Happened Last Game?

Really? You don't remember? It was an arena full of awesome! The Coyotes chased Marty Turco out of his net in a 5-2 win over the Dallas Stars at Jobing.com Arena. Lauri Korpikoski was the first star of the night after tallying his first two goals of the season, and linemates Scottie Upshall and Matthew Lombardi each had three assists to help the team to a convincing victory.

It was only the second time that the Coyotes have scored as prolifically, and the first margin of victory of three or more goals in 14 consecutive games. The young Mutts did everything on the Five For Winning Game Preview checklist except for one - keeping the penalties balanced - which means that when the Coyotes listen to their very wise and perceptive bloggers, success follows naturally.

Which means that I'd probably better make this

FIVE FOR WINNING

extra special for the game against Anaheim.

Play With An Edge
It's no secret. These teams hate each other. Lots of teams hate the Ducks because the Ducks play a hard-nosed, gritty, in-your-face style of play, but the Coyotes and Ducks seem to reserve their worst inclinations and loudest chirping for each other. It makes for some thrilling sideshows to go along with the hockey; it also makes for more than a few cheap shots like this "Elbow Heard Round The World" from James Wisniewski on Shane Doan. The proper response to such play, of course, is illustrated by Captain Coyote himself, to wit:

Now, as satisfying as that is to watch, a lot of the shenanigans that happen between these two clubs happen out of sight of the referees even with Chris Pronger douching it up in Philadelphia (I'm looking at you, Corey Perry). So the Coyotes will have to play with their heads up and be ready to weather some tough hockey.

Feel The Bryz
Let's not beat around the bush. There is nobody more motivated on the Coyotes' squad to beat this Ducks team than Ilya Bryzgalov, he of the hot dog fetish and unnaturally high falsetto. He was aiming for a league-leading fourth shutout against Dallas before a couple of quick third-period goals dashed his hopes. But, barring any last-minute change of policy or injury, the Mutts are going to roll with their number one goalie and his fourth-best-in-the-league 2.12 GAA again on Sunday. Extra motivation is always welcome, and any time Bryzgalov faces his former squad the motivation is there in spades.

Play Competent Hockey for Sixty Minutes
This may seem strange to those readers who are new to the Coyotes, but long-time fans will know exactly what I'm saying here. I mentioned this in the last game preview (so I'm a bit redundant - give me a break, I'm just a fill-in for The Big Guy). The Coyotes are playing good hockey for the first time in what seems like forever this season, and they're doing much better at giving a consistent effort through the whole game instead of for only a period or two. Let's not beat around the bush - for most of the past decade, the Coyotes have been lottery candidates and for good reason. My wife attends games very infrequently - partially because she hated the way the Coyotes kept losing so embarrassingly. She was at the Dallas game last night and said (this is verbatim): "I didn't think these guys would ever learn how to play hockey... but I guess I was wrong." So, Coyotes, keep it up!

Play Through The Pain
There's no question - the Coyotes are starting to feel the wear-and-tear of the 82-game NHL season. Factor in the "Olympic Squeeze" during November where they've played a whopping ten games in just over two weeks, and you've got a recipe for a lot of agony. Fortunately, there are a lot of young guys on the team roster to provide raw young health. But after Ed Jovanovski, Vernon Fiddler, and Peter Mueller all left the Dallas game early with injuries, Sunday's game might end up being one of survival of the fittest. There's still no word as of this writing whether any or all of those three players will be back in the lineup against Anaheim, but it's a sure bet that they're not the only ones feeling the weight of such a demanding schedule. Grit your teeth, boys - you'll have a four-day layoff to heal when this one's done.

Build The Streak
The Coyotes once again avoided losing three in a row with their win over Dallas on Friday. Astoundingly enough, the Coyotes haven't lost three in a row all season. That's the good news. The bad news is that they haven't built a win streak all month after a strong October. Sunday's game would be a great start for a winning streak. It is, after all, the holiday season - why not give your fans a gift of a few consecutive victories?

Key Players

Corey Perry

#10 / Right Wing / Anaheim Ducks

Height: 6-3

Weight: 209

Born: May 16, 1985

Why? Corey Perry is one of those players that fans love to hate - he has a reputation for dirty play and cheap shots, and he rubs a lot of people the wrong way - but you just can't argue with his statistics. Perry already has 30 points this season (tied for 5th in the league) and is one of the hottest players around. This is a guy the Coyotes need to contain if they can - if they can't, it will be a long night for the Mutts.

Matthew Lombardi

#15 / Center / Phoenix Coyotes

Height: 6-0

Weight: 198

Born: Mar 18, 1982

Why? Lombardi is one of the Coyotes' hottest players right now. He scored three assists against Dallas and has three assists against Anaheim in the two games between the clubs so far this season. Lombardi's speed and playmaking abilities will be crucial in generating offense against a Ducks team that is gaining momentum.

The Owie List

Phoenix Coyotes Injuries

Questionable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Vernon Fiddler	undisclosed	11/28/2009
Ed Jovanovski	other-excused	11/28/2009
Peter Mueller	other-excused	11/28/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Kurt Sauer	other-excused	10/07/2009

Did You Know?

The Coyotes are seventh in the Western Conference, tied with 29 points with Nashville and Dallas. The Mutts are tied for sixth in the league in wins (14) after 26 games, are fourth in goals against per game, 12th in both PP and PK, and an incredible 7th in faceoff percentage.

Final Thought

OdinMercer has been gone since Wednesday, and while I have had a terrific time being the fill-in blogger here at Five For Howling, I'll be happy to let him have the keys back to the car. Don't worry, Big Guy, it may read empty on the gas gauge but there are still a few fumes left!

The NHL's top defensive forwards

James Mirtle — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 19:49:06 -0000

More photos » by David Banks - AP

Montreal Canadiens' Tomas Plekanec and Chicago Blackhawks' John Madden.

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We're about far enough into the season that we can start to look at some individual stats and have enough of a sample size to draw some conclusions. This list is the same one I've been churning out for a couple years now, and ranks players defensively based on (a) quality of competition at even strength, (b) goals against per minute played at even strength and (c) goals against per minute played on the penalty kill.

Players also have to have played at least 15 games and fill a significant role on their team's shorthanded unit. Credit, as always, to Behind The Net for the data.

Here are the top 25 at the quarter-way mark:

	NAME	TEAM	GP	QCMP	EVGA/60	SHGA/60
1	BRANDON CROMBEEN	STL	21	0.12	1.44	1.33
2	KRIS VERSTEEG	CHI	22	0.13	1.49	5.25
3	JAY MCCLEMENT	STL	21	0.13	1.75	6.27
4	VERNON FIDDLER	PHX	25	0.03	1.86	3.61
5	JOHN MADDEN	CHI	23	0.12	2.17	5.61
6	DAVID LEGWAND	NSH	23	0.09	2.28	4.43
7	TRAVIS ZAJAC	N.J	22	0.16	0.73	9.20
8	MILAN MICHALEK	OTT	22	0.22	2.57	5.27
9	JAMIE LANGENBRUNNER	N.J	22	0.09	1.69	7.47
10	DANIEL WINNIK	PHX	25	-0.05	1.59	1.54
11	SAKU KOIVU	ANA	17	0.12	1.62	8.64
12	RYAN MALONE	T.B	21	0.18	2.20	7.49
13	MIKE FISHER	OTT	21	0.08	2.32	5.41
14	JOCHEN HECHT	BUF	20	-0.04	1.64	4.10
15	MIKE GRIER	BUF	15	-0.05	1.60	3.53
16	COLIN FRASER	CHI	23	0.04	2.33	4.39
17	JAMES WRIGHT	T.B	21	0.07	1.29	8.13
18	STEVE BEGIN	BOS	24	0.03	1.96	5.34
19	DANIEL ALFREDSSON	OTT	22	0.25	3.02	5.25
20	TOMAS PLEKANEC	MTL	24	-0.01	1.94	5.06
21	DAVID BACKES	STL	21	0.01	2.03	5.19
22	BRANDON DUBINSKY	NYR	18	0.06	2.20	5.72
23	JEFF HALPERN	T.B	21	0.06	2.34	5.54
24	SCOTT NICHOL	S.J	26	-0.07	1.89	2.35
25	JOEL WARD	NSH	21	0.14	2.10	8.81

There are a lot of different names so far than what we saw last season, and I don't know if that's due to the small sample size or if we're simply seeing new players step into these roles and excel. Players on the list who have gotten recognition as top defensive forwards in the past include Versteeg, McClement, Madden, Fisher, Grier, Alfredsson and Ward.

Without a lot of high profile names in there so far (i.e. Datsyuk, Zetterberg) it'll be interesting to see what the Selke candidates look like this season. I don't think you could go wrong giving it to Alfredsson, who always does a nice job on the Sens' PK.

Players who scored on the low end among those that qualified include Wayne Primeau, Craig Adams, Lee Stempniak, Greg Campbell and Rod Brind'Amour.

I'll look at the top defensive defencemen in the near future.

Coyotes Defeat Ducks in Shootout, Win Third Straight

OdinMercer — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 09:27:55 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

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The Coyotes battled though a extremely chippy game last night to take down the Ducks for the team's third win in a row. THe Coyotes took the lead early on a pretty goal from Robert Lang. Lang is really starting to get back to form after signing with the Coyotes at the beginning of the season, missing training camp. The goal was nice and his passes were spot on. Shortly after the goal, as Shane Doan was carrying the puck into the offensive zone, he recieved a hard hit from James Wisniewski that the refs tought was a shoulder, but it looked to me like he followed through with an elbow. Either way, Doan was slow to get up and was woosy when he did. Keith Yandle went after Wisniewski in retaliation and while not a fighter did good in standing up for the captain. The game was much harder following the hit as the Coyotes were looking to hit anyone and everyone on the Ducks squad. George Parros and Paul Bissonette went at it late in the period as well. Doan did return as well to an ovation from the crowd.The period ended with all the players on the ice grabbing and pairing off but the refs were able to separate everyone and get to the locker rooms without any fights.

To start the second though Doan immediately found Wisniewski and took him on himself. Doan got in a few good shots including the takedown was well as another punch after Wisniewski was down. 8 minutes into the period Corey Perry would score on a 5 on 3 power play to tie up the game. Other than that the 2nd was pretty slow as both goaltenders made some quality saves to keep it tied.

In the 3rd Teemu Selane would give the Ducks the lead with a knucklepuck the squirted between Ilya Bryzgalov's arm and body for a goal. Bryz wasn't too happy with it even though the puck changed directions on him. The Coyotes didn't get down though, they went right back to work tying the game back up at 2-2 on a Vernon Fiddler goal just 18 seconds later. That's something that last year's version of the team wouldn't have been able to do, but the skaters bailed out Bryz after he'd done the same for them so many times. The period ended tied at 2 to go to overtime.

Nothing was decided in the extra frame so we went to the shootout. Radim Vrbata would score the only goal for either side winning for the Coyotes. The Coyotes other shooters, Shane Doan and Lauri Korpikoski, both clanged their tries off the posts and Bryzgalov stymied Perry, Getzlaf and Selane.

Other Notes:

Peter Mueller was a healthy scratch as he has yet to score a goal this year. Hopefully the view from the press box did him some good.
With the win the Coyotes move into 4th in the Western Conference with a game in hand on all Pacific Division foes other than the Ducks.
At 9-4-0 with 18 points, this is the best October the Coyotes have had.

Rangers Return to Winning Ways, Coyotes Flounder in 5-2 Loss

OdinMercer — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:05:39 -0000

More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP

about 1 month ago: Phoenix Coyotes goalie Jason LaBarbera (1) reacts after giving up his fifth goal to New York Rangers Enver Lisin in the Coyotes 5-2 loss to the Rangers in their NHL hockey game at Madison Square Garden in New York, Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. LaBarbera replaced goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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I didn't get to see a lot of the game as I was busy searching out a new monitor, put here are my thoughts after watching some of the replay and listening in on the radio:

Ilya Bryzgalov didn't have a terrible night as he got hung out to dry on a couple of those again. That being said he needs to step up more than he has the last two games.
Jason LaBarbera wasn't bad after he came in in relief. Gave up one more goal, but was pretty solid. The team played pretty well in front of him too. Maybe the means he gets the start in Columbus. He's getting one of the next two games.
Penalties killed us again. This has got to stop and soon.
We out shot the Rangers 32-24 but gave them too many odd man rushes and were out of position on almost all of the goals.
Our PK unit has gone downhill as the Rangers got 2 more PP goals against us
Vernon Fiddler at least looked pretty good out there getting a shorthanded goal
The fight the team showed to get back into the game in the second was good, but I was let down by how they seem to get things put together in streaks and then fall apart just as quickly.
What happened to our faceoff %? We won only 42% of our faceoffs tonight. That doesn't help you effectively control the puck. Come on guys...
Yeah, just frustrated about how flat we've looked. 6-4 is an okay start, but let's pick up the next two on the road trip. If we win two for every loss like we had been, that's not a bad pace at all.

That's all I've got for right now. Boo to this loss, it was a winnable game until we gave up in the second. Hopefully Tippett know how to pull you out of this already.He sure won't be sugar coating it for them in the room either.

Looking at the Phoenix Coyotes

MrNorrisTrophy — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:57:51 -0000

More photos » by Ross D. Franklin - AP

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Phoenix Coyotes: 5-2-0 10 pts

Key Wins: 3-0 over Pittsburgh (Penguins only loss thus far), 1-0 and 3-2 over San Jose, 4-0 over Boston

With an off-season of highly publicized turmoil surrounding the front office woes and the Jim Balsillie bid for the team, not much was expected out of the team from the majority of the outsider opinions. Add in the resignation of one of the game's greatest players in Wayne Gretzky from his head coaching position, and expectation were lowered even further. In steps former Dallas coach Dave Tippett to fill the coaching void and bring a new attitude to the team.

Category	Stat	NHL Rank	Leading…	Stat	Player
Goals per game	2.43	20th	Scorer (Points)	6 (1 G, 5 A)	Shane Doan
Goals Against per game	1.43	1st	+/-	+4	Aucoin/Vandermeer
Power play	20.6%	17th	Hits	17	James Vandermeer
Penalty kill	84%	11th	PIM	23	Martin Hanzal
Shots per game	30.7	17th	Shots	32	Ratim Vrbata
Shots against per game	26.9	6th	Blocked Shots	9	Aucoin/Jovanovski
Faceoff percentage	52.8%	7th	Faceoffs	61.7%	Vernon Fiddler
PIM per game	11.9	13th	Wins	5	Ilya Bryzgalov
PP drawn	34	10th	GAA	1.14	Ilya Bryzgalov

Ilya Bryzgalov has found a home in Phoenix as the starting goalie and has proved he is more than capable. He can shut the door on the best of teams on any given night and its helps that the defense around him is limiting the number of shots he has to face. With a good faceoff percentage and a tough defense, the Coyotes present real problems for this Red Wings team.

Players to watch on offense: Shane Doan, Peter Mueller, Petr Prucha

Players to watch on defense: Ed Jovanovski, Adrian Aucoin

Five For Howling is the SBNation affiliate for the Coyotes. Check 'em out.

2009-10 NHL Season Preview: Phoenix Coyotes

James Mirtle — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 16:00:19 -0000

More photos » by Rick Scuteri - AP

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Who's in: Adrian Aucoin, Vernon Fiddler, Lauri Korpikoski, Jason LaBarbera, Taylor Pyatt, Jim Vandermeer, Radim Vrbata
Who's out: Nigel Dawes, Todd Fedoruk, David Hale, Dmitri Kalinin, Ken Klee, Enver Lisin, Brian McGrattan, Brandon Prust, Steven Reinprecht

Outlook: Few eyes were on the Coyotes on-ice woes in the summer.

With the team awash in debt and owner Jerry Moyes unwilling to offset losses that rose to about $30-million on hockey operations in 2008-09 alone, the club was put into bankruptcy in early May with Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie offering a $212.5-million stalking horse bid to buy and relocate the franchise to Hamilton, Ontario.

The resulting court battle made front page news throughout the rest of the playoffs and into the off-season, and in many ways, has overshadowed anything that GM Don Maloney did with the player personnel.

Despite the financial turmoil, however, Phoenix kept its payroll relatively level, trading Steve Reinprecht and waiving Nigel Dawes but adding some useful parts in defencemen Adrian Aucoin and Jim Vandermeer along with former 27-goal man Radim Vrbata and checking forward Vernon Fiddler.

This will again be one of the youngest teams in the league, and its compete level will come down to gains made by the youth already on the roster. Expect more from the likes of Peter Mueller, Matt Lombardi, Martin Hanzal and Mikkel Boedker, all of whom have at least 50-point potential in the right environment and will get plenty of ice time to do so this season.

Where Phoenix desperately needs to improve is on special teams, as they were in the basement in both categories last season, and having a deeper veteran defence core should ease some of the load on players in those situations.

Ultimately, the pieces are here for some upward momentum, but the nasty off-ice battle will likely influence how the team performs and potential salary cuts Maloney has to make. If the Coyotes can make the postseason amidst the bankruptcy proceedings and falling attendance, it'll be one of the top stories of this season.

The odds are against it.

X-factor: Martin Hanzal

For a more in-depth Coyotes preview, visit Five For Howling
For more NHL analysis, check out the McKeen's Hockey Yearbook

Poll

Where will the Coyotes finish in the Western Conference?

1

7 votes

2

0 votes

3

1 votes

4

1 votes

5

1 votes

6

2 votes

7

6 votes

8

12 votes

9

4 votes

10

4 votes

11

6 votes

12

12 votes

13

17 votes

14

41 votes

15

105 votes

219 votes | Poll has closed

SBNation NHL Preview: 2009-2010 Phoenix Coyotes

OdinMercer — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:00:33 -0000

by Matt York - AP

April 11, 2010: Phoenix Coyotes captain Shane Doan talks about how he helped lead the Phoenix Coyotes into the 6th Seed in the Western Conference... Hopefully.

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The struggles of this NHL franchise in the desert have been well documented all summer long. We're still waiting for a decision as to the long term future of the team, but they're here for this season and all the speculation in the world won't change a preview of the team will it? (No, it won't) We're just one short week away from the season opener so now it's down to the nuts and bolts of what the on ice product is going to look like.

The upside of this team is that with the exception of Olli Jokinen and some fourth line forwards and 5/6 pairing Dmen, this is the same team that went into the All-Star break in 5th place in the Western Conference. The team promptly fell apart after the break with all the rumors about the financial troubles and the general lack of experience. With some more mid-aged experience to bridge the gap between the veteran and the kids, there really is a lot of potential for a breakout year.

Amid all the uncertainty this summer, just on Thursday the Coyotes signed a new head coach in the form of Dave Tippett following Wayne Gretzky's resignation. Tippett brings with him a proven system that has proven results in Dallas. While he's a little late to the party in terms of training camp, there's a lot of talent for him to work with here in Phoenix. This biggest question mark with this team is how they'll react to all the media that will be focused on them, especially at the beginning of the season. If they're able to turn it into an us against the world type of situation then we could have a strong start. If, on the other hand, they react like they did down the stretch last season and turn all that inward and implode it'll be a disaster. There's not a whole lot of room for error this year as the team needs to show outside observers and potential fans in the valley that the team is the real deal.

Without a whole lot of budget room to work with this summer, GM Don Maloney put together a pretty decent lineup. He did especially well filling in the defensive holes that have plagued the team the last few years. The spots that had been held by any combination of Ken Klee, Dimitri Kalinin and David Hale have now been filled with Adrian Aucoin and Jim Vandermeer. Aucoin has some offensive ability but is a good puckmover, while Vandermeer is all about defense. Along with the existing defense of Zbynek Michalek, Kurt Sauer, Ed Jovanovski and Keith Yandle this year's blueline pairs look solid.

At Forward, some of the youth has been sent down to San Antonio already to get a little more experience. Viktor Tikhonov and Kyle Turris are the biggest names to be sent to the farm. Turris needs to just grow since he's a small little twig man and Tikhonov just needs more experience. He had a solid time on the PK with the big club last year, but he had a weak camp and needs more time to develop. I expect to see both at times this year though. In Camp Brett MacLean and Kevin Porter have both played well and will Challenge for a roster spot. MacLean tore up the OHL in the 06-07 and 07-08 seasons (going 47-53-100 and 61-58-119 respectively) before moving to the AHL last year. In 74 games on a pretty bad San Antonio team he was able to go 21-19-40. If he can bring some scoring touch to the team that would be great. Most of the roster though is already set. Shane Doan will once again captain the team and be his usual awesome self.Peter Mueller and Martin Hanzal are now entering their third seasons. Both will be looking for new contracts this summer and both need to pick up their games to get good ones. Mueller hit the Sophomore slump HARD and needs to find his scoring touch again. Hanzal was a solid Defensive forward, and had flashes of offense here and there last season. He needs to simply shoot the puck though, he has a cannon of a shot, but he tends to pass a little too much when he has chances. Other notables are Mikkel Boedker who had a pretty good rookie year, Radim Vrbata, who returns to the club and Scottie Upshall who needs to deliver on the potential everyone says he has.

Ilya Bryzgalov will continue to hold down the starting spot this season. Jason LaBarbera was brought in to back him up, but i'm not seeing anything in LaBarbera that makes me think he's going to give Bryz the competition everyone thinks he needs. Bryz has been on the decline, but with this year's defensive unit he needs to show he can get the job done.

Who's in: C Vernon Fiddler, LW Lauri Korpikoski, D Adrian Aucoin, D Jim Vandermeer, LW Taylor Pyatt, RW Radim Vrbata, D Sami Lepisto, G Jason LaBarbera, D Shaun Heshka,

Who's Out: Enver Lisin, Nigel Dawes, Brandon Prust, Brian McGrattan, Steven Reinprecht, Joakim Lindstrom, Demitri Kalinin, Ken Klee, David Hale, Todd Fedoruk

Who's Up?: (Players up from AHL) Brett MacLean, Kevin Porter and David Schlemko

Who's Down?: (Demotions) Kyle Turris and Viktor Tikhonov

Depth Chart:

C - Matthew Lombardi, Martin Hanzal, Vernon Fiddler, Kevin Porter, Daniel Winnik

LW - Mikkel Boedker, Lauri Korpokoski, Petr Prucha, Taylor Pyatt, Brett MacLean

RW - Shane Doan, Peter Mueller, Scottie Upshall, Radim Vrbata,

D - Zbynek Michalek, Kurt Sauer, Ed Jovanovski, Keith Yandle, Adrian Aucoin, Jim Vandermeer

G - Ilya Bryzgalov, Jason LaBarbera, Al Montoya

Season Prediction: The Coyotes make it into the playoffs. Why? Because they have to. It's the only end that makes sense for this crappy story so far. I'm not saying we win the division or anything crazy like that, but bringing in Tippett and an honest to god system instead of an ever changing one can only do good things for this team. Like I said earlier, this team is packed with potential. We saw small parts of that potential realized in the first part of last season. The key is to keep it going through April and hopefully into May. I think Tippett is able to get them to do just that. He brings the mustache back and leads the Coyotes to a 7th place finish in the West and at least make the playoffs interesting. Feel good story of the year and everything. David Shoalts and Canadian media outlets complain about how our playoff spot wasn't given to Edmonton automatically.

Poll

Where in the Western Conference standings do you think the Phoenix Coyotes will finish in the 2009-2010 season?

1st

5 votes

2nd

3 votes

3rd

2 votes

4th

2 votes

5th

8 votes

6th

12 votes

7th

14 votes

8th

15 votes

9th

6 votes

10th

3 votes

11th

0 votes

12th

7 votes

13th

4 votes

14th

7 votes

15th (Banned)

17 votes

105 votes | Poll has closed

2009-10 NHL Season Preview: Nashville Predators

James Mirtle — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:00:18 -0000

More photos » by Frederick Breedon - AP

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Who's in: Marcel Goc, Ben Guite
Who's out: Radek Bonk, Greg de Vries, Vernon Fiddler, Ville Koistinen, Scott Nichol, Greg Zanon

Outlook: Life's not easy as one of the league's low budgeted clubs.

The Predators watched as six role players left the roster — the most glaring loss being useful stay at home defender Greg Zanon — and no free agents of note were added to the mix as the team's payroll sunk down close to the $40.8-million salary floor. The only good news in free agency was that GM David Poile was able to lock up Steve Sullivan and Joel Ward, both of whom should play bigger roles this season.

With Alex Radulov committed to staying in Russia another season, the Predators are going to have to get more offence from within and there aren't a lot of scoring options in the system. Cal O'Reilly, who had a decent 11-game audition at the end of last season, may be an option on a scoring line, as will NCAA standout Colin Wilson, but for the most part, it's going to fall to the incumbents like Jason Arnott, J.P. Dumont and Martin Erat to drive the offence.

Other causes for concern come on the blueline, where the losses will mean a promotion from the AHL for Cody Franson and far bigger roles for players like Alexander Sulzer and Kevin Klein. Poile will likely opt to bring in another veteran defender at some point, but for the most part, huge minutes will continue to fall on the trio of Shea Weber, Ryan Suter and Dan Hamhuis. Nashville very likely has the youngest defence core in the NHL this season.

Even so, this is an underrated group, and if Pekka Rinne can turn his star performance in a half season into more of a full-time showing, the Predators do have a chance to return to the playoffs. Everyone will be betting against them, but when hasn't that been the case?

X-factor: Colin Wilson

For a more in-depth Preds preview, visit On The Forecheck
For more NHL analysis, check out the McKeen's Hockey Yearbook

Poll

Where will the Preds finish in the Western Conference this season?

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4 votes

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0 votes

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2 votes

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5 votes

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5 votes

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11 votes

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26 votes

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19 votes

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25 votes

11

13 votes

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16 votes

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3 votes

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9 votes

154 votes | Poll has closed

Coyotes Open Training Camp Practices Start Today

OdinMercer — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 07:00:28 -0000

More photos » by Paul Connors - AP

The Great One won't be the one leading camp this year.

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Officially camp actually started yesterday, but the first public practices start today at 9:00 am. Here's a look at those invited to camp this year. There are a few names in there that you might recognize from around the league that have not signed with the Coyotes. Ryan Hollweg formerly with Toronto, Aaron Downey from Detroit, Ross Lupaschuk from Anaheim and the KHL and Mitch Fritz from the Islanders. None of them have particularly impressive resumes, but I imagine they're trying out for the position of "Hey someone got hurt, call us up from San Antonio."

Wayne Gretzky, doesn't look to be coming to camp as of today, Ulf Samuellson will be leading in his place. With Wayne's contract situation in the air due to the bankruptcy mess, he simply decided he wasn't going to be there. But I guess Coyotes fans will be getting what a large portion of them had wanted for some time, Wayne out as head coach.

I'll update and repost the list as cuts are made.

Forwards		Defence		Goaltenders
Justin Bernhardt	Mikkel Boedker	Jonas Ahnelov	Nick Ross	Ilya Bryzgalov
Jeff Hoggan	Peter Mueller	Adrian Aucoin	Ed Jovanovski	Joel Gistedt
Kevin Porter	Taylor Pyatt	Shaun Heshka	Michael Stone	Josh Tordjman
Matt Watkins	Scottie Upshall	Chris Frank	Ross Lupaschuk	Jason LaBarbera
David Spina	Francis Lessard	Mathieu Brodeur	Zbynek Michalek	Al Montoya
Vernon Fiddler	Mitch Fritz	Sean Sullivan	Kurt Sauer
Martin Hanzal	Ryan Hollweg	Sean Zimmerman	Sami Lepisto
Lauri Korpikoski	Jordan Szwarz	Tim Billingsley	Keith Yandle
Daniel Winnik	Radim Vrbata	Justin Weller	Jim Vandermeer
Viktor Tikhonov	Andrew Orpik	David Schlemko	Jeff May
Colin Long	Aaron Downey
Shane Doan	Chad Kolarik
Matthew Lombardi	Brett MacLean
Stefan Meyer	Joel Perrault
Petr Prucha	Jared Staal
Kyle Turris