Ilya Bryzgalov regularly stops for ice cream with his family at the upscale Kierland area of north Scottsdale. The tall, lanky star goaltender for the Phoenix Coyotes is one of the most recognizable faces of a team that overall has very few of them. But this day, he and his kids are able to eat their ice cream unmolested, enjoying a relaxing day away from the rink together.

The kids appreciate the ice cream. It is warm outside - in the mid 70s, on a day where most of the rest of North America is saddled with cold and inclement weather. Here, though, a touch of chill is welcome before heading back out into the welcoming sun.

This is life in the Valley of the Sun for a professional athlete - and even athletes on teams far more popular and well-known than the Phoenix Coyotes flock here to live. There are houses for baseball, basketball, and football players scattered across the wide expanse of the Phoenix metro area. The Phoenix Business Journal is littered with home-buying transactions every year that involve recognizable names from the sports world.

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The Olympics are nearly upon us, and this is important because the Olympics end only a couple of days before the NHL trade deadline.

That means that while most of us are trying to reacquaint ourselves with the arcanery of curling and trying to get acquainted with the new names in figure skating, ski jumping and bobsledding... oh, who am I kidding, we're all going to be watching hockey, right?... NHL GMs are going to be putting together trades and deals.

One presumes that one of these active GMs will be Don Maloney. It's not like GMDM to sit pat on a hand without doing some discarding and card drawing, even with the Coyotes playing as well as they are right now. For all of the Coyotes' surprising success, there are still holes that need to be filled.

The questions that follow are: who does Maloney acquire, and what assets does he have to work with to get the deal done?

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Hi folks. I'm not dead, if you were wondering (and I'm pretty sure you weren't). The economy has me running around like a chicken with my head cut off - plus, I'm also editing another SBNation blog now, so between that and work I haven't been able to give OdinMercer the help I promised him a while back. Sorry, Odie.

But I'm back, and I've got a bone to pick with this fair city of mine.

I've lived on and off in Phoenix since 1978. I started out in Scottsdale, and then in 2003 I moved out to Peoria. In between, I went to college out of state and worked in Boston for a couple of years. I've also lived in Mexico and have visited several European countries.

So when I talk about the unique quality of Phoenix-based sports fans, I think I have enough time logged in the Valley and enough exposure to other types of fan to make comparisons.

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Ice Edge Holdings, LLC is either a group of deal-savvy businessmen intent on taking a struggling NHL hockey franchise and building it into a winner, or it is the biggest collection of fools on the planet.

There seems to be nothing in between. At least, not if you ask fans and pundits around the National Hockey League.

IEH and the NHL have each signed a letter of intent for Ice Edge to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes from the league, and pending approval from the Board of Governors the group could end up as the official owners of the club before the end of the 2009-2010 NHL season.

According to the Ice Edge mission statement, the investors in the potential ownership group

...believe that the Coyotes are an undermanaged and underutilized asset. It is the group’s intention to pursue a strategy to keep the team in Arizona for the longer term. Ice Edge Holdings has developed a detailed plan to create a viable hockey future in Arizona.

Seems pretty straightforward, right? Not according to people who purport to know hockey and the business thereof, who are casting doubt on Ice Edge based on misconceptions and faulty or incomplete information about their plan.

As a public service, therefore, Five For Howling will address some of these misconceptions and, hopefully, will clarify the picture for those who cannot believe that anyone would throw money away on an ice hockey team in the desert.

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Don't skate with your head down. Bad things will happen.

If you've ever played a single shift of competitive contact ice hockey, that is one of the first lessons you are taught. You either learn that lesson from your coaches... or from the little birdies that circle your head after you get destroyed by an opponent with better situational awareness than you have.

That's why some Phoenix Coyotes fans are peeved today that Ed Jovanovski will be missing the next two NHL games for the team.

But with all due respect to my fellow fans, I think they need to do what Jovo himself has to do - suck it up and take it like a man. (Even the women.)

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Two years ago, the Arizona Diamondbacks unveiled a brand new look that sent the purple, black and teal in which they won the 2001 World Series to the scrap heap.

Longtime fans were divided deeply on whether the change was for the better. Some were cynical - it was done to sell more souvenirs, it was done to shun the Jerry Colangelo influence on the team, etc. - while some were excited to have a more "traditional" color scheme for the team after years of, "Purple? Really?"

What everyone can agree on is that the re-imagining of the team's look was a spike driven squarely in the team's history timeline to mark a new direction. And it is something that the Phoenix Coyotes might want to look at when the long, tortured saga of the franchise's search for new ownership concludes.

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Next Game

Phoenix Coyotes		Anaheim Ducks
14-11-1 (Won 1)		10-11-3 (Won 3)
29 points		23 points
8th in Western Conference		14th in Western Conference

 

Sunday, Nov 29, 2009, 6:05 PM MST
Honda Center

RADIO ONLY: KFNN 1510AM (Linkage)

OPPOSITION BLOG: Anaheim Calling

Coyotes at Ducks: Game Preview #27

Complete Coverage >

Game Notes

• Ed Jovanovski, Vernon Fiddler and Peter Mueller are all listed as "questionable" for tonight's game. The Coyotes are currently carrying 23 on their roster with Mikkel Boedker's callup, so even if none of the three play the Coyotes shouldn't need to pull anyone else from San Antonio.
• This is already the third meeting between the two clubs. The Coyotes and Ducks have split the season series thus far with one win apiece.
• When we say there's no TV, there's no TV. Neither the Ducks nor the Coyotes are televising this game, which means no Center (or, for that matter, Centre) Ice, no GameCenter, not even any of those (ahem) extracurricular streaming sites online. So it's either listen to Heeter and Nasher on KFNN or follow the HTML boxscore on the Coyotes' site. Sorry.

GO COYOTES!

UPDATE @ 11/28/09, 5:00pm MST: The Coyotes' website states that Tikhonov was "loaned" to the KHL, presumably in the same way a prospect player is "loaned" back to his junior team which holds his rights. The loan is only valid until the end of the 2009-2010 season.

Phoenix Coyotes' prospect Viktor Tikhonov has left the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League for the greener pastures - and bank accounts - of the Russian Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Tikhonov is the second high-profile NHL prospect defection to the KHL in as many weeks, following on the heels of Nikita Filatov's public departure from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

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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.

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Next Game

Dallas Stars		Phoenix Coyotes
11-6-7 (Lost 1)		13-10-1 (Lost 2)
29 points		27 points
7th in Western Conference		9th in Western Conference

 

Friday, Nov 27, 2009, 7:05 PM MST
Jobing.com Arena

TV: FSN-HD
Radio: KGME 910AM

OPPOSITION BLOG: Defending Big D

Complete Coverage >

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Game Notes: Forward Mikkel Boedker was recalled from AHL San Antonio ... Today is day 1 of the four-day Coyotes "Sandstorm Sale," where you can buy tickets for any and all home games through the rest of the season in selected lower-bowl sections for only $25/ticket. The sale lasts until Monday and is only while supplies last.

I'll be at the game and our Fearless Leader is still out of town, but remember, we're with you in spirit! GO COYOTES!

It's Thanksgiving Day here in the States, so this game preview is going to be a little short - after all, I have turkey to go eat and a tryptophan-induced coma to enjoy later, and by the time I come out of it we'll be well into Friday. Five For Howling's big dog, OdinMercer, is still out of town enjoying the holiday, so you're stuck with me again until he gets back to clean up my mess.

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Next Game

Phoenix Coyotes		Calgary Flames
13-10-1		13-6-3
27 points		29 points
9th in the Western Conference		4th in the Western Conference

Wednesday, Nov 25, 2009, 7:30 PM MST
Pengrowth Saddledome

Radio: KGME 910AM
TV: TSN HD (Canada); No Local Broadcast

OPPOSITION BLOG: Matchsticks and Gasoline

Complete Coverage >

Game Notes: Dave Vest of PhoenixCoyotes.com reported that Ed Jovanovski and Zbynek Michalek have been activated off of the IR and that Martin Hanzal is a game-time decision and could be in the lineup tonight.

Shoutout to Odin who is preparing for catastrophic turkey consumption out of state... LET'S GO COYOTES!

Your humble host OdinMercer is heading for the frozen Utah tundra to take advantage of a very unfortunate turkey, so I, zyllyx, am here to preview Wednesday night's action between the Phoenix Coyotes and the Calgary Flames.

Amazingly enough, the Coyotes are a mere two points behind our conference rivals going into Wednesday. Even better, the Flames' home record is a relatively unimpressive 6-5-0 (compared to a 7-1-3 road record) so the prospects for the Coyotes are not as dismal as they might have been in previous years at the Pengrowth Saddledome.

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Saturday night, CBC's Hockey Night in Canada dropped a bombshell of a rumor: Phoenix Coyotes forward Peter Mueller, the club's top draft pick in 2006 (8th overall), could end up on the trading block.

The situation was discussed briefly at the end of HNIC's "Hotstove" segment during Saturday night's broadcast. Hockey analyst Pierre LeBrun mentioned that he "[didn't] think Phoenix wants to dump [Mueller] but that he might not be getting along with [coach] Dave Tippett."

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One of the unfortunate buzzworthy topics in the current NHL season has been the quality - or lack thereof - of the refereeing.

Disagreements with the boys in the zebra suits are part and parcel of professional sports fandom, but it seems as though the 2009-2010 NHL hockey season has had more than its share of borderline, questionable, and outright blown calls. The current joke - riffing on the now-infamous Brad May "non-goal" against the Dallas Stars - goes that the referees are exercising their "intent to suck."

Coyotes fans have had to weather bad refereeing in several games this year, but on Saturday night they found themselves in the strange position of having earned two points over the Philadelphia Flyers by virtue of two very questionable calls.

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I guess it's all about where you stand.

At the Phoenix Coyotes - Tampa Bay Lightning tilt this past Monday, I was standing at the top of the lower-bowl stairs waiting to go back to my seat at a play stoppage. Someone next to me looked out at the crowd and muttered, "This just isn't good."

God help me, I was actually incredulous. Not good? There are nearly 10,000 people here! I thought to myself.

It was a terrific example of the giant gulf that exists between those observing the Phoenix Coyotes from afar and those who have lived and breathed them for years. The two viewpoints are mutually exclusive - it seems some days that, like matter and anti-matter, the two cannot exist in the same universe together.

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The sporting goods store owner has a look of disbelief in his eyes that the Coyotes’ season ticket holder knows is mirrored in his own.

The reason for the disbelief, however, is not the same for him as it is for the shop owner.

The season ticket holder is staring in disbelief at row upon row of hockey sticks, goalie masks, pads, practice sweaters, helmets and other assorted paraphernalia associated with what he considers is the greatest sport in the world.

Literally, he has never seen such an assemblage of hockey gear in one place before. There is just nowhere in Arizona where you can see such a selection - not even in the pro shops in the Valley’s slowly increasing number of hockey-capable ice rinks. It is, he thinks, hockey heaven!

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The latest rumor heard on the Twittersphere is that Phoenix Coyotes GM Don Maloney might be interested in Chris Chelios.

Forget the fact that Chelios is older than both Shaun Heshka and David Schlemko combined - Chelios does bring veteran presence to the blueline that could be useful if, say, Zbynek Michalek or Ed Jovanovski are going to be out longer than anyone anticipated.

Having Chris Chelios around could be a plus for all sides. After all, Phoenix is riddled with Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings fans, so maybe he'll draw some of them out of their comfy homes and away from the TV to see a game live and in person.

For Chelios, the location of Jobing.com Arena is ideally located - right down the 101 from the Sun City retirement communities - which means that he'll have plenty of people his age to hang out with.

This is so much easier than Boston, he thinks.

Back in the days before GPS, the only way to keep one’s orientation in Boston was to keep sight of the Prudential tower. That was east. You need that kind of landmark when you’re trying to navigate a morass of paved cow trails, endless roundabouts, and street-sign-bereft roads. Rumors persist that MIT offers a doctorate in Boston driving but that everyone tends to opt for easier sciences, like nuclear physics or chemical engineering.

Getting to a hockey game in Boston - for him, at least - was an hour-long three-step process that involved his car, the T, and walking. That’s if it wasn’t snowing.

By comparison, getting to a Phoenix Coyotes game... well, his four-year-old could manage it if she could reach the car pedals.

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In efforts to build a hometown following, Coyotes players will fan out around Glendale on Tuesday.

The hockey players will meet residents, sign autographs and hand out Coyotes schedules and tickets for Thursday's game.

Yes, tickets.

The franchise, just out of bankruptcy, is trying to build attendance at Jobing.com Arena.

Who you can meet & where:

1:30 to 2:30 p.m. -- Peter Mueller and Taylor Pyatt at Arrowhead Towne Center,  75th Avenue and Bell Road. North end, next to AMC Movie Theater.

1:30 to 2:30 p.m. -- Paul Bissonnette and David Schlemko in downtown Glendale, including Haus Murphy, Velma Teague Library and the Bank of America Building.

2:30 to 3:30 p.m. -- Sami Lepisto and Lauri Korpikoski at Thunderbird School of Global Management, 59th Avenue and Coral Gables, just south of Greenway Road. Should be in and around the pavilion at the center of campus

- Carrie Watters, Arizona Republic

Vern Fiddler and Adrian Aucoin were new additions to the Phoenix Coyotes this season, but their determined play and contribution to Phoenix's hottest start in nearly a decade have already earned them leadership positions.

With the absence of Ed Jovanovski and Zbynek Michalek due to lower body injuries, Fiddler and Aucoin were selected by Dave Tippett as assistant captains until the two injured blueliners return to the ice.

It's a good move by Tippett, who obviously is looking for players who show effort every night as well as have the maturity to be a good dressing room influence.

...

Tomorrow, the Coyotes face off again against the Anaheim Ducks - this time in their barn - er... pond.

We haven't seen the Ducks since a very chippy affair that saw James Wisniewski threw an elbow into Shane Doan's face. Interestingly, Wisniewski returns from his two-game suspension for that elbow just in time to meet Doan again on the ice. However, don't expect anyone on the Coyotes to pursue any further retribution. "It's over," Doan says.

Notwithstanding, these two teams really hate each other and you can expect a lot of fireworks when the puck drops - which, honestly, is a great recipe for a fun hockey game. This tilt is not being televised so be sure and join our game chat for the big event!

...

It's Movember and teams all around the NHL are growing moustaches to support the fight against prostate cancer. No word yet on whether the Coyotes will be taking part officially, but if they are tomorrow's a good time to get tips from a guy who knows how to flash the 'stache - Anaheim tough guy George Parros. Not since the 1970s has such an awesome lip brush been seen in the league.

Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Ed Jovanovski was injured midway through the third period of the Coyotes' 3-1 victory versus the Chicago Blackhawks and did not return to the ice.

Jovanovski was pinned by a Blackhawks player against the right half-boards in the defensive zone when he sustained the injury. He immediately skated off the ice and received attention from Coyotes trainers in the dressing room.

Jovanovski's status is being evaluated but as of this writing is questionable for Saturday's road game against the Anaheim Ducks.

The Coyotes are already missing defensemen Zbynek Michalek and Kurt Sauer due to injury. Michalek is officially day-to-day, while Sauer is back skating after being injured in the season opener. Sami Lepisto has covered for Sauer, while defensive prospect David Schlemko, who earned an assist against Chicago, was called up from AHL San Antonio to replace Michalek.

UPDATE: The Coyotes have recalled Shaun Heshka from San Antonio today. No word if it is an emergency callup or longer-term.

Last night at Jobing.com Arena, Ed Jovanovski, the Phoenix Coyotes' assistant captain and mainstay on the team's blueline, limped off the ice midway through the third period. He disappeared down the tunnel to the dressing room and did not reappear for the rest of the night.

Several games ago, the Coyotes' top shut-down defenseman and blocked-shot leader Zbynek Michalek suffered a lower-body injury. For a couple of games, Michalek attempted to play through the pain, but last night he finally succumbed to reality and sat out. He now wears a walking cast and is "week-to-week."

Kurt Sauer, another of the team's mainstays on the blueline, hasn't played a game for the Coyotes since the season opener. He is back to skating but still not close to a return.

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Coyotes' blueline fixture Zbynek Michalek will be out for tonight's game against the Chicago Blackhawks at Jobing.com Arena. Michalek suffered a lower-body injury during the Coyotes-Avalanche game last night in Denver.

To fill the blueline hole, rookie David Schlemko was recalled from the Coyotes' AHL affiliate San Antonio Rampage. Schlemko is 0-5-5 with 10 PIM for the Rampage this season after posting 7-22-29 and 20 PIM last season. He was called up three times last season to the big club and recorded his first NHL assist against the Carolina Hurricanes on February 7, 2009.

Schlemko is the fourth Rampage player to earn a callup so far this season. Kevin Porter, Sean Sullivan, and Mikkel Boedker have all been recalled thus far; however, only Boedker, who began the year in Phoenix and skated versus Colorado last night, has seen ice time with the Coyotes.

The nature of Michalek's injury is unknown. He joins forward Scottie Upshall and Kurt Sauer on the Phoenix injured list.

Defenseman Kurt Sauer has been monitoring the unexpected success of the Phoenix Coyotes from an unenviable position this season - the injury list.

Sauer, 28, signed with Phoenix as a free agent prior to the 2008-2009 NHL season and quickly established himself as a fixture on the team's struggling blueline that season as a strong shutdown player.

But this year, after suffering an injury in the Coyotes' first game, Sauer has had to watch from the sidelines as his teammates rocketed to a surprising 9-5-0 record going into tonight's matchup against the Colorado Avalanche.

"It's been a little too long already," said Sauer, who hit the ice for his second consecutive day of skating yesterday.

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