Off-ice issues rock Coyotes; what’s next?
The Coyotes’ future was shimmering with promise. It was June 19, 2019 when Ahron Cohen, the Coyotes’ former president and CEO, issued a statement confirming that the NHL Board of Governors had approved Alex Meruelo’s purchase of the Arizona Coyotes.
“As we move forward,” Cohen said, “our team will do everything we can to continue building the positive momentum and progress we have achieved on and off the ice.”
Less than two months after what Cohen called a “major milestone for the Coyotes organization,” Meruelo arrived at Gila River Arena for his introductory press conference, flanked by Cohen and John Chayka, the team’s now-former president of hockey operations and general manager.
The team was coming off a muchimproved season the year prior. They had just traded for Phil Kessel. They had a young core hungry for more.
They had more momentum than at perhaps any other point in the team’s history.
One year later, after a steady stream of negativity on and off the ice for the Coyotes organization, what happened to it?
“This organization needs positive stuff,” Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet said in a Zoom call with reporters on Friday. “There’s a lot of negativity.”
Less than 12 months after Meruelo was introduced to Coyotes fans, both Cohen and Chayka, the men who introduced him with overwhelming support, have both exited the organization under terms that weren’t exactly amicable .
During that same period, citing financial concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Meruelo furloughed half the team’s staff in April. On Friday, two days after the Coyotes were eliminated by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Meruelo announced even more furloughs and layoffs, again citing the pandemic as a major culprit.
Now, the Coyotes will set their sights on a search for a new general manager as they await NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman to adjudicate their contract dispute with Chayka.
And despite the fact that most of the Coyotes’ roster is under contract for next season, there could be personnel changes on the ice, too.
“There’s always going to be turnaround and change,” Tocchet said. “It’s a business, right? We’re here to win. I’ve been in this business a long time. You hate to see people go. People get fired, people get traded, people get waived.”
However, it’s not as if the Coyotes were mired in negativity all season. Despite struggling late in the regular season and losing their hold on the Pacific Division, trades for Kessel and former No. 1 overall pick Taylor Hall might have been short-sighted and risky but they were certainly needle-movers for ticket sales and merchandise.
And the Coyotes’ qualifying-round win in Game 4 against the Nashville Predators was perhaps the organization’s biggest high since its last playoff run in 2012.
“I think that Nashville game,” Tocchet said, “where they tied it up and we went and won it in overtime was a big moment for the franchise. We could have wilted and we didn’t, so to win that game was huge for us.”
Still, there is no denying the chance in tone from the summer of 2019 to 2020. Hall is a pending unrestricted free agent, and the Coyotes likely won’t have the cap space to retain him. They also don’t have a GM to lead negotiations. They don’t have a first-round pick. Several underperforming veterans are on expiring contracts heading into next season, and a few young players possessing long-term extensions haven’t pulled their weight. Many of the team’s employees are out of work. And despite the playoff appearance, the Coyotes were embarrassed at the end of their series with the Avalanche.
It will undoubtedly be a tumultuous offseason for the Coyotes. But to their benefit it will be a short one, another byproduct of the pandemic. By the time the puck drops on 2020-21, can the Coyotes get the train back on the tracks – or will the organization change course once again?
“The expectations – that’s for you guys to write about,” Tocchet said. “But you can’t keep switching game plans midstream. We’ve made a lot of traction in the last couple years and started to play more important games.
“Just keep moving ahead. Whenever the new GM comes ... what’s his game plan, his philosophy? All that stuff has to keep us moving forward.”
Injury updates
As is customary during end-of-season interviews, Tocchet provided updates on the team’s injured players – both the ones sidelined by their ailments and the ones who played through them.
Tocchet said center Christian Dvorak was playing “with basically one shoulder” in the playoffs. One source said he played through a shoulder separation. Tocchet also revealed that center Brad Richardson played through a thumb injury that will probably require offseason surgery. Richardson is a pending unrestricted free agent.
Both Nick Schmaltz and Conor Garland, the Coyotes’ regular-season points and goals leaders, respectively, were sidelined with head injuries. Schmaltz did not appear in a game in the postseason.