GDT: Game 82: Edmonton Oilers @ Arizona Coyotes | 7:00 p.m. AZST | Scripps

[luiginb]

Just beautiful

 

[DustyDangler]

I love AT as a coach, but I think that's BS! If the players weren't mature enough to handle those rumors, they shouldn't be professional hockey players. I don't like that excuse and that's what it was an excuse.

He wasn't using it as an excuse. Was basically saying they failed at the first adverse move element and they were much better the second go around. They are kids and we are watching them mature in real time.

 

[DustyDangler]

I have mixed emotions about this. I've watched almost every Coyotes game for the last 4-5 years. I couldn't bear to watch the last several games after all of the rumors started to circulate.
I only watched tonight's game to see the fans reaction. I think if I was in AM's shoes and I had put in the time and money only to have the team taken from me, I wouldn't want to be there when they played their last game under my ownership. Regardless of how this all breaks out and who's to blame in the end, I have to think AM really wanted to own this team and wanted the best.
These billionaires have egos and this has to be humiliating to him.

I see the real villain as Ryan Smith. In the beginning he wanted an expansion team and seemed to indicate he wasn't interested in relocating another franchise. As time went on he appeared to grow impatient and with the help of the players association and a lot of cash, weaseled his way into buying the Coyotes. They don't even have a legit NHL arena in SLC.
You take Smith out of the equation and we're not having this conversation.

That's not to underplay Meruelo's failures, but I feel if Smith had any integrity, he would have waited and certainly got his expansion team in 2- 3 years when the new building in SLC was finished.

It's a competitive industry at every level. At the end of the day, Ryan is a winner and Alex is a loser.

 

[Llewzaher]

I love AT as a coach, but I think that's BS! If the players weren't mature enough to handle those rumors, they shouldn't be professional hockey players. I don't like that excuse and that's what it was an excuse.

You are probably right but good on him to throw it back in their face…

Use it as motivation for the last couple of games.. (he first mentioned this in EDM I think )

And hope BA will buy it during his performance review hehe

I'm glad you guys won it <3
. So who do you cheer for now?

Same team , they just changed their name and moved away.. speaking for myself of course

 

[Prarievarg]

Oil fans are reminding me why I should really stop following the NHL altogether.

 

[Llewzaher]

I have mixed emotions about this. I've watched almost every Coyotes game for the last 4-5 years. I couldn't bear to watch the last several games after all of the rumors started to circulate.
I only watched tonight's game to see the fans reaction. I think if I was in AM's shoes and I had put in the time and money only to have the team taken from me, I wouldn't want to be there when they played their last game under my ownership. Regardless of how this all breaks out and who's to blame in the end, I have to think AM really wanted to own this team and wanted the best.
These billionaires have egos and this has to be humiliating to him.

I see the real villain as Ryan Smith. In the beginning he wanted an expansion team and seemed to indicate he wasn't interested in relocating another franchise. As time went on he appeared to grow impatient and with the help of the players association and a lot of cash, weaseled his way into buying the Coyotes. They don't even have a legit NHL arena in SLC.
You take Smith out of the equation and we're not having this conversation.

That's not to underplay Meruelo's failures, but I feel if Smith had any integrity, he would have waited and certainly got his expansion team in 2- 3 years when the new building in SLC was finished.

I could be wrong on this , as I am still listening to certain info.. but I believe Ryan needs the franchise in hand to speed up the approval process of the arena.. he just yesterday “applied or made his intentions known? “ to look at certain plots of land in the downtown area..if he never got the team , I believe this pushes it out years

Supposedly he is looking to bring in a MLB as well and wants to build a stadium, but that doesn’t go any further until he gets the team..

Now I was mult tasking and ( tasting) lol while this was all being explained by a lady at SLC city hall , so I may have misunderstood..

 

[DustyDangler]

Oil fans are reminding me why I should really stop following the NHL altogether.

Oilers showed yesterday they are vulnerable to good defense and goaltending. They may get past round 1 due to the Avs all-star goaltending but they are not likely to get past the Kings, or Vegas and certainly not Dallas. Oilers fans will be back to their crying ways soon enough.

 

[Prarievarg]

It’s absurd that we just had this incredibly emotional final game in franchise history, with the whiteout, emotional sendoffs, tears throughout the arena - and the NHL isn’t posting any of it on their social channels.

Oilers showed yesterday they are vulnerable to good defense and goaltending. They may get past round 1 due to the Avs all-star goaltending but they are not likely to get past the Kings, or Vegas and certainly not Dallas. Oilers fans will be back to their crying ways soon enough.

Reason enough to stay around I guess...

 

[James R]

I'm sorry Coyote fans - that last bit of the game was hard to watch. This is heartbreaking. I've seen the Jets and Nordiques fold and I know how much it hurt the fans in those cities. Here's to hoping that the desert will one day house another franchise. Cheers.

 

[TeamTourigny]

Guys, I have been on this board off and on for almost 20 years. (TeamTurris, TeamTippet, TeamTocchet etc) Its been a ride, love you all. IDK where my team (or player) allegence will go from here but I'm signing off.

 

[Cotton McKnight]

Yotes fans, you deserved better from your ownership. I lived in PHX during the transition to Glendale and remembered being excited that the Yotes would have a nice place to call their home. I got to go to a ton of games while I lived there and always held the Yotes 2nd on who I rooted for (I grew up in STL and am a Blues fan). My in-laws from PHX knew nothing about hockey before I moved into their family, but they were fans after I got them hooked on the Yotes. Hopefully Merulo will be out when and if expansion can come to PHX.

 

[Llewzaher]

Yotes fans, you deserved better from your ownership. I lived in PHX during the transition to Glendale and remembered being excited that the Yotes would have a nice place to call their home. I got to go to a ton of games while I lived there and always held the Yotes 2nd on who I rooted for (I grew up in STL and am a Blues fan). My in-laws from PHX knew nothing about hockey before I moved into their family, but they were fans after I got them hooked on the Yotes. Hopefully Merulo will be out when and if expansion can come to PHX.

It’s a good thing for everyone to think about .. a lot of you , if you left for another city that had an NHL team , you would still root for them .. if they came to town you would wear the jersey and show up to the game ..

It’s still your team , that doesn’t change by where they live or where you live.

I remember the first few years in PHX a lot of people would cheer for the team wearing Jets jerseys. It was still their team

Then when you get a team back in PHX, you have 2 teams to cheer for

 

[superdeluxe]

I’m so sorry guys, been following you guys over the last couple of years due to Dylan Guenther, and was excited to see Cooley and Guenther team up the way they did. As a Sonics fan, I get it. Hope you guys are on the next up for an expansion franchise

 

[LittlePipes]

It’s a good thing for everyone to think about .. a lot of you , if you left for another city that had an NHL team , you would still root for them .. if they came to town you would wear the jersey and show up to the game ..

It’s still your team , that doesn’t change by where they live or where you live.

I remember the first few years in PHX a lot of people would cheer for the team wearing Jets jerseys. It was still their team

Then when you get a team back in PHX, you have 2 teams to cheer for

no doubt i will be at a game in slc wearing my coyotes jersey sometime next season! road trip!

 

[Llewzaher]

no doubt i will be at a game in slc wearing my coyotes jersey sometime next season! road trip!

Would be awesome to hear “let’s go Coyotes” during the game

 

[Coyotedroppings]

“Salt Lake Sucks” seems odd given the number of Mormons living in Phoenix metro.

I doubt the Mormons were chanting it. Hell I doubt Mormons even like hockey

Sorry, i couldn't resist, I did not chant, but understand the frustration. it just seemed silly, since our boy's will most likely be representing them soon.... barring my hoped for miracle, it's a shame this isn't important enough to pray for one.

 

[Mosby]

I doubt the Mormons were chanting it. Hell I doubt Mormons even like hockey

Sorry, i couldn't resist, I did not chant, but understand the frustration. it just seemed silly, since our boy's will most likely be representing them soon.... barring my hoped for miracle, it's a shame this isn't important enough to pray for one.

We had the wave going and I was thinking of you

 

[Coyotedroppings]

The cheerleader crying her guts out while waving her flag on the ice was what finally wrecked me.

Nobody deserves this. Not even the trolls. This is the worst feeling I've felt since I had to euthanize my cat last August.

She was right in front of me and Emily was just up ice from her, fighting the tears. What got her was when the fans starting chanting "Thank you Coyotes!"

 

[Coyotedroppings]

We had the wave going and I was thinking of you

No one around me does it.... maybe I'm too vocal?

 

[Dead Coyote]

Oil fans are reminding me why I should really stop following the NHL altogether.

This is a big part of why I'm not currently planning on following the team to SLC.

The Yotes have always been shit on. The adversity has made us and the team bond together and made our bond stronger. Whether it was Katie Strang, Seravelli, Gambo, or any of the many, many Canadian hockey pundits, there was always someone telling us we sucked and should be moved already, that our franchise was worthless and dragging down the NHL. That hockey would never succeed here.

There's even a huge portion of fans on these very boards who still say those things today.

This team is 100% going to succeed in some capacity when players like Guenther, Doan, and Cooley take the next step. We can already see it happening in the last games of the season.

The fact of that success being taken away from us, and given to someone else, so that all the fans and all the pundits can say "haha told you so" absolutely f***ing kills me. We don't deserve that kind of shit and we never did. And it took us 5 years to even get to this point, and 20 something of never being able to get over that hump.

The year we had Grabner and Richardson working like money on the PK was special, not only because of that, and because that was the year AM took over with BA coming in, but because we were a team in the playoff hunt, we were playing good exciting hockey and we ended up making the playoffs. The energy on here and everywhere was incredible.

I wish I got to experience something like that with all of you in the future with this team, but instead it's going to be some other fans experiencing it in another city after we went through hell to get here.

I'll still be happy that Cooley and Guenther and Doan and Macelli and everyone get to that point. I'll still be a fan of those players. But I don't think you'll find me supporting the NHL in any further capacity.

 

[Foggy1097]

This is a big part of why I'm not currently planning on following the team to SLC.

The Yotes have always been shit on. The adversity has made us and the team bond together and made our bond stronger. Whether it was Katie Strang, Seravelli, Gambo, or any of the many, many Canadian hockey pundits, there was always someone telling us we sucked and should be moved already, that our franchise was worthless and dragging down the NHL. That hockey would never succeed here.

There's even a huge portion of fans on these very boards who still say those things today.

This team is 100% going to succeed in some capacity when players like Guenther, Doan, and Cooley take the next step. We can already see it happening in the last games of the season.

The fact of that success being taken away from us, and given to someone else, so that all the fans and all the pundits can say "haha told you so" absolutely f***ing kills me. We don't deserve that kind of shit and we never did. And it took us 5 years to even get to this point, and 20 something of never being able to get over that hump.

The year we had Grabner and Richardson working like money on the PK was special, not only because of that, and because that was the year AM took over with BA coming in, but because we were a team in the playoff hunt, we were playing good exciting hockey and we ended up making the playoffs. The energy on here and everywhere was incredible.

I wish I got to experience something like that with all of you in the future with this team, but instead it's going to be some other fans experiencing it in another city after we went through hell to get here.

I'll still be happy that Cooley and Guenther and Doan and Macelli and everyone get to that point. I'll still be a fan of those players. But I don't think you'll find me supporting the NHL in any further capacity.

I hear what you’re saying and I get it…but you don’t have to believe the false stories they will tell. You can realize it’s fiction and let them carry on in their fantasy land.

 

[Jaytee]

I'm sorry, you guys.

I'm from Winnipeg. I was a Jets fan from the very beginning in the WHA, 1972...yes, I'm old.

I know what you're feeling. It broke my heart to lose the Jets in 1996. It's never easy, and I know how much it hurts.

I hope that some day, sooner rather than later, you can get a competent ownership group and a good arena, and get back in the league.

 

[Coyotedroppings]

This team is so f***ing close to playoffs

Keller schmaltz Maccelli Guenther Cooley Durzi doan

When is the last time we had that much pure talent

Stick with the team in Utah and we’ll see what happens in AZ in five years

Sadly, I think that's a big part of the problem, the NHL not liking the optics of a team getting national coverage playing in a dink rink. The two nationally covered games this season (and probably last season as well) have been away games.

 

[Grimes]

I got to go to the game very last minute. I got a text after the game started asking how quickly I could get to the game (10 minutes for me) and had an email with a ticket soon after. Was an incredible experience but so was watching the 1st period at the bar with a few of my buds. Glad I missed the Fernet shot @finkelsteinberg

Either way this team has built me friendships both in person and online. Helped me reconnect with older friends, make brand new ones and has given me too many memories to count.

I made sure to cheer loud last night. It was an absolute party at the Mullett. And it seemed like a great send off for the players and staff.

AM and the Tempe No voters can get bent.

 

[Coyotedroppings]

I love AT as a coach, but I think that's BS! If the players weren't mature enough to handle those rumors, they shouldn't be professional hockey players. I don't like that excuse and that's what it was an excuse.

Not an excuse, the reality of a learning moment. A person doesn't inherently know how to handle such.

Edit: Now I read in your next post that you couldn't watch games after the latest news broke.