Sick of it; and losing patience. Long rant....

[lbh23]

It pains me to write this. I am a STH, loyal fan and I have many close friends at the highest levels of the organization - but it just seems as if this is a cursed franchise that is completely devoid of having the ability to make the right moves or create any luck.

We all know the organization is cash-strapped; which is beyond frustrating. But even teams with lower payrolls have had success in the NHL, even though the success may be short-lived. The lack of cash for year after year after year after seems to have taken a toll of which there may be no way to overcome. And I do believe that the complete and utter incompetence of ownership reached a zenith with the selection of Dylan Strome. That one pick set us back years. Where am I going with this? Well, if you don't have the ability to lure and pay free agents, you need to build in the draft; and our past drafts have been an epic dumpster fire. Go back and look at the talent we could have stockpiled over the years, it will surely depress you. No money and no scouting is a bad combo, and we are paying the price now.

And I do believe there is a cultural issue. Just look at how ineffective and unmotivated players are here....until they leave. I know that these are professional athletes and the atmosphere in which they play in should not have any effect on their performance; but my theory is that it absolutely does. Think about it; these guys grew up playing in packed arenas night after night. Their college or junior bands were packed, fans were engaged and they had pressure to perform. Our entire atmosphere is pathetic. The arena is half empty and when it is filled, it is mostly with opposing teams' fans. Our building is in the middle of nowhere and the players live far away from it. The fans lack energy because they are so used to a terrible product. There is ZERO energy. There is ZERO press coverage. There is ZERO pressure to perform. There is ZERO accountability from the fans, press and management because they know the team cannot afford to actually do anything. Imagine players like Gally and Hino and Hammer coming from places like MTL and CHI where 21,000 rabid fans pack the joint each night...and then imagine taking the ice here for the anthem and seeing sections completely empty. If the fans don't care and the city doesn't care....perhaps the players just don't care.

But the bottom line is that the product just stinks. Almost a full half of the roster would be 4th liners (if not in the AHL) with any other franchise. Fischer, Perlini, Archibald, Cousins, Panik, Richie, KConn, Oesterlee, and perhaps even Strome and Crouse. An argument could be made that 10 of our 23 man roster would not even make an NHL roster with a different organization. And our "top-line" talent is not the kind that can put a team on their back, i.e., Ovie, Crosby, Kane, etc. This team is just not a good team and is far from it.

What is most frustrating is the inability to develop players. This is where I just have no answer. Domi, Strome and Duclair are just a few....but look back at the scouts for years taking about the young talent this team had.....none of them have done anything with the Coyotes. None except for Keller who now looks like a shell of the player her was last year. Perhaps the fact that there is never enough talent around them stymies the development of our youngsters? I don't know.

What I do know is that I am so close to kissing this team good bye. I am sick of a bad product. I am sick of an empty arena without any energy. I am sick of fearing relocation every year. I am sick of garbage owners. I am sick of driving to Glendale. I am sick of a lack of stability. I am sick of NEVER signing any great free agents. I am sick of not even sniffing the playoffs. I am sick of feeling like the team is a minor league organization. I am sick of being a cap floor team. I have stood by the organization through all of the BS...and it is starting to finally take a toll. I don't know where to go as a fan; I am just sick of loving this team.

Click to read more...

 

[Muppet]

Preaching to the choir, my friend. Life as a Coyotes fan is eternal suffering which will never end. The franchise is stuck in an endless cycle of mistakes, and there's not a single thing we can do about it.

 

[CLW]

I was just about to say something similar. It's time for this franchise to stop posing. If it wants to stay a franchise for journeymen players and coaches to earn NHL salaries while pretending to compete then at least let the real talent like Keller off the hook to pursue a real NHL career in a real franchise. Trade all the first round picks for journeymen happy to just pick up a salary and play for a team that's designed to never really go anywhere.

 

[CBJ goalie]

Wow, that was rough to read.....I haven't been a Coyotes nearly as long as many of you here, so I feel badly for how long you've been suffering as a loyal fan for so many years.

Even though I'm in SW Ontario, surrounded by Leafs and Habs fans, and always have to hear about Canadian teams being micro managed by the media, I've always had a soft spot for the underdog teams...the little market that is trying to make their mark.

I sincerely hope this team and franchise will turn it around one day, and start making other fans notice.
As a Columbus Blue Jackets fan also, their turnaround started from the top. Gotta bring in quality management that trims away the fat, the deadwood.... implements leaders to instill confidence and a new structure.
For the CBJ, that happened when John Davidson was hired. He started putting the right people in charge, got Jarmo Kek in as GM, and good things started to happen.

That's what I see that needs to happen for the Coyotes.

 

[awfulwaffle]

Dang, very tough read. But I get it. I can't say the same because it sounds like you have been a STH for multiple years, as I was just for last year.

I feel like Chayka has come in and tried to find us some solid pieces, and honestly Raanta last year down the stretch was very solid, and Kuemper(spelling) was solid. Just the past couple games have been touch to watch.

I feel ya though. Hang in there.

 

[rt]

I read it. Good post. We’ve purged. It didn’t work. I think they just have to fire everyone they can fire(again) and trade everyone they can trade(again) and move the team(finally) either to Scottsdale or to Houston.

 

[SR]

I read it. Good post. We’ve purged. It didn’t work. I think they just have to fire everyone they can fire(again) and trade everyone they can trade(again) and move the team(finally) either to Scottsdale or to Houston.

Only way I see it working. It wont work in Glendale, they dont bring in enough revenue to be able to afford anyone special. I may be in the minority, but I wouldnt mind seeing this team leave and become successful. I dont go to enough games to care to see them live. I am a TV watcher, aside from maybe 5 -10 games a year.

I dont know what it is either. But we f***ing suck.

 

[Bonsai Tree]

I get it too. I've been a Coyotes fan since they arrived. Used to take my daughters, now I take my granddaughter when she is in town. It just leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

Only way I see it working. It wont work in Glendale, they dont bring in enough revenue to be able to afford anyone special.

Only place this franchise will have enough capital to bring in high-priced talent is in Quebec City.

 

[Coyotedroppings]

I've been a sth over 12 years now and I feel your pain. Times like these make it seems like all hope is lost and have the most ardent fans thinking about throwing in the towel.
Players need to buy into building something that fans can't help but want to see. Combine that with a highly competitive league that many are navigating and it ain't easy.

 

[SR]

Only place this franchise will have enough capital to bring in high-priced talent is in Quebec City.

Disagree. If they end up in Scottsdale, the place will be full for I would imagine the first 3-5 years. Depending on how they do, could be an every-night occurrence.

Houston, I have no idea about.

 

[Heldig]

And they just purged 2 more high draft picks.

 

[Tom Polakis]

Good post. Right there with you, man. I welcomed the team when they arrived, haven't been a STH, but have had a ~12-game pack for the past 10 seasons. With the Strome/Perlini trade, I'm very close to not caring if they move the team anymore. I can't even watch the televised games, as they just put me in a sour mood for the rest of the night. The product is not entertaining in the least, so why keep watching it?

 

[Name Nameless]

At least Strome will start to play like a third overall now.

Good for him. I promise to be happy for him, and not bitter.

Even if he was one of the few who actually looked like he cared in his last game vs the Flames.

 

[Jamieh]

For a few seasons now I have treated the NHL and the Coyotes as entertainment like the business it is. When they are entertaining I attend games regularly and when they suck I only go when I think the value is there. I have regularly attended when I can buy a lower level seat for the $30 range. I have not paid over $50 for a long time as I just don't see the product being worth that price no matter who they are playing. It makes me less frustrated.

 

[PerpetualTankYear]

Good post.

I haven’t been excited at a Coyotes game since 2012. It feels more like a chore to stand up and clap when they score than a celebration. The product is garbage, and the mismanagement of players is inexcusable. If you look at every successful team, they’ve build through the draft. The Coyotes have 3 of their own first round picks still on the roster. Three. And at this point Keller and Chychrun might get traded too, just because every other decent young player we have seems to. If you include Dvorak, we have 5 total players on our roster that were drafted by the Yotes in total. Five. That’s pathetic.

Phoenix is a great hockey city. It’s just not a Coyotes hockey city. I’d bet there’s more people in the Phoenix area that identify as Blackhawk fans than Coyote fans. Then there’s just as many Penguins, Rangers, Philly, Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Minnesota, Buffalo, Detroit fans. f*** man, that’s half the league. Even Colorado and LA fans are starting to show us up in our own arena. Nobody here gives a shit about this team.

Hockey will be just fine here. Every rink has packed adult leagues, and youth hockey is thriving and expanding. But nobody goes to a Coyotes game unless they’re playing their team.... and it’s embaressing. At some point you have to take a wounded horse behind the barn and shoot it..... I’m about at that point with the Coyotes.

 

[CLW]

That is fixed by WINNING. At the end of the day, as you say, there is no way past the build through the draft model. Especially for a relatively poor franchise like the Coyotes.

The fact that the Coyotes have been bungling up the drafts year after year, most likely by penny pinching and low prioritisation, is just gobsmackingly moronic and shortsighted.

But yeah, taking a ramshackle patchwork journeyman team to the first round of the playoffs is more important than creating a real franchise with deep local support across generations.

 

[hbk]

I'd like Morgan to explain the new Coyote amateur scouting changes what's the philosophy. How do analytics play in? What's changed or is just the opinions at the end of the day or have we outlawed opinions ithout supporting data?

 

[FinnishCoyote]

I'm 19 years old teenager from Finland, i have been a fan since like 2010 (followed regularly since like 2014). This is first time when i legitimately think that i maybe wouldn't care if the team was moves outside of desert.

Gosh, i didn't know anything about NHL, when i became a "fan". I'm really sad about that i chose this dumpster dive as a 10 yo, like any other organisation would have been so much better


Edit: Maybe i'm overreacting, don't bash me please. I really just haven't had this kind of feeling about Yotes ever before

 

[lanky]

At least Strome will start to play like a third overall now.

Good for him. I promise to be happy for him, and not bitter.

Even if he was one of the few who actually looked like he cared in his last game vs the Flames.

The tough part is that when he looks like a star playing beside Kane we'll wonder if it would've been similar with Keller. We'll never know.

 

[Edenjung]

I might be a fan for only about 1 year, but in my opinion, this team is still in a position, where it can be saved.
All the problems stated are problems one could solve.
Take attendance and the poor atmosphere as an example.
When it's hard to fill the lower bowl, let the people form the top floor down in the bowl in the second intermission or the first.
For Atmospehere you just need some passionate fans that are willing to go to almost every homegame and that want to make the place into a lion's den.
Man for god's sake that is our f***ing team, we need to try to make it better. Sometimes you have to stay strong, for f***s sake i went through all that shit when Vfb Stuttgart got down into second league. But the atmosphere was always good even when the game is lost.
We need to show the world that we love our team even if it is a shitshow and that motivates our players and can show the managment that they have people who care, even if it's only a minority.
If you need help by doing that just call.
We have to organize ourselfs to make become a fanbase, go to games in groups and make the whole place a party again. The enemy team must fear us and our chants.

if the people won't come for the quality of the game, then make them come for the atmosphere. and from there on you can change things. A loud minority on tv can send demands for a managment change and stuff like that.

 

[GhostofTommyBolin]

Disagree. If they end up in Scottsdale, the place will be full for I would imagine the first 3-5 years. Depending on how they do, could be an every-night occurrence.

Houston, I have no idea about.

Maybe the first year in Scottsdale would be full, but no one supports a team in this town that doesn't win. You'd get the folks saying "Hey, let's go see the new arena" and such and probably a lot of east valley people that don't make the drive to Glendale now. But that only lasts a year, tops, if they don't win. That's not going to happen unless there are sweeping changes.

Kind of makes me wonder if OEL has a real desire to win. There's no pressure to do so here, and I know $8 mil/year makes it easy to stay. I like the guy but I have to wonder if he's loyal of if he enjoys a pressure-free career more.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

Kind of makes me wonder if OEL has a real desire to win. There's no pressure to do so here, and I know $8 mil/year makes it easy to stay. I like the guy but I have to wonder if he's loyal of if he enjoys a pressure-free career more.

I've given up hope of trying to understand OEL's thought processes. Only thing I can say for sure is that for a guy who everyone thought was this great leader, he hasn't looked like one according to the eye test. He certainly doesn't seem like the hardest-working player on the ice most nights.

 

[Muppet]

I've given up hope of trying to understand OEL's thought processes. Only thing I can say for sure is that for a guy who everyone thought was this great leader, he hasn't looked like one according to the eye test. He certainly doesn't seem like the hardest-working player on the ice most nights.

I have wondered if OEL is the new leader of the country club. Perhaps his loyalty lies with his swimming pool and local golf courses. Plenty of laziness in his game, and it's obvious this team lacks leadership. It worries me.

 

[Name Nameless]

Maybe the first year in Scottsdale would be full, but no one supports a team in this town that doesn't win. You'd get the folks saying "Hey, let's go see the new arena" and such and probably a lot of east valley people that don't make the drive to Glendale now. But that only lasts a year, tops, if they don't win. That's not going to happen unless there are sweeping changes.

Kind of makes me wonder if OEL has a real desire to win. There's no pressure to do so here, and I know $8 mil/year makes it easy to stay. I like the guy but I have to wonder if he's loyal of if he enjoys a pressure-free career more.

I am sure OEL wants to win. What you guys might miss, is he knows if the Yotes are out, he will get to play in the world championship.

Unlike in the USA, this has importance in Europe, and it should be massively important in Sweden.

In case this can be misunderstood. Don't get me wrong, I really don't think he "does it on purpose" or something. Absolutely not. But he knows he will have either the Stanley Cup playoffs, or the worlds, and the worlds are much closer than you guys are aware of.

So, when you ask "doesn't he want to win"?

It is -IMHO- not the question you think it is.

This is my explanation on why a star player can be happy with Arizona.