lbh23
Registered User
- May 10, 2012
- 10
- 23
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.
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.