Yes, we know the Caps have a pretty big game tonight against the hated Pittsburgh Penguins. But one of the best sports stories of the season — NHL or otherwise — rolls into town on Saturday night.
The Phoenix Coyotes spent the entire summer embroiled in a damaging bankruptcy case that brought the franchise’s existence in Arizona — actually, it’s existence at all — into serious question. The original owner needed to unload the team. The NHL wanted nothing to do with the wealthiest bidder — aggressive Canadian Jim Balsille, founder of Research in Motion, which makes Blackberry smart phones. The court case was a complete mess and led to the firing of coach Wayne Gretzky during training camp for financial reasons. They actually fired Gretzky!
Recommended Stories
With rumors of relocation rampant, how could any team thrive under the circumstances? Well, with the ownership situation finally settled the Coyotes are doing just fine on the ice. You can see for yourself when they visit the District this Saturday for a game against the Capitals. Phoenix — universally picked to miss the playoffs for the seventh year in a row — is tied for fourth place, through Wednesday, in the Western Conference with a 28-17-5 record and 61 points. That’s just seven shy of the Caps (31-12-6, 68 points).
The reason? New coach Dave Tippett has installed a far more structured system that his players — a nice mix of veterans like Shane Doan and a bunch of talented youngsters — have bought into.
