You Can't Avoid the Draft: Wow. Kind of an exciting draft weekend. Although I am with Jeff Z. Klein in that I too find it a little annoying that you don't know if a team had a good draft for something like five years. That's...... , posted on June 23, 2008 more

No Avalanche of Trades Yet: Things sure are looking up for the Avalanche. Paul Stastny scored in his first game back from an appendectomy, and the team won a crazy long shootout against the Coyotes. For a struggling team like the Avs of late, this...... , posted on February 25, 2008 more

The Spirit of Satan: Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet returned to the bench last night after a two-year suspension for his participation in a gambling ring. Interestingly, the Coyotes are such big Tocchet fans, they held his job for him while he was gone....... , posted on February 08, 2008 more

Every Time That Flag Unfurls: The Times hockey blog had a breakdown, via HockeyWidgets, of where American-born NHLers are from in the U.S. Unsurprisingly, Minnesota, Michigan, New York, and Massachusetts, were the big states. It's kind of good timing, though, as the Wild are going...... , posted on February 07, 2008 more

Five Hossas in Space?: I like Jim Gintonio because he knows how to get readers. The headline asks "Two Hossas in Phoenix?" The column answers, 'Probably not.' I've always felt Marcel Hossa's entire career is based on teams trying to lure Marian, his more...... , posted on January 04, 2008 more

NHL Diversity: The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine had an interesting piece on former Bruin Willie O'Ree, aka the NHL's first black player. O'Ree works for the league, doing outreach on behalf of the NHL's diversity program. The article raises the idea that...... , posted on December 11, 2007 more

Stealing Goalies: I can't believe the Ducks couldn't find anyone to give up anything for goalie Ilya Bryzgalov (login info.). GM Brian Burke said he was surprised, too. The Ducks waived Bryzgalov and the Coyotes claimed him. Then, Bryzgalov earned a shutout...... , posted on November 19, 2007 more

Toronto Bills: OK. There was some stuff from the Sunday paper that I forgot to mention yesterday. Like the Buffalo Bills are going to play eight home games in Toronto over the next five years. Does this signal the end of hockey's...... , posted on October 30, 2007 more

Islanders: 'Surprise! You're Our Captain': Wow. Bill Guerin goes straight to the head of the line and is the new captain of the Isles. It's kind of a weird move since he's only on a two-year contract and I can't believe he'll be on the...... , posted on July 10, 2007 more

Isles Stock Up...Finally: You really have to respect the Islanders. They were shut out of the top-tier free agents big time, but they didn't fold. They're still working hard. They just landed Bill Guerin and Mike Comrie . Depending on which Guerin shows...... , posted on July 06, 2007 more

A Day Late, A Buck Short: Everyone's done a nice job of wrapping up game one. My two cents? Anaheim can't possibly win giving up that many power plays. During most of the game, all I could really think was that the NHL was trying to...... , posted on May 30, 2007 more

Good News/Bad News: How many NHL GMs are sitting around pounding their foreheads over the rebirth of the Phoenix Coyotes? Another few weeks of solid play and the Coyotes won't be giving away the team for prospects. Even the Coyotes can't love the...... , posted on January 08, 2007 more

PuckUpdateBuzz: Larry Brooks says the Rangers are going to make a go at New Jersey Devil Scott Gomez once he's a free agent next year. I've often thought about how the play-making Gomez would look on the Rangers' second line, playing...... , posted on January 04, 2007 more

Hockey Times: The New York Times was chock full of hockey last week. We learned: 1. Goalies are getting saner. 2. If your dad is Wayne Gretzky, it kind of sucks to play hockey....... , posted on December 18, 2006 more

Coyote Awkward: So this is pretty meta (and awkward). The Arizona Republic article about Jeremy Roenick maybe playing last night (he didn't), features an ad for the Coyotes featuring Jeremy Roenick: If this was one of those new American telenovelas, everyone would...... , posted on December 15, 2006 more

Two Seconds in Glendale: Sunday's Times featured Play, their fantastic (quarterly?) sports magazine. I haven't gotten through all of it yet, but upfront they had a great examination of Edmonton's goal during the last 2.2 seconds of a game against Phoenix last season. They...... , posted on November 01, 2006 more

Panic Button: Wow. Could the Coyotes be pressing any more panic buttons? I'm not saying they're scared, I'm just saying if Jody Foster ever does a sequel to one of her movies, she might want to hang out by the Coyotes' bench...... , posted on October 30, 2006 more

The So-So One: Far be it from me to jump on the fire Wayne Gretzky bandwagon. But... Seriously. He's just not a great coach. Obviously, his team has its flaws. But Tuesday night, the Coyotes give up a short-handed goal, going down 3-1,...... , posted on October 26, 2006 more

The Perils of Hockey in Texas: You know why it's not always a great idea to have a hockey team in Dallas? And I ask this knowing there's a fair share of Stars fans reading this. It's because eventually, you're going to have to play against...... , posted on October 25, 2006 more

Pacific What Zone?: Barry MacDonald has an interesting column about how the Canucks won't play the Penguins, Senators, Habs, or Leafs at home this season. It's all a part of the NHL's plan to build rivalries. And it's not a bad plan. But...... , posted on September 01, 2006 more

Retire in Arizona: The Coyotes sure do love old forwards. Hot on the heels of last year's poorly conceived Brett Hull signing and this summer's Jeremy Roenick elder-grab, they're looking to land Owen Nolan. I know Nolan went through a million tests to...... , posted on August 16, 2006 more

Bruins: 'Can We Just Have a Team of Nine, Like the Celtics?': I'm always interested in what the Bruins are up to because they almost get things right, but then they sort of fail miserably. Like last season, they made sure they had no one signed, with the thought that it would...... , posted on July 06, 2006 more

License to Thrill: Free agent season. I'm not into hunting, but if I were, I imagine I would be just as excited about the start of hunting season. Or maybe, if I were into fashion, I'd be this excited about fashion week. Although,...... , posted on July 03, 2006 more

Everything But: I love how Wayne Gretzky and Janet Jones are using a complex "except" strategy to defend themselves against the "Operation Slapshot" allegations. In today's edition, Jones explains how her husband is no gambler. Except: Other than an occasional horse race,...... , posted on February 10, 2006 more

Great One: 'Janet Who?': I'm not too interested in this whole "Operation Slapshot," hockey gambling thing. Obviously, I think it's a great name for an operation. In fact, I wish the authorities could have gotten the Hanson Brothers involved in some way. But other...... , posted on February 09, 2006 more

Phoenix Upgrades. Again: Geez. The Coyotes are trying just about everything to balance out their team. The latest move? Trading for Boston Bruin Dave Scatchard (and giving up stable defenseman David Tanabe). The Coyotes went through a phase where they were picking up...... , posted on November 21, 2005 more

Comrie Benched: Mike Comrie has always fascinated me. He was so dynamic in Edmonton. Then, he sat out and ended up a Flyer, which was a bad fit for him and his more freewheeling style. His having sat out a few months...... , posted on October 25, 2005 more

Hull Retires: Sad news about Brett Hull retiring. You have to wonder if he would have stuck it out a little longer if he wasn't on an injury-ravaged team, with a new coach, and an ambiguous goaltending situation. I mean, I could...... , posted on October 17, 2005 more

Premature Gretzky Grading: I know it's still early to chime in about Wayne Gretzky's coaching (congrats on that first win, big guy), but it's got to be a bad sign the season isn't a week old and he's already calling players out in...... , posted on October 10, 2005 more

Great One, So-So Coach: So Wayne Gretzky's first game as a coach didn't go so well. The Kings beat the Coyotes 8-4, mostly on shoddy goaltending by Curtis Joseph. But something interesting thing came out of the ugly loss: a line featuring Brett Hull,...... , posted on September 22, 2005 more

NHL Players: 'Oh Dip. We Have to Play Now?': Wow. I'm thinking the NHL's transition into new rules is going to be rough. Veteran Brett Hull sure had trouble with it. He forgot you can no longer change lines during icing in a 7-0 loss to the Wild. Say...... , posted on September 19, 2005 more

No Regrets Coyote/We Just Come From Such Different Sets of Circumstance: Wow. As we march toward the start of the season, the moves get more and more interesting. Phoenix picked up Curtis Joseph, creating a shockingly strong tandem of Cujo and Brian Boucher. Just about every season I think the Coyotes...... , posted on August 18, 2005 more

Gretzky: "Guys. It's Easy. Just Stand Behind the Goalie and Bank the Puck Off of His Numbers. Trust Me. This is Easy.": Big shock. Wayne Gretzky is going to coach the Coyotes. Gretzky has done a nice job running Team Canada, but I'm not sure he understands the game on a basic enough level. Getzky is super talented, with a brilliant hockey...... , posted on August 08, 2005 more

The Crosby Show: So the big hockey blog meme seems to be which team should wind up with Sidney Crosby: Ben Wright weighs in here. Jes Golbez gets his in here. OffWing gets his two cents in here. PJ from Sharkspage gives his...... , posted on July 21, 2005 more

Bettman: 'Love Hockey. I Don't, But You Should': I love how Gary Bettman is going around to sluggish hockey markets like North Carolina and Phoenix to pump up the cancelled sport. What does he tell people? 'We hate the players but you should keep loving the game.' Or...... , posted on October 28, 2004 more

Lockout or Not, Hockey Players Continue to Pull Attractive Women: Sure the players and the league can't get it together. Sure a lockout seems all but a given. But so what? NHL players still marry hot women. Phoenix defenseman Cale Hulse married Geena Lee Nolin. The Baywatch beauty is actually...... , posted on September 10, 2004 more

Hull Scratched and Scratches: Brett Hull is pretty crazy. Scratched by Team USA, he inexplicably decided to lash out at fans, telling reporters "I don't give a [hoot] about the fans anymore". And he didn't really say hoot. When hockey resumes, he'll be playing...... , posted on September 07, 2004 more

Coyotes Get Downright Deadly Down the Middle: The Phoenix Coyotes seem to pretty serious about becoming a real contender whenever the NHL season resumes. They shocked the world and signed Petr Nedved to a three-year deal. Nedved was rumored to be heading to the Oilers, so it...... , posted on August 27, 2004 more

Coyotes: 'Good Thing We Used Bungee Cords to Hang That Jersey': The Arizona Republic put together a nice package for Brett Hull's official introduction to the Phoenix community. Sure Hull is past his prime, but he seems to be causing a genuine hockey buzz in Phoenix. There are certainly better players...... , posted on August 12, 2004 more

Coyote Hull: So this is kind of old news, but Brett Hull took a two-year deal from the Coyotes. So why didn't he go with the Dallas Stars, who also offered him a deal? The Coyotes gave Hull an extra year. They...... , posted on August 09, 2004 more

I Don't Get It: So remember Jeremy Roenick's bit about wanting to play in Phoenix? Now he's saying he was just having some fun (login info.). Um. Yeah. That's fun and funny. Either Roenick really does have a weird sense of humor or he...... , posted on August 05, 2004 more

Roenick Misses Phoenix; Nashville Loves Sullivan: Wow. The Arizona Republic reports that Jeremy Roenick told a radio host he wants to return to the Coyotes. The Republic points out it's not very likely given Roenick's contract and salary, but can you imagine Roenick and Brett Hull,...... , posted on August 04, 2004 more

League Going to Hull: The NHL is such a crazy place right now. The Stars couldn't unload Bill Guerin, certainly one the of the game's best active players right now, within a 45-day window (login info.). But meanwhile, just about every team in the...... , posted on August 02, 2004 more

Phoenix Dreams; Dallas Does: Wow. It seems Brett Hull is going back to the Stars. It looks like Phoenix is out of the Hull race. I know I'm stupid and picked Phoenix as a potential sleeper team last year, but with that in mind,...... , posted on July 30, 2004 more

Phoenix: 'What Happened to All of Our Goalies?': Wow. Things have really changed in Phoenix. Once they had too many top goalies. Once they had Sean Burke, Zac Bierk , and Brian Boucher fighting for the starting goalie spot. Yesterday, they re-signed Brent Johnson. Johnson who spent some...... , posted on July 02, 2004 more

NHL Feels a Draft: What can you say about the NHL's draft weekend? It's basically legalized gambling. Teams spend all this time and energy going after unproven talent, when logic says you spend time and energy going after proven talent. But maybe I'm crazy....... , posted on June 28, 2004 more

Detroit Wants It All: I hadn't heard the rumor that the Wings were going after Washington's top pick in the draft, but it doesn't matter anyway since apparently it's not true. How crazy would it be if the Wings, the kind of big-budget team...... , posted on June 25, 2004 more

Phoenix Finally Wins: I'm man enough to admit I picked the Coyotes as my sleeper team. And they are kind of sleeping. They just wrapped up a 15 game winless streak. Geez. Like it's not hard enough getting people in Arizona to watch...... , posted on March 23, 2004 more

Comrie Not Shooting: Here's something interesting to think about as Phoenix slides out of playoff contention. Mike Comrie only has one goal since he joined the team Feb. 9. He only has 14 shots in 9 games, or 1.6 shots per game. Meanwhile,...... , posted on February 27, 2004 more

Comrie Rocking the West Again: The Coyotes are very psyched about Mike Comrie. He missed Tuesday's practice but was able to make it for last night's game against the Ducks. Comrie looked sharp as hell, too. He was dishing the puck like he was doing...... , posted on February 12, 2004 more

Burke a Flyer; Comrie a Coyote: Geez. After all the denials and the rumors and the intrigue, Phoenix goalie Sean Burke is a Flyer. The Flyers also got forward Branko Radivojevic and prospect Ben Eager. In return, Phoenix got Mike Comrie. I almost hate to point...... , posted on February 10, 2004 more

Your Night Comes with a Night Off: I love the NHL's new program of honoring active players who aren't playing that night. First, the Devils had Scott Stevens Night without him (he's out with some sort of post-concussion syndrome). Now, the Phoenix Coyotes are having Brian Boucher...... , posted on January 28, 2004 more

Phoenix Preparing to Rise: So the Coyotes are within striking distance of a playoff spot. I'm still waiting for them to move some spare goalies and pick up some experienced players. You can't make a playoff run without experience and grit. If the Coyotes...... , posted on January 14, 2004 more

Neil Finn: 'Oh Crap! Boucher's Streak is Over?': All great things must come to an end. Phoenix goalie Brian Boucher had a shut-out streak going for 332 minutes, 1 second. During that time, he made 146 saves. That averages out to around a save every two and a...... , posted on January 12, 2004 more

The Not-So-Great Owner: Wow. The Arizona Republic has a nice long look at how Coyotes owner Wayne Gretzky runs the team. While it's not overly critical, it does raise an interesting question: Do the Coyotes need to suck this much? Bob McManaman looks...... , posted on October 16, 2003 more

New Coyotes Logo: The Phoenix Coyotes unveiled their new logo and uniforms yesterday. They got rid of the cartoon coyote and now sport a pretty realistic one. How did that happen? According to team president Douglas Moss, "we are very proud to unveil...... , posted on September 04, 2003 more

Skating Down to Cali...: I know the NHL is really trying to sell hockey in the American south. I can respect and appreciate that. But does the NHL realize most people there don't care about hockey? I guess not. And still, the NHL is...... , posted on August 07, 2003 more

Numminen a Star: It's a different hockey world out there. The summers used to be about superstar free agents. Now it's about underpaid defenseman. Dallas picked up reliable defenseman Teppo Numminen in a three-team trade between Columbus and Phoenix. In addition to picking...... , posted on July 23, 2003 more

Leafs Stick; Coyotes Don't: Pretty quiet in the hockey world today. First of all, let's welcome back Rink Blog to the hockey blogging world. Apparently Tim's been without internet access. Sad stuff. The Leafs are denying they reached a one-year deal with defenseman Oleg...... , posted on July 22, 2003 more

Phoenix: 'We Have Every Strong Goalie. Ha ha ha!': Gee whiz! How deep is Phoenix's goalie bench? Very. They just added David LeNeveu, a Cornell man like Ken Dryden. Add LeNeveu, who I assume will do some time in the minors, to Sean Burke, Brian Boucher and Zac Bierk....... , posted on July 03, 2003 more

Blues: 'No Burke for Us!': So we all agree that St. Louis needs a goaltending upgrade, right? Well St. Louis doesn't agree. Not exactly, anyway. GM Larry Pleau says not to expect the goalie calvary — he's not bringing Phoenix's Sean Burke to the Blues....... , posted on February 24, 2003 more

Slave to the Grind: OK. So Phoenix's Zac Bierk has been kicking around the NHL (and IHL and ECHL) for a while. So it isn't anything new, but I still love the fact that his brother is Sebastian Bach of Skid Row. And I...... , posted on February 21, 2003 more

It'll Be the New Jerseys (Phoenix Hopes): Speaking of impact clothing (see above), the Coyotes are getting ready to launch a new logo, jersey set, and color scheme. It's supposed to go with their new arena. So in case you're wondering, this is why the Coyotes are...... , posted on January 06, 2003 more

Phantom Goal: So yesterday (see below) I dissed Phoenix and then they went and beat the Kings. Too bad it took a ghost goal for them to win. No one saw the game winner cross the goal line. More bad luck for...... , posted on December 17, 2002 more

This Just In...: In case you were wondering, the Coyotoes are still awful. I'm not sure how this is news, but it is. I think it's still kind of news the Coyotes are an NHL team....... , posted on December 16, 2002 more

Where's Tony?: Today I started thinking about Tony Amonte and how we haven't really heard anything out of him since Phoenix signed him over the summer. At first I thought the news blackout might be because he plays hockey in Phoenix, which...... , posted on November 27, 2002 more

Burke Out for a Month: Phoenix goaltender Sean Burke will be out for a month with an ankle sprain. Brian Boucher will be the starter while Burke heals. It's kind of funny how interchangeable middle tier goalies are. Will this switch affect Phoenix at all?...... , posted on October 24, 2002 more