There isn’t any other team that could rival the turbulent 2020 season of the Arizona Coyotes. Alex Meruelo took ownership of the team last year, and as stated by commissioner Gary Bettman, there was a learning curve. This led to many avoidable mistakes and led to a complete 180 in front office approval rating.
I will go over the missteps of the Coyotes over the last season, but it’s necessary to say early on; they are in good hands moving forward. Expect the new leadership team of Xavier Guttierez, Bill Armstrong, and other incoming executives to right the ship. And this isn’t to say that the Coyotes can’t be competitive on the ice; they could very well be in contention for a playoff spot come next season.
In addition, it should be known that the new ownership wasn’t handed a franchise in ruins. In fact, in last years’ “front office confidence” fan survey hosted by Dom Luszczyszyn, the Coyotes ranked 12th place. This indicated that there weren’t any major issues (as far as the fan base saw things).
Where to begin? The Coyotes have made a litany of franchise-derailing mistakes of late. With all of the mistakes proving to be significant, let’s look at each one chronologically.
Forfeiting of Draft Picks
Here’s where it all begins, in January of this year to be exact. Rumors began swirling around the hockey world that the Arizona Coyotes had been physically testing draft-eligible players outside of the allotted testing window. Darren Dreger reported that the CHL (Canadian Hockey League) was accusing Arizona of illegal testing.
A hearing involving the Coyotes and Gary Bettman was finally conducted on August 6th, in which the Coyotes acknowledged their wrongdoings. Bettman ended up forcing the Coyotes to relinquish highly-coveted draft selections. For the 2020 draft, they were already without multiple picks, and due to the ruling by Bettman, they would lose their second round pick as well. Come 2021, they will be without a first round selection. It clearly won’t be easy for the team to add high-end prospects in the near future.
John Chayka Saga
John Chayka, the club’s general manager, resigned days before the NHL Playoffs began in August. The timing alone of this resignation would be enough to throw a team into a tailspin. Add to the mix the circumstances surrounding it, and it becomes much worse.
As a reporter of Greg Wyshynski’s stature often does, he did a great job of describing what had led to this point. For the sake of this article, though, let’s recap.
In June of 2020, Chayka was approached by an NHL owner (assumed to be Josh Harris and/or David Blitzer of the New Jersey Devils) for a conversation. Chayka, by way of his newly signed contract, needed to ask permission in order to have this conversation.
When he asked permission, he gave Meruelo the indication that the conversation wouldn’t be job-related; instead, it was to “build relationships” and “gain market knowledge”. As you can probably guess, it was indeed a job interview.
Chayka was offered a job, and upon learning of his offer on the table, the Coyotes became justifiably disappointed. Sources indicated that Meruelo felt “betrayed” and “lied to”. This all concluded with the infamous, disparaging team statement released by the Coyotes.
Excerpts from the statement:
“The Club is disappointed in his actions and his timing as the Coyotes prepare to enter the NHL’s hub city”
“Chayka has chosen to quit on a strong and competitive team, a dedicated staff, and the Arizona Coyotes fans”
This has left a sour taste in the mouths of everybody involved with the organization, and rightfully so. Gary Bettman is still scheduled to act as a mediator in the dispute moving forward.
Late on Payments
Now, on to the apparent “learning curve” of the new ownership group. On September 4th, AZ Coyotes Insider Craig Morgan reported that the team was late on paying player bonuses for the season. They were soon paid, but this was hardly a good look for a new ownership group.
Later that month, a similar situation arose in which the city manager of Glendale had to get involved. Every year, according to the initial report from AZ Central, the Coyotes owe $500,000 in rent and other fees to ASM Global, the arena management company for Gila River. This payment is due to be paid on June 30th, and it is shared with the city of Glendale.
As late as September 22nd, the payment had still not been made. Glendale was gracious enough to extend the payment deadline to the end of October.
Ever so delicately, Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic summed up these situations perfectly, “A lot of things about owning a sports franchise are hard. Paying what you owe, on time, isn’t among them.” Yet another blip in the beginning to this group’s tenure.
Mitchell Miller
What else can I say about this highly controversial draft pick that hasn’t already been said. Undeniably, this is the Coyotes biggest blunder of the year.
As we have already discussed, the Coyotes were missing out on many of their draft picks this year. Come the fourth round, and they were set to draft a player that many had ranked as a first or second round talent. Why was he available in the fourth round? Here’s why.
For those who are unable to read the article (lucky you), I will briefly sum it up: Mitchell Miller was convicted of bullying, harassing, and assaulting a mentally disabled African-American middle schooler. The details of this harassment are disturbing and disappointing. But mostly, they are indicative of a person who should not be representing the NHL in any way, shape, or form.
With the Coyotes priding themselves on diversity like we’ll talk about later, this selection feels even more unacceptable. It gets worse, though.
When the initial internet outrage began, the Coyotes released a statement doubling down on their selection. They said that by selecting him, they were going to be part of the solution, and it was their duty to teach him how to be a model citizen. Needless to say, this did not come across well in the public’s eye.
On October 29th, the Arizona Coyotes renounced Miller’s NHL rights, making him a free agent. The fact that it took major public pressure in order for the Coyotes to do the right thing speaks volumes. Had it not been for that pressure, they clearly would have kept the player. And doing the right thing for the wrong reasons doesn’t do enough to completely right the wrong. However, it is a noble first step.
Uncertainty Looms
Amongst all of the things that are currently going wrong, let’s not forget that the Coyotes have been in what feels like a decades-long dispute with the citizens of Arizona over the location of their arena. Constant threats of relocation have made it hard for fans to get invested, especially when it seems like there are even better places in the valley for the Coyotes to reside.
Bringing in a star player like Taylor Hall is beneficial to fan confidence and excitement. However, when taking into account the uncertainty surrounding the team, it was very unlikely that Hall would become anything more than a rental that didn’t pan out. Losing him for nothing while giving up valuable assets to get him in the first place also puts a dent in fan confidence.
Fan Confidence
Now comes the fun part: referencing Dom in order to drive a point home.
Earlier in this story, I mentioned how Dom releases a “fan confidence” fan survey every year. He will ask as many people as possible to rank their favorite franchises (or as many as they can) in six different areas. Here are the six areas that front offices are graded on: roster building, cap management, drafting/development, trading, free agency, and vision. As we can see, this is a pretty comprehensive list.
The Coyotes were 12th last year. Their vision and cap management, in particular, were off the charts, attributed to Chayka’s analytics-focused outlook and his willingness to take on bad contracts in order to pick up other assets.
And for more clarity, here’s how they ranked in the last three years prior: 15th, 13th, 7th. As shown, they have been steadily in the top half of the league, getting as high as 7th in the year that Chayka was brought in.
Oh, how things can change. Given everything we’ve talked about; it was inevitable that there would be a change in public perception. None would’ve expected the extent to which this would be true, however.
With the release of this year’s results, the Arizona Coyotes have fallen to 31st place. Dead last. The fact that this free-fall happened has shocked the very creator of this survey. He has let me know that the results weren’t even close. The Coyotes are far and away in last place. Hockey fans and Coyotes die-hards alike agree; nobody should be confident with the Coyotes.
The fan base had the Coyotes front office ranked dead last in every single category. The rest of the country was generous enough to rank them a few spots higher in certain categories: 26th in cap management, 29th in drafting/developing, and 28th in trading. Talk about trending downwards.
As one fan put it, “I see no vision coming from Armstrong, and this Mitchell Miller debacle is a huge stain on the organization.”
Armstrong and co. have their work cut out for them.
Moving Forward
Not everything is as bad as it seems. Yes, the Coyotes have had some major road bumps, but as I said earlier, this remains a competitive team with lots of young talent and a promising outlook.
Clayton Keller, Christian Dvorak, Conor Garland, and Nick Schmaltz are all under 24 years old. This is an objectively strong group to build around, especially given one or two more years of development. These players, in their prime, will be able to carry the offensive load.
Off the ice, the Coyotes are making strides in their movement for inclusion and diversity.
After the club announced initiatives for Hispanic Heritage Month, Lindsey Fry added, “Hockey is for everyone and we are excited to bring the great game of hockey to Latino kids during Hispanic Heritage Month. Through our great sport, we hope to drive positive social change and foster more inclusive communities”
Speaking of Lindsey Fry, the President of the Arizona Kachinas Hockey Association has also been spearheading another major initiative. An ice hockey rink called the Coyotes Community Ice Center in Mesa, AZ has been opened to the public. The rink will serve as the home for the Arizona Kachinas, the girls’ youth hockey program sponsored by the Coyotes. Girls’ hockey has grown 53% over the last five years and 236% in the last 10 years according to 12 News.
“It’s huge for the girls, not just for the girls who are playing hockey now but for the girls who are going to be playing for the next 10, 15, 20 years. To be able to have the resources to be able to train, have consistent ice time, hang their banner and trophies somewhere, it’s huge for these kids.” said Fry.
Obviously, there’s much to take in. With the sheer number of mistakes committed by the franchise, a few initiatives, coupled with a fringe-playoff team won’t do enough to right the wrongs. However, there is reason to be confident moving forward, as shown above.
Newly injected motivation from the leadership team will hopefully start to make progress in arena talks, continue to build a strong team, and show that they are serious in their fight for inclusivity and diversity. Until then, it seems like time is the Coyotes’ best, and only friend.
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