Yotes notes: Coyotes better at the break and an arena update
Jan 27, 2016, 3:30 PM | Updated: Jan 28, 2016, 7:29 am
Arizona Coyotes Antoine Vermette, helmet number 50, is surrounded by teammates after scoring a shorthanded, game-tying goal in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild, Monday, Jan. 25, 2016, in St. Paul, Minn. The Coyotes won 2-1 in a shootout. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
(AP Photo/Jim Mone)
The Coyotes hit the All-Star break with a thud in a 5-2 loss at Winnipeg on Tuesday, but coach Dave Tippett wasn’t about to dwell on a poor effort in the team’s third game in four nights — particularly after Arizona found a way to earn two points the previous night in Minnesota.
“If you want to overthink this game, it’s wrong,” he told reporters in Winnipeg. “Just park it and move on to the break, and we’ll come back better out of the break.”
The Coyotes are nowhere near ready to contend for a Stanley Cup, but the team’s growth is evident. Arizona’s 24 wins in 49 games matches last season’s total in 82 games. The team’s 53 points are three shy of the 56 they posted all of last season. Perhaps most surprising, the Coyotes sit in a playoff position in the Pacific Division, three points ahead of Anaheim and Vancouver when you factor in the first tiebreaker of ROWs (regulation or overtime wins).
With six days off before their next game on Tuesday against the Kings, and with no All-Star representative this season, the Coyotes should be well rested for the playoff push over the season’s final 10 weeks.
ARENA ANNOUNCEMENT SOON?
Coyotes president and CEO Anthony LeBlanc said Wednesday that the team could make an announcement on its future arena plans as soon as a month from now, but more likely by the end of the season.
“Over the past week or so we have had progressed discussions that lead me to feel that things are progressing in a positive and accelerated manner,” said LeBlanc, who declined to provide further specifics.
The Coyotes’ arena lease and management agreement with the City of Glendale expires after next season. If they were to build a new arena on one of the three oft-mentioned sites (ASU, downtown Phoenix or the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community), they would need a temporary home for at least two additional seasons.
Arizona Sports reported in December that the Coyotes were exploring Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum as a possible home, but it is also possible the team could renew its lease with Glendale for two more years.
LeBlanc was also a guest on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM’s Doug and Wolf show on Wednesday morning and had this to say.
“I’m very positive that we will have something out in the community if not in the next month or two but certainly by the end of the regular season,” LeBlanc said. “We need to partner with a community or institution that wants to be a partner and that’s the first and foremost thing. The good news is that all of the discussions we have had have been pretty open as have other organizations — be it the city of Phoenix or Tempe or Arizona State. Everybody has been pretty open that we have had discussions with and they have all been positive.”
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Here’s a breakdown of some of the Coyotes key team and individual statistics at the All-Star break.
TEAM
Goal per game: 2.65 (12th in NHL)
Goals against per game: 2.96 (26th)
Power play: 17.8 percent (17th)
Penalty kill: 76.6 percent (28th)
Faceoffs: 53.7 percent (2nd)
Save percentage: .902 (26th)
Time shorthanded: 167 (25th)
INDIVIDUAL
— Forward Max Domi is fourth among NHL rookies with 32 points and second in assists (19). Anthony Duclair is fifth in rookie points with 25.
— Goalie Louis Domingue is tied for 13th in the NHL in save percentage at .924.
— Oliver Ekman-Larsson is tied for second among NHL defensemen with 14 goals and is sixth in points with 34.
— Forward Shane Doan leads the team with 17 goals.
— Forward Mikkel Boedker leads the team with 22 assists, and is tied with Ekman-Larsson for the team-lead in points with 34.
WHERE’S WHITNEY?
Former Coyote Ray Whitney will have his jersey retired by the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League on Friday when the Chiefs face the Seattle Thunderbirds. Whitney played three years of junior hockey for the Chiefs from 1988-91, totaling 141 goals and 331 points in 214 games.
“The GM and owner decided on it once I won the (Stanley) Cup with Carolina in 2006,” said Whitney, who still lives in the Valley and spent Wednesday golfing with his dad, Floyd, to celebrate Floyd’s 63rd birthday “The owner said they would have done it sooner but they didn’t expect me to play another eight years after winning the Cup.”
Last week, the Chiefs also had a Whitney bobblehead night. On Friday, they will fly his mom, dad, wife and kids up for the ceremony.
Everyone's ready for @CocaCola Ray Whitney Bobblehead Giveaway Night! pic.twitter.com/aiuFJBf3Rz
— Spokane Chiefs (@spokanechiefs) January 24, 2016
Whitney played two seasons for the Coyotes, helping the lead the team to the 2012 Western Conference Final. He retired after the 2013-14 season, having recorded 385 goals and 1,064 points in 1,330 NHL games.
