Coyotes propelled as an organization by advancing in postseason

The Coyotes hit the jackpot. They’ve cashed in their reprieve, which is now a momentous victory. They’ve turned the page on a major distraction. They earned a chance to build relevance and rare energy during the dog days of an Arizona summer.

This is just the break they needed.

“We rose to the occasion and we were able to win the series,” goalie Darcy Kuemper said after recording 49 saves in Friday’s series-clinching win over Nashville. “So we’re all feeling pretty good.”

As always, the Coyotes did it the hard way. The transition to a billionaire owner, Alex Meruelo, hasn’t been as easy as we all assumed.

There is still no clarity to their long-term stadium issues. Their desire to market the Coyotes to our Latino community based on the owner’s heritage seems both vain and delusional. And the saga involving departed architect John Chayka drills down to an uncomfortable question:

What makes a GM leave a billionaire owner and a job in Arizona on the verge of his team’s breakout series?

This is why the hockey matters. If the Chayka saga occurred during a normal offseason, there would be nothing to counter the dysfunction. But these 2019-20 Coyotes found their focus and purpose inside the bubble. They salvaged a season that started so well, only to crater before the pandemic hit.

They have earned a spot in the NHL’s Sweet 16. They won the franchise’s first playoff series in eight years. They could take this a long way.

“We went through a lot of crap here,” said Brad Richardson, who scored the game-winning goal in overtime.

The Coyotes went through a lot on Friday. They built excitement with a 2-0 lead. They gave it all back. They took the lead and carried it to the mountaintop, only to buckle at the knees, allowing Nashville to score a game-tying goal with their own net vacant and just 31 seconds remaining in the game.

It was the kind of sucker-punch that has leveled this organization many times in the past.

Instead, the Coyotes will continue. They are sheltered from distractions inside the bubble, and clearly, that’s helping the mindset of those in uniform.

“We’re all sick and tired of the Coyotes being out of the conversation,” Richardson said in his post-game press conference. “And I think we put ourselves in that.”

Much credit belongs to head coach Rick Tocchet, who has kept this team grinding despite all the changes in leadership. His team was focused. His team executed. His team stood firm after the crushing goal on Friday that led to overtime.

Tocchet called it a great moment for the organization, but surely, he took great personal joy in the achievement. Along with Chayka, he helped build a hockey team that defeated the forces and the shadows that could’ve destroyed them all.

“It’s being in pressure situations and embracing them,” Tocchet said.

Tocchet was the perfect man for the job when Dave Tippett left the franchise, and the same applies today. He is why the Coyotes remain a dangerous team moving forward.

Along with his No. 1 goalie, of course.

Follow @danbickley