In 2009, Jerry Moyes put the Phoenix Coyotes up for sale. He had, in his own words, gone “stone broke” funding the team. The Coyotes were almost sold to Jim Balsille and were seconds away from moving to Hamilton, Ontario, but stayed in Phoenix under the control of the NHL, which had seized the team. Phoenix became a graveyard of sorts. No free-agent wanted to go there, they were embroiled in a legal battle with the city of Glendale, and had no owner and an uncertain future. They, according to all accounts, were dead.
Dead. As in, lifeless. Many assumed it was a matter of days before the team was moved somewhere. The Phoenix experiment had failed miserably. Everyone gave up on them. Except for the team itself.
Sports is a funny business. When you believe, miraculous things can happen. It requires teamwork, talent, and confidence. Nobody knew the Coyotes had the capability to come back. Except for the organization. Because the players believed, and the coach, Dave Tippett, believed. It didn’t matter if no one else did. Because they knew, and they believed.
Tippett created a system which let the defense contain the opposition, and the forwards could do their job. The team made the playoffs for the first time in 8 seasons, and almost defeated the powerhouse that was called the Detroit Red Wings. And they repeated it the following year as well. Captain Shane Doan led the way with 20 goals and 40 assists for 60 points, and Ilya Bryzgalov was amongst the league elite in goalies. Rookie Lauri Korpikoski had 19 goals and 41 points, and Keith Yandle had 59 points, and was one of the best defenseman in the league. They made the playoffs, and while they got swept by the Wings in the first round, making the playoffs itself was commendable. And then Bryzgalov left.
Ilya Bryzgalov and Lee Stempniak left the team, a brutal blow to the future of the team and its success on the ice. Stempniak had 19 goals, and was second in goals on the Coyotes in his last season with the team. Bryzgalov had a .920 save percentage, and was a cornerstone of the Coyotes, and crucial to their success. He was only a season removed from the year where people were hyping him up as a potential Vezina trophy winner for the best goaltender in the league. So when the Coyotes brought in Mike Smith, a backup who bounced around Dallas and Tampa Bay, to replace him, eyebrows were raised, and, unsurprisingly, they were laughed at. Again. Which, by the time, was something they were used to, having been the laughingstock of the league for years.
But it didn’t matter what the other people said, as the Coyotes had learned over the previous two seasons. All that mattered was that they believed. And belief works wonders. With the backing of Tippett and the players, and the system of the Coyotes, Smith has flourished. He boasts a save percentage of .925, and a healthy GAA of 2.36, enough to put him amongst the top 10 starting goalies in the league. Radim Vrbata, who had 19 goals last year, somehow leads the Coyotes in goals, and is on pace for a 43 goal season. And the old machines also known as Shane Doan and Ray Whitney are still cranking out points, and are on pace for 23 goals and 70 points respectively. Phoenix sits a mere 4 points out of the playoffs today, a spot that many thought they wouldn’t even touch when Bryzgalov left. Most people would look at that as a miracle. But for the Coyotes, its business as usual.
The league, meanwhile, is still pursuing potential owners and is intent on selling the Coyotes. Nobody knows where the Coyotes will end up. But chances are, wherever they are, they’ll continue to show resilience and fight. The same fight that they’ve shown, time and time again.