from Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic,

The Coyotes failed at failing.

And because they did they’re still alive, and their wish has come true.

The ownership group IceArizona rescued the franchise, and the Coyotes will be like the 29 other NHL teams when their season starts Thursday against the New York Rangers at Jobing.com Arena.

But equality never was the ultimate goal. A Stanley Cup is. The Coyotes just believed they needed the presence of ownership to get there.

And now that they have that, it’s time to prove they can be better.

“For four years, we talked about we could be a very good organization if we got stability,” coach Dave Tippett said. “We felt like we had good pieces in place, and there was always the thought stability would get us to the next level. Well, we’ve proven that we can continue to grow. But there’s a big difference between ‘could’ be a good organization and having people say you are a good organization, and now we have to be the ‘are.’ ”

The easiest way to do that is to assemble a core of players integral to the team’s success and keep them together. That foundation has been percolating since Tippett’s arrival in 2009, but long-term addition was a challenge when management couldn’t offer security.

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