from Dan Bickley of azcentral sports,
The Coyotes don’t play for championships. Survival is their Stanley Cup.
On cue, they enter another offseason on the doorstep of chaos. They have ownership issues, leadership issues, stadium issues and a budget built to fail. Their never-ending dysfunction is so predictable that it elicits a collective yawn across the Valley, numbing us all to a powerful truth:
It would be a shame to lose this team on the ground floor of a revolution.
“There are some real positive signs with our young players,” Coyotes head coach Dave Tippett said. “But for this team to improve, we need better top players.”
Tippett’s frustration was evident following a fifth consecutive season without a playoff berth. His team fought hard to the bitter end, embracing the role of spoiler. They beat the Capitals with a six-goal barrage and twice toppled the rival Kings, once in an 11-round shootout, followed by a victory that eliminated Los Angeles from the postseason. Pretty cool stuff, and somehow, they scrambled their way out of last place in the Pacific Division.
But championship contenders always feature a handful of elite players. The Coyotes have only one – defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. That's on ownership, and that has to change immediately.
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