from Mark Lazerus of The Athletic,

Heck, few franchises could compare with the all-Coyotes lineup of Pavel Datsyuk centering Marian Hossa and Patrick Kane (throw Jakub Voracek in there if you don’t think either of those guys could play on their off wing), with a top defensive pairing of Chris Pronger and Shea Weber. All of those players drew paychecks from the Coyotes. None of them ever suited up for the Coyotes. Maybe Carey Price will someday fill out the starting lineup.

I want to defend the Coyotes. I really do. There’s a real hockey fan base in the desert, a fervent-if-frustrated one, and the impact the team has had on the sport in the Valley is evident, embodied best by the very existence of Auston Matthews. The Phoenix metroplex is a top-10 market in the United States, and it’s easy to see why NHL commissioner Gary Bettman so badly wants the Coyotes to work, beyond his own stubbornness and ego.

But, boy, the Yotes really don’t make it easy, do they?

There are all the allegations of unpaid bills in Glendale. There’s the absurdity of playing in a 4,600-seat college arena at Arizona State, something that would have been cool and quirky and fun for a season but is destined to last four full seasons.

But mostly, there’s the way the Coyotes do business. The way they exist in a perpetual rebuild. The way they so nakedly serve as the cap-launderers for the NHL’s elite.

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