Sport-Blog.com

By Ed Jennett


The man in charge said that changes are coming. But he neglected to say if he will be among them. After the regular season ended Phoenix Coyotes Head Coach Wayne Gretzky, who is also a managing partner of the team, promised that there would be personnel changes. While he declined to announce whether or not he would step down as coach, Gretzky did say that he planned to announce his decision on the matter in mid-May. This has led to speculation that Gretzky would not return as coach next season, since he could have simply ended all rumors by stating that he would coach the team next year.

The Phoenix Coyotes have not won a playoff series since 1987, which was when the team was still the Winnipeg Jets.

As a player, Gretzky won four Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers, made a fifth trip to the Stanley Cup Finals as a member of the Los Angeles Kings, and played in 208 career playoff games.

When the regular season ended, Gretzky characterized it as a disappointment because the club did not make the playoffs.

The Coyotes believed that they were good enough to make it to the postseason this year. However they finished a game under .500 with a 38-39-5 record, which left them in 12th place in the Western Conference and 14 points out of the last playoff seed.

Problems began for Phoenix in the preseason and continued throughout the year. Goaltender Brian Bucher was injured in the first game of the preseason. Future Hall-of-Fame right wing Brett Hull decided to retire five games into the regular season. The Coyotes were never able to replace the leadership and scoring punch that he was expected to provide. The club also received another huge set back in February when talented left wing Ladislav Nagy was injured.

The low point of the season also took place in February when assistant coach Rick Tocchet was arrested in February for allegedly running an illegal sports gambling ring. The embarrassing scandal quickly expanded and involved Gretzky when it became known that his wife Janet Jones Gretzky had placed bets with the gambling ring.

Gretzky plans to return to Phoenix soon to attend pre-draft meetings with scouts for the team. Whether he plans to return to coaching Phoenix remains to be seen.

Bottom-feeding teams such as Phoenix are not the only ones expected to make changes this summer after a disappointing end to their season. After finishing first overall in the regular season, the Detroit Red Wings were eliminated in the first round by the Edmonton Oilers. Being successful over the last several years has appeared to catch up with the Wings, who were out performed by the younger and hungrier Oilers.

Detroit Captain C Steve Yzerman is expected to announce his retirement soon. But he is not the only veteran who will sever ties with the Motown team this year. LW Brendan Shanahan and D Chris Chelios will both probably leave via unrestricted free agency this summer. While they have been huge contributors to the success of the team, the club clearly must get younger and could use the additional salary cap space. Detroit might have over $20 million in cap space this offseason, but a large portion of that will be used to re-sign unrestricted free agent D Nicklas Lidstrom. Another portion of that cap space could be used for a new starting goaltender. Incumbent G Manny Legace is another unrestricted free agent and may not be brought back. If he does return to Detroit, Legace will most likely be the backup goalie.

One strong possibility to start in net for Detroit next year is G Jean-Sebastien Giguere of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Giguerre played exceptionally well for Red Wings Head Coach Mike Babcock in 2003 when Babcock guided Anaheim to the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals.

Another high priced, veteran-filled club that will be looking to make changes will be the Philadelphia Flyers. Philadelphia was eliminated in the first round by the younger and faster Buffalo Sabres. Flyers GM Bob Clarke made the controversial decision to sign hulking defensemen Derian Hatcher and Mike Rathje last offseason despite the new rules of the NHL that were designed to make the game faster. Both players had difficulties against the Sabres.

Because Philadelphia has always been a big spender the team will not have a lot of salary cap/roster flexibility this offseason. A possible solution would be to trade incumbent starting goalie Robert Esche to a team that needs goaltending help. Backup G Antero Niittymaki appears ready to become a full time starter, so Esche is expendable.