A Change is Needed!

This is really starting to get old. 

I am a Ranger and Coyotes fan and things are absolutely horrible right now. The Rangers are in the midst of a four game losing streak, most recently a 10-2 loss to the Dallas Stars. Usually when this happens, I can try and take solace in the Phoenix Coyotes.

But a six game losing streak has made me unable to enjoy my Western Conference team, their most recent loss coming at a 7-2 beating from the Carolina Hurricanes. This was the first time the Coyotes had lost at Jobing.com Arena to the Hurricanes and what a way to do it.

As I mentioned when I previewed this game, special teams was going to be a factor and it certainly was. The Hurricanes scored four power play goals in the game that certainly made things difficult for the Coyotes. The continuing decline of special teams for the Coyotes is connected to this losing streak and their inability to fix them has them plummeting back towards the cellar of the NHL. They are only three points in front of the St. Louis Blues who sit last in the Western Conference. 

Is a change needed? Absolutely. The Wayne Gretzky experiment has worn out its welcome for me. I was willing to give the Great One a shot at coaching and that is now over. This team needs someone who can develop young kids and have a system in place that these players can thrive in. It is fine to have an inexperienced team but to pair it with an inexperienced coach is unacceptable. The thing that makes this situation even harder to accept is the fact that Gretzky can’t be fired considering he owns a piece of the team. The only way he leaves the coaching position is if he resigns himself. 

The Coyotes need someone with experience behind the bench to lead this young team. If Gretzky wants to be an assistant coach for a while that is fine but the Coyotes need someone that can be a leader behind the bench and has some clue of how to develop a young team into a winner. However I am not holding my breath for Gretzky to leave and you shouldn’t either.

Posted by The Hockey Writers on Feb 8 2009. Filed under Pacific, Phoenix Coyotes, Western Conference. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.