MVN - Most Valuable Network

Tyson Nash Back With Coyotes….Sort of

Louis DeBrusk gives instruction to kids at a Coyotes Youth Camp in August 2008

Former Coyote Tyson Nash, who played last season in Japan of all places, has rejoined the Coyotes organization as a color-analyst on radio broadcasts.  Nash, a fan favorite in Phoenix, replaces Louis DeBrusk who took a job as a TV color analyst for the Edmonton Oilers.  DeBrusk was an entertaining color man and as I found out when I had a chance to speak with him this summer at Coyotes Youth Clinic at Polar Ice Chandler, a very personable man away from the mic.

This will be Nash’s first job as an analyst but expectations are he will be a fine replacement for DeBrusk.  Smokie Rivers, Director of Programming for Clear Channel/Phoenix had this to say about Nash:

“He is knowledgeable about hockey, likable, and flamboyant…”

While that makes Nash sound more like a Las Vegas drag performer than a hockey analyst, I have to agree that Tyson Nash brings a decidedly different flavor to the radio broadcast than DeBrusk’s working-class everyman.  It may take a little while for Nash to find his footing but once he settles in with play-by-play man Bob Heethuis (a true pro) I think Tyson Nash will be a good fit for Coyote broadcasts.

Yotes Notes: RIP Pack Dancers Edition

The Phoenix Coyotes have dumped their dance team “The Pack Dancers”.  They were the first on-ice dance team to be regularly showcased by an NHL team.  But the Pack Dancers never proved particularly popular with Coyote fans who saw them as an interesting distraction but no more so than say two regular fans in inflatable sumo outfits trying to stick-handle a puck down the ice during the intermission.

Most of the girls on the team seemed fairly nice but they always struck me as a poor man’s Sun Dancers or Laker Girls.  Some of them may be back, along I presume with male counterparts, as part of the new “Pack Entertainment Team” whose main job will be to hand out give-away items to fans (ie T-Shirt cannon, water bottles, tickets to “So You Think You Can Dance?  LIVE!” and the like.  Feel like you have what it takes to join the PET’s?  Then click here and get all the info for tryouts.

Meet Jokinen, Doan & Mueller

The Coyotes will be holding an open house on August 9th from 1 to 4 pm so fans can ostensibly meet fan favorites Shane Doan and Peter Mueller along with their newly acquire #1 center Ollie Jokinen.  While the trio will be there to sign autographs and pose for pictures the real reason for the meet & greet is that Partial Plans will be on sale for the first time where fans can buy an eleven-pack of whatever games they want or choose from a variety of 5-game plans.  If you cannot go season ticket then the 11 game plan sounds like a good deal.  You get Opening Night plus 10 other games.  No doubt that games against Pittsburgh, Washington and Buffalo will be big draws as will the Red Wing games so this is a chance to lock those tickets in before they go on sale to the public and fans of those teams.

Yotes Notes: 2008-09 Schedule & the New D

2008-09 Schedule Released

The Phoenix Coyotes released their 2008-09 schedule today and have thereby began to whet the appetites of valley hockey fans.  The home opener is October 11th with the Coyotes welcoming the Columbus Blue Jackets to town.  Later that month fans will get to see, arguable, the two biggest names in the NHL when Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby both visit Jobing.com Arena (on Oct. 23rd & 30th respectively).  Too bad they could not have gotten them for Saturday games but since Thursdays are traditionally a tougher draw for fans this might be the cure (for those two weeks anyway).

Other notable dates include a 2 pm matinee on November 28th (the Friday following Thanksgiving) and an 8 pm game on Valentines Day against the Flames.   Thursday, January 8th should be an interesting game as Radim Vrbata and the suddenly loaded Tampa Bay Lightning come to town.  The new format has the Coyotes playing each of their Pacific Division rivals 6 times each (3 home, 3 away), the remainder of the Western Conference teams four times each (2 home, 2 away) and then they get at least one game each against each of the Eastern Conference teams.   The Coyotes then get 3 “at large” games which will be played against Eastern teams which gives Phoenix a “home-and-home” series against the Sabres, Hurricanes and Islanders.

Discount Defense Might be Steal of Offseason

The Coyotes have rebuilt their defensive corps which were shredded with the trade of Keith Ballard and Nick Boyton to Florida for Ollie Jokinen.  Many thought GM Don Maloney would rebuild by signing some big-name free-agents while others thought the deep draft for defenseman would be a logical rebuilding point.  But in fact neither was right.   Maloney used his top draft picks to add to the Coyotes growing offensive arsenal when he selected Mikael Boedker and Viktor Tikhonov in the first round.  He did pick-up some D-men later in the draft but they are not expected to be ready for NHL action for a number of years.  Using the philosophy that most NHL defenseman hit their prime somewhere between ages 25 - 30, Maloney targeted players in that range who had not yet had a “breakout” year but still demonstrated solid defensive ability.   The first player they signed was Kurt Sauer, a big 6′ 4″, 220 lb defenseman who played last season for Avalanche.  Their next move was to ink David Hale, another player with talent who has yet to make a name for himself.  Sauer should be an ideal partner for Ed Jovanovski who needs a line-mate to cover his back as he jumps into plays and fires shots.  Last season that job fell primarily to Zybnek Michalek whose scoring fell-off last season.  A stay-at-home defender paired with Michalek will allow Z to regain his scoring touch and give the Coyotes two defensive pairing that can score significant points.

Chris Hoeler (A great name for a Coyotes blogger) at Bleacher Report has been posting some excellent articles and this week takes a look at the new-look Coyotes defense.  He cites another article by Danny Tolensky on hockeybuzz.com that compares the Sauer signing to a big deal that Toronto gave another Colorado defender, Jeff Finger.  The Maple Leafs gave Finger a four-year deal for $14 million while telling their fans that Finger was the Av’s key “shut-down” defender who played the majority of minutes against top Western Conference forwards like Joe Thornton, Jerome Iginlaz and the Sedin twins.  But in fact it was Sauer, who the Coyotes signed to a 4 year $7 million deal, that played the majority of minutes against those players.  Don Maloney is looking like a genius while the Maple Leafs look like chumps.

We won’t be able to really judge the Coyotes defense for a few months but at first glance it appears they have been able to shore things up if not actually replace Ballard & Boynton.  The question becomes whether or not the added offense provided by Jokinen combined with more scoring from Michalek & Jovo will be enough to overcome the loss of experience on defense.   One thing is certain, this team is going to score more goals and the games should be fast-moving and fun to watch.

Coyotes Ink D-Man David Hale to 2-Year Deal

The Phoenix Coyotes, still trying to re-build their defensive corps after trading away Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton last month, signed former Calgary defenseman David Hale to a two-year contract today.  The signing represents another “value” signing by GM Don Maloney who insists he will sign no free-agent over the age of 33 and is notoriously shy from signing high-dollar free agents.

The 26-year-old Hale is in a similar mold to Kurt Sauer, signed by the Coyotes earlier in the week.  Hale is a former first round draft pick (22nd overall by New Jersey in 2000).  He was traded in February to Calgary along with a 5th round pick to obtain Calgary’s third round pick in this year’s draft.  In four seasons Hale has no goals and 11 assists.

Nothing to get too excited about.  Hale is young for a defenseman and no-doubt Maloney is betting on his continued development.  I still expect the Coyotes to sign another D-man before the season starts because if Hale and Sauer are it then we are going to be counting on a number of guys to have career years in order to replace Ballard & Boynton.  That or Ilya Bryzgalov better keep his head on a swivel because the shots will be coming fast and furious next season.