Comments on: Pacific Preseason Preview: Are you afraid of the new look Coyotes?

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:28:15 +0000

Yes, I am afraid of the new look ‘Yotes. Your point about cap space is well taken – they are in perfect position to be able to buy their way out of injury problems. Or to address their defensive weaknesses come trade deadline. If they’re close to a playoff spot, I can see them making a huge play for Bouwmeester.

Does anyone else envision not three, but four Pacific teams making the playoffs this year?

By: Ian

Ian — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:28:09 +0000

I think the ‘yotes could definatly threaten for a bottom 4 playoff spot some of the improvements they have made should start to pay off and other teams that have held playoff spots in previous years like the Preds, Wild and the Avs could easily drop out of contention this year leaving other teams room to move up.

Like most posters here I feel that Defence is going to be the ‘yotes downfall I think that Bryzgalov can definatly steal alot of games however he is going to face alot of rubber and could face fatigue going into the strech run or playoffs based on the amount of work he might get, Tellquist(sp) is an decent back up though and could take the pressure off Bryzgalov to play more games then he may be comfortable with.

This team is also going to get manhandled by teams with strong powerplays and with all the bruisers they have on their team they can’t afford to be stuck in the box the whole time. On the other side this team should be able to score if they can get out to quick leads it should do fine if they find themselves behind fast in alot of games it will be interesting to see if they will be able to bang their way back into them or just roll over.

It will definatly be a story that will be interesting to watch.

By: thewordbird

thewordbird — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:43:54 +0000

I think some blueline concern is warranted. Their defense will be under fire without Ballard and Boynton. Michalek and Morris are fine defenders to go with Jovo feeding the talent up front. Look at Yandle to challenge for bigger minutes, not just receive them outright.

Bryzgalov-no question.

As for the tough guys, I find it hard to believe that the squad will carry all three. Carcillo yes, he is a valuable asset and can fire the team, not just bog them down with PIMs. Fedoruk and McG are to provide presence and one will win a 4th line job. My hope is Fedoruk personally. He can play too. (D)Brendan Bell was sacrificed for McG to Ottawa, and that was a bit of an oversight considering the team’s weaknesses now.

Kyle Turris is dynamite. I saw him in person put on a clinic against the Russians in the ‘series’ with Lucic, Gagner and ALzner. He played nearby for the Burnaby Express and his skills are ELITE. Kevin Porter and Chad Kolarik have decent chances and I’m not quite convinced that Alex Bourret will go by the wayside easily. Enver Lisin has not impressed duly but has complimentary soft hands. Look for Brett Maclean to make some noise!

By: Marco

Marco — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:16:37 +0000

I’m glad someone actually talked about this guys, I do like where Pheonix is going. They really need to improve their defense though.

Thats all thats standing in there way, let the kids mature and they’ll be contenders.

By: Ivan M

Ivan M — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 23:02:08 +0000

I don’t think they’re good enough to make the offseason, simply because they’ll have to play Dallas, the Ducks and us so many times, but I do think it’s possible as they weren’t that far off last season, and we won’t have any easy games against them.

I’m convinced that you’ll read this entry a year from now and will ask yourself, how could I ever forget to mention Tikhonov in this entry? He’s a one guy who’ll surprise everybody. Judging by the news from Russia and from the Yotes camp, he’s going to play in the NHL this season, and I think the reason why we haven’t heard more about him before was because his style and his body is more suitable for the NHL than RSL (just like Ovechkin didn’t dominate the world of hockey while playing in Russia). Mark my words, dudes – Tikhonov will score more than once on Nabby and will be a force in this league.

By: Jason Chen

Jason Chen — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 22:51:44 +0000

They’re gonna be tough to beat. I’m also at a loss why they got Fedoruk and McGrattan. Their blueline remains their weakness, but I think it’s still good enough in the West to remain competitive. Jovanovski had a good season and is finally playing like the player he was back in Vancouver. Sauer’s a dependable guy on the blueline and Michalek’s underrated. They’ll probably round out their top six with Matt Jones and either Yandle or Hale. They’re a playoff team for sure.