Phoenix Coyotes Hockey on AZ Vibe

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PHOENIX-Earler this week, some Coyotes fans discovered some potentially disturbing news about one of the Coyotes top prospects. Genadi Boguslavski, a Montreal based reporter for the Russian Sovetski Sport reported that Viktor Tikhonov was on the verge this week of signing a deal with Avangard Omsk of the Kontinental Hockey League.  This deal had the potential of Tikhonov bypassing his NHL commitments and going straight to the KHL. Via their Twitter account, Boguslavski posted the following Tweets:

I asked Viktor’s North American agent, Pat Brisson, for confirmation of these rumors and if Viktor was going to report to the Phoenix Coyotes training camp or just report straight to the KHL?  Via e-mail, Brisson stated that “Viktor has one goal in mind and it’s to play in the NHL.  He is ready to have a great camp this fall with the Coyotes.  I believe he will be able to play on a regular basis and continue to progress.”

I then asked Brisson, if Viktor will be heading to the KHL this season in any scenario Brisson replied the “NHL is priority so that’s where the focus is.”

GLENDALE-The Coyotes have announced that they have signed journeyman center Bracken Kearns to a one year $550,000 two way contract.

If anything, this is a bottom 6 depth signing for the San Antonio Rampage as he’s the type of player that has the gift of hockey smarts, great character, and a great work ethic.  Three things that fit well in the Coyotes system.

Last season with the American Hockey League (AHL) Rockford Ice Hogs, Kearns scored 51 points (15 goals and 36 assists) which was second on the team in scoring.

GLENDALE-The Phoenix Coyotes announced today that they have re-signed Alexandre Picard to a one year deal worth $868,219. A former first round pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets (8th overall selection in the 2004 draft) Picard has yet to showcase his skills at the NHL level.

The scouting report on Alexandre Picard is that he’s a big physical player who has lots of skill. However, Picard has never been able to translate that into NHL game skills during his time with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

It’s tough to say at this point if Picard is another talented prospect that the Blue Jackets mishandled (see Gilbert Brule) in the five years he’s been in the league. It’s clear by the Blue Jackets trading Picard to the Coyotes that they were done with seeing if he can become a solid contributor to their club.

It should be noted that in the 16 games he has played in the Coyotes organization (with the San Antonio Rampage) he tallied 15 points (9 goals and 6 assists).

The Coyotes are clearly going to give Picard all the chances to see if he can be a regular contributor to the organization more than likely betting on the fact that the Blue Jackets mishandled his development.

For those of you who are following the Ilya Kovalchuk contract drama, (NHL is disputing his contract with the New Jersey Devils which was a 17 year $102 million dollar contract for the 27 year old player) the NHL Player’s association (NHLPA) just sent out the following press release via-email:

“The NHLPA has filed a grievance disputing the NHL’s rejection of the Standard Player Contract between the New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk. Under the terms of the CBA, the NHLPA and Mr. Kovalchuk are entitled to an expedited resolution of this matter. The NHLPA will have no further comment until this matter has been resolved by an Arbitrator.”

When the contract was initially rejected by the NHL, Deputy Commissioner of the NHL Bill Daly released the following statement on July 20th:

“The contract has been rejected by the League as a circumvention of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Under the CBA, the contract rejection triggers a number of possible next steps that may be elected by any or each of the NHLPA, the Player and/or the Club. In the interim, the player is not entitled to play under the contract, nor is he entitled to any of the rights and benefits that are provided for thereunder. The League will have no further comment on this matter pending further developments.”

PITTSBURGH – On Tuesday July 27th at 9:00 AM Heinz Field (home of the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers) the NHL will be holding a formal press conference regarding the 2011 Winter Classic which will feature the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals doing battle at Heinz Field on New Years Day.

The press conference will be shown live on the NHL Network in the US and Canada.

The following are among the list of people who will attend the press conference:

Gary Bettman – NHL Commissioner;
John Collins – NHL Chief Operating Officer
Art Rooney II – Pittsburgh Steelers co-Owner and President
Mario Lemieux – Pittsburgh Penguins Chairman
David Morehouse – Pittsburgh Penguins President
Ray Shero – Pittsburgh Penguins General Manager
Sidney Crosby – Pittsburgh Penguins Center
Max Talbot – Pittsburgh Penguins Center
Pascal Dupuis – Pittsburgh Penguins Left Wing
Dick Patrick – Washington Capitals President & Governor
George McPhee Washington Capitals General Manager
Mike Knuble – Washington Capitals Right Wing
David Steckel – Washington Capitals Left Wing
Matt Nussbaum – NHL Players Association Counsel
Luke Ravenstahl – Pittsburgh Mayor
Dan Onorato – Allegheny County Executive
Phil Pacsi – Bridgestone VP of Consumer Tire Marketing
Sam Flood – NBC Sports Executive Producer

In case you haven’t heard by now, one of the best reasons to be on Twitter when it comes to following NHL players was taken away Wednesday. Phoenix Coyotes Forward Paul Bissonnette’s Twitter account (Twitter handle – paulbiznasty) went dead Wednesday after a derogatory Tweet was posted and aimed towards Free Agent Forward Ilya Kovalchuk.

Instead of summing up the events Wednesday, check out the original article from Pro Hockey Talk’s website written by James O’Brien.

As much as I love the trash talking by Bissonnette he crossed the line with his derogatory comments about Kovalchuk. It doesn’t matter if Kovalchuk and his lack of a bonified NHL skill set is going to become grossly overpaid by either the Kings or the Devils.  Nor does it matter that Kovalchuk’s contract will indeed become a Yashin-esque weight around the neck of whatever franchise signs him (It will. It is going to happen at this point in time).

No, the problem here is what he Tweeted was more than likely something that’s normally said on the ice but was taken into the public realm.

The problem is when trash talking moves off the ice and into a bigger realm like on Twitter, different rules apply. The spirit of the trash talking is the same. However, the execution of the trash talking in the public realm must be done without personal attacks as Bissonnette did in this case.

I agree with Justin Bourne’s Tweet in the Pro Hockey Talk article in the sense that Bissonnette’s attitude is exactly the kind of thing the NHL needs to market themselves better. Bissonnette’s Twitter account was quickly becoming a very popular destination for not just Coyote fans but NHL fans themselves. Bissonnette brought a human and personal face of not only an NHL player but it gave NHL fans a glimpse into an pro athlete’s life.  A life that was free of canned comments and other pre-rehearsed answers that are normally found in the day to day workings of a professional sports team during a regular season.

NHL fans LOVE this kind of stuff!

Based on past experiences with other players around the league who have done somewhat similar things as Bissonnette did with his Tweets, one can more than likely conclude that the Phoenix Coyotes not only made Bissonnette aware of his mistake but probably made him shut down his Twitter account as well.

If this is indeed the case, it’s the wrong course of action for the Coyotes to take.

Don’t get me wrong, what Bissonnette said was wrong in reference to his personal attack on Ilya Kovalchuk.

However, making him pull the plug on his Twitter account (if that is indeed the case) is not the correct solution to this situation. What needs to be done is to have members of the Coyotes front office along with the Coyotes PR staff sit down with Bissonnette and give him a crash course in what is and is not acceptable for NHL players to say publicly via Twitter. I’m not talking about heavy censorship or micromanagement but just educate him that personal attacks via social media are not acceptable. A personal apology to Ilya Kovalchuk might be in order as well….then again, probably not.  Settling it on the ice is probably the best way to go about it.

It’s fortunate that, in this case, one of the huge drawbacks of  Coyotes coverage in the greater Phoenix area is the the lack of media available to cover the team at this time of year.

Why?

This drawback has turned into a huge bonus for the Coyotes. Had this been an NHL market like Vancouver, Montreal, or even Toronto this incident would have easily been in the headlines for days and the Coyotes would have been put under huge media scrutiny like Vancouver Canucks Defenseman Shane O’Brien has over the past few seasons.

In this market, stories and situations like these are going to blow over very, very quickly due to the lack of local media attention on the Phoenix Coyotes in the off-season.

Now, where to move forward from here….

Sadly, Phoenix Coyotes fans have probably seen the last of ‘paulbiznasty’ on Twitter.   If this is the case it would be a HUGE mistake for the team and the NHL.  In a short amount of time Paul Bissonnette has become one of the best people to follow on Twitter.  He’s been growing a great grassroots base of fans from across the NHL.

Look at a few examples of the feedback from NHL and non NHL people about how they love his tweets:

Actor/Comedian Tom Green:

http://twitter.com/tomgreenlive/statuses/18392217467

@PaulBizNasty Let’s do it! I’m on tour so we will have to find a good time when I am back in LA. Yes. Everybody follow @PaulBizNasty

Mike Commodore of the Blue Jackets

http://twitter.com/commie22/status/16356783131

By the way @PaulBizNasty is Paul Bissonette from the Coyotes…new on twitter. Help him out. Good guy.

Bob McKenzie of TSN:

http://twitter.com/TSNBobMcKenzie/status/18492998430

@PaulBizNasty rapidly becoming one of faves on Twitter.

The Coyotes have been getting free publicity and exposure from his Tweets leading up to his Kovalchuk Tweet.

Let me say this again with more clarity.

THE COYOTES HAVE BEEN GETTING FREE PUBLICITY FROM BISSONNETTE’S TWEETS.

FREE.

Money may be tight with the team but shutting down his Twitter account is not something the Coyotes can afford now can they?  To keep this account shut down would be a practice in idiocy and an EXTREMELY poor business practice.

Now is not the time to shut his account down. Let him re-open it and continue doing his thing. What’s the worse thing that can happen?  More people wanting to come to Phoenix Coyotes games at home and on the road?

GLENDALE-The Phoenix Coyotes have announced that they will host their yearly Open House for fans on July 21st at Jobing.com Arena from 7 to 9 PM. There weren’t many details in the press release stating what would go on during the event other than locker room tours and purchasing season tickets for next season. If it’s anything like previous years it should be a great event for fans to come out to!

GLENDALE-The Phoenix Coyotes have named Ray Edwards head coach of their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the San Antonio Rampage. Edwards was previously the Rampage’s interim head coach last season.

Since Edwards was hired on November 23rd, 2009, the Rampage went from one of the worst teams in the AHL to one of the most offensively potent teams at seasons end. Here’s some examples of Edwards effect on the Rampage:

By the end of the season…

- The Rampage were tied with the Hershey Bears for the best power-play percentage in the AHL at 20.7% (Franchise Record)

- The Rampage lead the AHL in home power-play percentage at 25.6% (Franchise Record)

Coyotes prospects also flourished under Edwards coaching last season.

- Kyle Turris scored 49 points in his last 56 games and 32 points in his last 30 games (19 goals and 30 assists)

- Brett MacLean scored 51 points in his last 58 games (22 goals and 29 assists)

In addition, the Phoenix coyotes have hired Jeff Truitt as an Assistant Coach of the San Antonio Rampage.

Truitt was formerly the Director of Hockey Operations for the Western Hockey League (WHL) Moose Jaw Warriors and before that, was head coach of the AHL Springfield Falcons for two seasons.

Truitt also brings championship experience to the table when he was coach of the WHL Kelowna Rockets for three seasons (2003-2005).

2 WHL Championships (2003, 2005)
2 WHL Regular Season Titles (2003, 2004)
3 Consecutive trips to the Memorial Cup Tournament (2003-2005)
1 Memorial Cup Championship.

Looking at this strategically on paper, the Coyotes have again made the right moves in not only solidifying the foundation for the franchise but they now have coaching insurance for not only the Rampage but potentially for the Coyotes as well.

SAN ANTONIO – Earlier this morning San Antonio Rampage play by play commentator Dan Weiss held a web chat with fans today talking about a bunch of different topics. All Coyotes fans should check the archived chat (link below) as it contains TONS of great info on the makeup of the Rampage this coming season as well as who will be playing on the Phoenix Coyotes this season.

The San Antonio Rampage are the AHL Affiliate of the Phoenix Coyotes

http://sarampage.com/news/index.html?article_id=943

GLENDALE – Over the past week, the Phoenix Coyotes began filling in the holes in their lineup due to players who left via free agency, who had their contracts bought out, or signed via free agency. Now I’m quite sure that the Coyotes aren’t done with filling the holes in their roster yet. Let’s take a look at a summary of the what the Coyotes did this past week to fill their roster spots:

(Cap numbers courtesy of Capgeek.com)

F – Ray Whitney – 2 year/$6 million dollar contract ($3 million a year) – Acquired Via Free Agency – I spent some considerable time looking over Whitney’s play over the past couple of years (Via NHL Gamecenter) to see what exactly he brings to the table and how it can help the Phoenix Coyotes. Simply put, Ray Whitney is the complete offensive package. He has incredible vision of the ice, can make plays (and score goals) out of nothing, play the point, has a great shot, and isn’t afraid to go to the net. Add to that his playoff and Stanley Cup experience (Whitney won the 2006 Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes defeating the Edmonton Oilers in seven games) and you have one hell of a signing for the Coyotes.

D – Derek Morris – 4 Year/$11 million dollar contract ($2.75 million a year) – Re-signed via Free Agency
D – Sami Lepisto – 1 Year/$800,000 contract – Re-signed as a restricted free agent

Two solid signings to help shore up the Coyotes defensive depth. The loss of Zbynek Michalek to the Penguins hurts the overall depth of the Coyotes but it’s not something that can be overcome via free agency. There’s still time to shore up the defensive depth of the Coyotes but as of now, the Coyotes are in better shape than people think.

G – Al Montoya – 1 Year/$750,000 contract – Re-Signed – It’s uncertain where Montoya fits in Coyotes GM Don Maloney’s master plan as the Coyotes have many goalies in their system at this moment in time. It’s looking more and more like Montoya and Matt Climie (below) will be the goaltending tandem in San Antonio to start the season. However, when it comes to the big picture, it’s uncertain if Montoya is being groomed for the Coyotes down the road or if he’s just a depth signing for those ‘just in case’ scenarios.

C – Andrew Ebbett – 1 Year/$500,000 Contract – Signed via free agency – This looks more like a 3rd or 4th line depth signing at center for the Coyotes as Ebbett doesn’t really have the tools to be a top 6 player in the NHL. He’s fast and has the tools to be successful but up to this point in his career, he hasn’t shown it in the NHL. Granted, Ebbett did spend time last season injured first with a concussion and then with a finger injury.

D – Nolan Yonkman – 1 Year/$550,000 contract – Could be a darkhorse to make the Coyotes roster this season. Having signed with the Coyotes because they offered more money and opportunity than the Nashville Predators (who reportedly wanted to keep him to help younger players develop) Yonkman will have the opportunity to not only help the other players in San Antonio to develop into NHL players but may have the opportunity to battle for a bottom 3 defensive spot on the Coyotes roster. Yonkman is a great character signing based on the community work he did with the Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville Predators AHL affiliate).

RW – Mathieu Beaudoin -1 year/$500,000 contract
D – Garrett Stafford – 2 year/$1.2 million dollar contract ($600,000 per year)
G – Matt Climie – 1 year/$750,000 contract

These three players are lumped together as they are casualties of the Dallas Stars financial and organizational problems. These three players were key components of the Stars AHL affiliate Texas Stars run to the Calder Cup finals this past season. Given their ages (26, 30, and 27 respectively) these players look to be more of an overall organizational depth signing for the Coyotes than anything. Beaudoin and Stafford might get the opportunity to battle for one of the Coyotes roster spots this season. However, they chances are they all will probably be sent to San Antonio to help out what was one of the worst teams in the AHL last season.