Phoenix Coyotes Hockey on AZ Vibe

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VANCOUVER, CANADA-EA Sports has just released the demo for the upcoming NHL 11 via Xbox Live and will release the demo on the Playstation Network later today (Scheduled for 2 PM PST/5PM EST).

Here’s what you can expect from the demo:

“In the demo, you will get a first look at Hockey Ultimate Team,” commented NHL 11 Producer Nathan Ng. “What is included in your HUT will be a starter pack, with a mix of prospects and some rare cards. You will get to play through an offline tournament. In each portion of the tournament bracket you get to play will be the 3rd period of the game. If you you win, you move on. If you lose, you start from the beginning of the tourney.”

According to the press release:

“The demo will also include a look at the Battle for the Cup mode putting you in a Game Seven scenario between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks in the third period. The score will be randomly generated and you will have an opportunity to play with either team for a chance to hoist the Stanley Cup.”

XBox Live Users can begin the download of the NHL 11 demo via this link:

http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-IE/games/media/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802454108fd/?p=1&of=1&bt=0&sb=1#offers

As stated above, the NHL 11 demo is scheduled to be available around 2:00 PM Pacific time (5 PM Eastern). EA said this time might vary depending on when Sony makes the demo available.

NEW YORK-Earlier this week the NHL released the preseason schedule for the upcoming 2010-2011 NHL Regular season. The list below is the complete schedule for all teams including neutral site games in the North America and Europe.

2010-11 NHL PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE (all times Eastern)

TUESDAY, SEPT. 21

Ottawa at Toronto, 7 p.m.
New Jersey at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Florida at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Columbus at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Colorado at St. Louis, 8 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Vancouver at Calgary (split squads), 9 p.m.
Calgary at Vancouver (split squads), 10 p.m.
Phoenix at Anaheim, 10 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 22

Ottawa at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Detroit at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Washington at Columbus, 7 p.m.
Boston at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
St. Louis at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Chicago vs. Tampa Bay, at Winnipeg, Man. (MTS Centre), 8 p.m.
Los Angeles at Colorado, 9 p.m.
San Jose at Anaheim, 10 p.m.
Edmonton at Vancouver, 10 p.m.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 23

New Jersey at NY Rangers, 7 p.m.
Philadelphia vs. Toronto, at London, Ont. (John Labatt Centre), 7 p.m.
Boston vs. Florida, at Rochester, N.Y. (Blue Cross Arena), 7 p.m.
Carolina at Nashville, 8 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Edmonton, 9 p.m.
Los Angeles at Phoenix (split squads), 10 p.m.
Phoenix at Los Angeles (split squads), 10:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 24

Philadelphia at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Nashville at Carolina, 7 p.m.
Chicago at Detroit, 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Columbus, 7 p.m.
Ottawa at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Minnesota at St. Louis, 8 p.m.
Colorado at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.
Anaheim at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, SEPT. 25

Montreal at Ottawa, 7 p.m.
Carolina at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
Florida at Boston, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
NY Rangers at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Columbus at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Washington at Nashville, 8 p.m.
Detroit at Chicago, 8 p.m.
Philadelphia at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
St. Louis at Dallas, 8 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Calgary, 9 p.m.
Anaheim at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
San Jose at Phoenix (split squads), 10 p.m.
Phoenix at San Jose (split squads), 10:30 p.m.

SUNDAY, SEPT. 26

NY Rangers at Detroit, 5 p.m.
Minnesota at Montreal, 7 p.m.
Vancouver at Edmonton, 8 p.m.
St. Louis at Colorado, 9 p.m.

MONDAY, SEPT. 27

Buffalo at Toronto, 7 p.m.
Florida at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Atlanta at Nashville, 8 p.m.

TUESDAY, SEPT. 28

Buffalo vs. Ottawa, at Dundas, Ont. (J.L. Grightmire Market St. Arena), 7 p.m.
Philadelphia at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Boston at Washington, 7 p.m.
Chicago at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Columbus, 7 p.m.
Dallas at Colorado, 9 p.m.
Phoenix at Calgary, 9 p.m.
San Jose at Vancouver, 10 p.m.
Anaheim at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 29

Washington at Boston, 7 p.m.
Detroit at NY Rangers, 7 p.m.
Nashville at Atlanta, 7 p.m.
NY Islanders (split squad) at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Toronto at Ottawa, 7:30 p.m.
Carolina at Florida, 7:30 p.m.
Calgary vs. NY Islanders (split squad), at Saskatoon, Sask. (Credit Union Centre), 8 p.m.
Phoenix at Edmonton, 9 p.m.
Vancouver at San Jose, 10:30 p.m.

THURSDAY, SEPT. 30

Buffalo at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.
Chicago at St. Louis, 8 p.m.
Columbus at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Colorado at Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, OCT. 1

Atlanta at Carolina, 1:30 p.m.
Toronto at Detroit, 7 p.m.
Buffalo at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
NY Islanders at New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Ottawa at NY Rangers, 7 p.m.
Columbus at Washington, 7 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Florida, 7:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.
Calgary at Edmonton, 9 p.m.
Vancouver at Anaheim, 10 p.m.

SATURDAY, OCT. 2

San Jose vs. Adler Mannheim, at Mannheim, Germany (SAP Arena), 1:30 p.m.
Boston vs. Belfast Giants Select, at Belfast, N. Ireland (Odyssey Arena), 2 p.m.
Atlanta at Columbus, 6 p.m.
Detroit at Toronto, 7 p.m.
NY Rangers at Ottawa, 7 p.m.
New Jersey at NY Islanders (split squad), 7 p.m.
Montreal vs. NY Islanders (split squad), at Quebec City, Que. (Colisée Pepsi), 7 p.m.
Florida at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
Dallas at St. Louis, 8 p.m.
Colorado vs. Los Angeles, at Las Vegas, Nev. (MGM Grand), 9 p.m.

SUNDAY, OCT. 3

Nashville at Washington, 12:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Detroit, 5 p.m.
Philadelphia at Buffalo, 6 p.m.
St. Louis at Chicago, 6 p.m.
Edmonton at Calgary, 8 p.m.
Los Angeles at Anaheim, 8 p.m.

MONDAY, OCT. 4

Carolina vs. SKA St. Petersburg, at St. Petersburg, Russia (Ledovy Arena), 11 a.m.
Minnesota vs. Ilves Tampere, at Tampere, Finland (Jaahalli Arena), noon.

TUESDAY, OCT. 5

Columbus vs. Malmo/Rogle BK, at Malmo, Sweden (Malmo Arena), 1 p.m.
Boston vs. HC Liberec, at Liberec, Czech Republic (Tipsport Arena), 1 p.m.

WEDNESDAY, OCT. 6

Phoenix vs. Dinamo Riga, at Riga, Latvia (Arena Riga), noon.

GLENDALE-The Phoenix Coyotes have announced that they will host their second Open House of the off-season for fans on August 12th at Jobing.com Arena from 6 to 8 PM. Fans will have the opportunity to purchase season tickets and ticket packages at lower rates than what the general public will pay. Fans will also have the opportunity to tour the Phoenix Coyotes locker room.

Fans who attend are asked to enter the arena through Gate 6 on the eastern side of the arena. The Location of the arena is in the map below.

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CALGARY-In the middle of McMahon Stadium in Calgary Alberta, the NHL officially announced all the details for the 2011 Heritage Classic which will pit the Calgary Flames versus the Montreal Canadiens. On February 20th, 2011 at 6:00 PM Eastern time the puck will drop in front of what is sure to be a packed house. This will be the first time since 2003 that a regular season outdoor game will be played on Canadian soil.

“The Flames and Canadiens, two teams with so much history, will resume a rivalry that is so much a part of the National Hockey League’s proud heritage. Our first regular-season outdoor game was played in Canada, and we’re excited to be coming back for the 2011 NHL Heritage Classic at McMahon Stadium Feb. 20,” said Gary Bettman, Commissioner of the National Hockey League.

As noted in the above photograph, both teams will wear custom uniforms for the event.

The Flames will wear a custom sweater that honors the long tradition of hockey in Calgary. According to the NHL, “The Flames worked with the design team at Reebok to create the vintage look. The jersey features the same jersey striping pattern with a beige Flames C logo in a vintage felt application. The uniform is a deeper red color with gold stripes and will include the 2011 NHL Heritage Classic logo patch on the front.”

The Canadiens will wear their white away sweaters with some modifications. The numbers on the sweaters will be the same color combination that appeared on the Canadiens sweaters in their 1986 and 1989 Stanley Cup finals series against the Calgary Flames.

The Game will be shown live in Canada on CBC and RDS and in the United States on Versus. The NHL Network in the US and Canada will provide live pre and post game coverage of the event.

Game Notes:

- Fans can place pre-orders now for both of the Heritage Classic Sweaters on shop.nhl.com.
- According to the NHL, ticketing information for the Heritage classic will be announced ‘in the coming months’

Below are clips from the press conference announcing the Heritage Classic in Calgary, Alberta on August 4th.

All video below produced by the NHL/NHL Network

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For those of you who want to read the full 20 page decision by independent arbitrator, Richard Bloch you can download it here:

http://coyotes.azvibe.com/docs/Ilya-Kovalchuk-Decision.pdf

BOSTON-Yesterday an independent arbitrator denied a NHL Players Association’s (NHLPA) grievance that the National Hockey League (NHL) improperly rejected a contract between Ilya Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils.  Kovalchuk’s contract was a 15 year, $102 million dollar deal that would have paid him until the 2026-2027 NHL season.

The reason that this matter went to an independent arbitrator was first that the NHL rejected the contract on the grounds that not only did Kovalchuk’s contract circumvent the imposed salary cap (it would have paid Kovalchuk 97% of the contract over 11 of the 17 years in the contract) and that said contract was 17 years long.  Kovalchuk, 27, would be around 43-44 years old when the contract expires.  The NHL stated to the Devils, in their contract rejection letter, that Kovalchuk’s contract expired well beyond the average retirement age.

Here’s how Kovalchuk’s contract was initially broken down:
2010-2011 $ 6,000,000.00 USD
2011-2012 $ 6,000,000.00 USD
2012-2013 $11,500,000.00 USD
2013-2014 $11,500,000.00 USD
2014-2015 $11,500,000.00 USD
2015-2016 $11,500,000.00 USD
2016-2017 $11,500,000.00 USD
2017-2018 $10,500,000.00 USD
2018-2019 $ 8,500,000.00 USD
2019-2020 $ 6,500,000.00 USD
2020-2021 $ 3,500,000.00 USD
2021-2022 $ 750,000.00 USD
2022-2023 $ 550,000.00 USD
2023-2024 $ 550,000.00 USD
2024-2025 $ 550,000.00 USD
2025-2026 $ 550,000.00 USD
2026-2027 $ 550,000.00 USD

The NHLPA filed a grievance over the NHL’s rejection of Kovalchuk’s contract contending that the deal didn’t circumvent any of  rules in the CBA regarding player contracts and that there aren’t any ‘negotiated’ restrictions in the CBA that says the NHL and it’s teams can’t have contracts like Kovalchuk’s.

The NHLPA’s grievance sent the matter to independent arbitrator Richard Bloch who ruled that even though Ilya Kovalchuk’s contract with the Devils may have not circumvented the cap, the contract ‘has the effect of defeating’ the CBA when it comes to wording of the CBA’s Team Payroll range. Bloch also stated that there also wasn’t any implied negligence between the New Jersey Devils or Ilya Kovalchuk’s party, when this contract was originally signed.

Bloch ruled that the NHL was correct in it’s rejecting of Kovalchuk’s contract and the NHLPA’s grievance was denied.  This decision now makes Ilya Kovalchuk a free agent and he can negotiate with any team immediately.

The NHLPA released the following statement via e-mail following Bloch’s decision:

“The NHLPA is disappointed with the Arbitrator’s ruling to uphold the NHL’s rejection of the contract between the New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk.

The NHLPA is currently reviewing the decision and will have no further comment at this time.”

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly released the following statement via e-mail following Bloch’s decision:

“We want to thank Arbitrator Bloch for his prompt resolution of a complex issue. His ruling is consistent with the League’s view of the manner in which the Collective Bargaining Agreement should deal with contracts that circumvent the Salary Cap.”

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This is probably the only time we’re going to post something about the current situation with the Coyotes Ownership battle (until a deal gets done/not done) and throw a little fun in with it. So we’d like to ask Coyotes fans to tell us who they think is responsible for the holdup in getting new owners in place?

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CALGARY-The NHL Announced today that they will be holding a press conference tomorrow at 2 PM, Arizona time, to formally announce the 2011 NHL Heritage Classic at McMahon Stadium in Calgary, Alberta. The 2011 Heritage Classic will take place on Feb. 20, 2011 at McMahon Stadium and feature the Calgary Flames battling the Montreal Canadiens.

The 2011 Heritage Classic Press Conference will be carried live on the NHL Network (in the US and Canada) for all fans to witness.

Among those scheduled to appear at the press conference are:

Gary Bettman – NHL Commissioner
John Collins – NHL COO
Ken King – Flames President & CEO
Darryl Sutter – Flames GM
Brent Sutter – Flames Coach
Cory Sarich – Flames Defenseman
Steve Staios – Flames Defenseman
Curtis Glencross – Flames Left Wing
Ray Lalonde – Canadiens VP & Chief Sales & Marketing Officer
Josh Gorges – Canadiens Defenseman
Mike Ouellet – NHLPA Chief of Business Affairs
Sherali Najak – Senior Producer of CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada