The Arizona Coyotes changed hands yet again this offseason, entering into the charge of new majority owner Andrew Barroway, who will join the IceArizona ownership group later this month. They also changed namesake locations from Phoenix to Arizona.
The only thing that seemingly hasn't changed is the team's fortunes on the ice and difficulties filling out Jobing.com Arena.
Before rattling off two wins over the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs in the past week, the Coyotes had lost six of seven games and looked positively atrocious doing it, prompting many, like Damien Cox of Sportsnet to wonder if big changes may possibly be afoot.
Part of the problem is that the team, which was dead last in NHL attendance last season with an average of 13,775 fans per game and is reporting even lower numbers thus far this year, has consistently been unable to draft and develop a true star franchise player, writes Cox.
"Oliver Ekman-Larsson, to be sure, is an elite, young defenseman, a cornerstone for a blue line corps. But that's different than a franchise player, a difference maker, the kind of player, for instance, that may be available next June when Connor McDavid, Dylan Strome, Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifan, Pavel Zacha, and others become available through the draft."
Arizona has had five top-10 draft picks over the past decade. Of the players selected with those picks, only two - Ekman-Larsson and Mikkel Boedker - currently play for the Coyotes and only Ekman-Larsson is playing like a possible star.
Sitting at 5-6-1 on the season, their prospects of reaching the postseason are seemingly slim. Added to the organization's inability to ice a bonafide franchise player on a nightly basis means that it becomes increasingly unlikely the team will be able to stay in Phoenix long-term.
Unless of course, they're able to translate a lost season into drafting a highly-touted player, what Cox terms "The Next Big Hope," like Jack Eichel, who could help turn the franchise's fortunes around.
"Phoenix has tried to sell winning, which didn't sell very well. Could they sell a star like McDavid or Eichel? That question has to be crossing the minds of the big thinkers with the Coyotes, and while both Carolina and Buffalo won on Sunday night, right now it seems likely those teams will be worse than Arizona and thus draft higher next June."
In an effort to reach the top of the drafting order, the Coyotes could start "off-loading bodies."
Keith Yandle's name has apparently already come up in trade rumors. Veterans like Martin Hanzal, Sam Gagner, Boedker and Lauri Korpikoski have value. Even Mike Smith could be potential trade bait.
Cutting bait on veterans and going for it all - tanking - seems like it may be the only course of action that could fill seats and allow them to stay in the desert long-term.
