The Coyotes are out of the playoffs and not a lot is happening with them at the moment.
I could talk about Tobias Reider being injured in France at the World Championships - but what's to talk about? No one tells you what's actually wrong (is it upper or lower body? I can hardly wait to find out!) and he's not exactly a star player.
Craig Morgan says he's out for the tournament and it isn't expected to be serious.
The biggest recent news was that John Chayka was being looked at by the Sabres, but the Coyotes would not let the Sabres have him.
Considering that Chayka is the only GM who reports to his coach, it makes sense that another team thought they could poach him.
Also, when you factor in the success he had at last years draft and his success in the few trades he has made, I think it's fair to label him - along with Kyle Dubas of the Toronto Maple Leafs - one of the two major up-and-coming NHL executives.
If the Coyotes are not going to let him seek a traditional GM role, they need to make him the guy in charge of their team. They need to give him the title for the team he's done an excellent job of helping recover from the incompetence of Don Maloney.
Furthermore, Dave Tippett is an old school coach who has been the coach of the Coyotes for way too long. Along with Maloney, Mike Smith, Hanzal, Murphy, Stone, Vrbata and Doan, Tippett represents the old guard. A decent but flawed group that could never get it done.
All or most of those players have to and a clean break with the past must be made.
There is no evidence to suggest that Dave Tippett is a good coach in today's NHL - his lineup decisions are extremely questionable, his minute allotments ridiculous,and his style of play is outdated.
Dave Tippett hasn't evolved with the NHL and he should no longer be coaching in it. At least not for the Coyotes.
Furthermore, having a coach with more power than the GM is just a fundamentally stupid set-up. There is probably a good reason 29 teams do it differently. That reason is that what a coach prioritizes isn't always going to be best for the long-term growth of the team.
This was seen all season long when Tippett wasted power-play time on players like Vbrata and Doan at the expense of the team's future stars.
Tippett needs to go and Chayka needs a promotion.
If the Coyotes aren't going to do that, then they need to let Chayka pursue employment with a more progressive team. Certainly trying to have it both ways with two opposite styles is the worst possible option.
But they should choose Chayka. He's young and has fresh ideas that are perfect for a rebuilding team. Why not have the GM and the team go together? If there was ever a time to say 'where going to try it a new way' it's now.
The Coyotes will never be a cap team and they'll never be a prominent free-agent destination. To overcome these problems they have to take more risks and think farther outside the box than any other team.
Considering that they missed out on Matthews, McDavid, and Eichel, and that they're now going to be drafting seventh - the time for a new plan is now.
There will never be a better time to fire Tippett and move on with a new philosophy.
If the Coyotes aren't careful, instead of having one of the NHL's best executives, they'll be stuck watching as Chayka becomes the NHL's best GM and new GM Dave Tippets signs Luke Schenn to a contract extension and then trades for Dan Girardi.
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