The good news is that there is just over a month to there being just over a week to the start of training camp.
The bad news is that it's a pretty slow news week for the NHL. As far as Coyotes info goes, there is a continued rumour about them signing Devin Setoguchi, which I wrote about last week and which would barely qualify as exciting news if they actually sign him.
There is also the whole City Council thing going on, but until I hear otherwise, it seems like a non-story and I don't care to participate in dragging it out or talking about moving or re-voting on the arena deal or whatever.........basically, it's boring and the Coyotes aren't going anywhere.
So, in light of all that, I thought I would write about the best player in Franchise History. Only, I am not too sure who it is. I have a half written essay about it, but I thought first it would be fun to just put this out there and see what you guys think.
If you consider the old Jets as part of the current Phoenix franchise, then the answer is obviously Dale Hawerchuck, but I would prefer to just keep the conversation relegated to guys who played in Arizona, although I am willing to listen to any good arguments for including Jets players. For the record, NHL.com does include all old Jets players in their totals and Dale Hawerchuck is the franchise points leader by a mile, still 50 points ahead of Doan in about 600 less games.
Assuming we stick with Coyotes players only, here are the candidates:
Shane Doan Closing in on the Franchise lead in points and goals. Played for the Coyotes since they came from Winnipeg.
Keith Tkachuck Nearly a point per game player for 600 odd games in a Coyotes uniform, Tkachuck isn't far off the lead in most offensive categories.
Jeremy Roenick Perhaps he had the best career of anyone who's played for Phoenix, but Roenick wasn't the PPG superstar he was in Chicago. Still, worth at least an honorable mention.
Mike Smith Easily the best goalie of the Phoenix era, so he is worth mentioning, although I think it's a stretch to rank him ahead of some of the forwards.
Tempo Numminen While I think most will say Doan, a solid case can be made for Numminen who played seven consistent seasons, mostly putting up at least 40 points. Numminen is without a doubt one of the best players in Coyotes history, but is he the best?
Oliver Ekman-Larsson While you can't make a statistical case at this point in his young career, you could perhaps state that he is the most talented high-end player the Coyotes of any incarnation have had since Selanne. He might not be #1 today, but by the end of his career, barring injury, he likely will be.
Those are the candidates, what do you think?