The "Great" Escape; Gretzky leaves Coyotes

(That's right Wayne, we don't want to watch the Coyotes either)

Hockey in the southwest? What could possibly go wrong?

If I may, is the correct answer "everything"?

If there has been a more tumultuous off-season for an NHL franchise that isn't lockout related, it's news to me. Coming off the wonderful PR news of a betting scandal involving the "Great One" and his assistant Rick Tocchet last season, the Coyotes attempted to battle attendance problems with hard liquor, have tied up bankruptcy court with an ongoing battle between ownership, the NHL, and prospective buyer Jim Balsillie, and have now produced the fastest coaching resignation and replacement ever. This morning, head coach Wayne Gretzky announced that he would be stepping down as coach and director of hockey operations. Only a few hours later, the team announced that Dave Tippett will be named the new head coach.

That makes sense, replace the only reason that people showed up to watch the Coyotes with the man who coached the ultra disappointing Dallas Stars last season and was ultimately fired. Don't kid yourself hockey fans, people weren't buying tickets to see Radim Vrbata and Shane Doan play; they were there to watch Wayne Gretzky stand behind the bench for a couple hours. Now that the one drawing point the Coyotes had is gone, Gary Bettman and the NHL should really reconsider Mr. Balsillie's offer to buy the team.

Up until now, Bettman has been adamantly opposed to even considering Balsillie as a new owner for the simple fact that he wants to relocate the team back to Canada.

So?

I could see the opposition if the team was flourishing in a new market, like Carolina, but the fact of the matter is they aren't. The Phoenix Coyotes have been basically a gimmick used by Commissioner Bettman as part of his plan to make hockey relevant with the major American sports. Of all of the teams that were brought in through expansion or relocation, its tough to say that the Coyotes have been anything other than the worst experiment in trying to develop a new market for the sport.

It's getting to be about the time for Bettman to admit that his master plan for American expansion has not been effective, and get back to promoting the sport where people care. The rumor is that Balsillie wants to relocate the Coyotes to Ontario in either Hamilton or give Toronto a second team. If the NHL brass actually cares about the sport and not just the bottom line, they should let him buy the team. This may not exactly be shocking news, but no one cares about hockey in Phoenix (or St. Petersberg and Tampa Bay, for that matter). Want to guess who cares about hockey; The people in Hamilton and Toronto!

The ball is in your court Mr. Bettman. Do you want continue to watch the Coyotes be the laughing stock/ongoing trainwreck of the NHL, or do you want to admit defeat in the southwest and allow someone else to pull this franchise out of the fire? I'll tell you one thing, it's probably a safe bet that people in Hamilton and Toronto are more concerned about the future of the Coyotes than the people in Phoenix. That's not a telling sign or anything.