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'We're going to be OK' Coyotes are wolves in underdog clothing
Posted: Wednesday April 12, 2000 08:23 PM
By George Johnson, Calgary Sun Before these playoffs even begin, they're being shunted off the sports pages and into the obituary spill-over. Dismissed outright. Written off. Their bones left for the voracious media vultures to fight over. Following the Phoenix Coyotes near-death experience, their attempted suicide, their terrifying plunge from the summit of the NHL, virtually no one is giving them a half-hearted hope in the hereafter of lasting longer than the next two weeks. In truth, there doesn't seem to be much recommending the Desert Dogs at this, the most critical moment of any season. Really, if the sadsack present hasn't been bad enough ... what about that sorry past? "We'll be going into these playoffs as definite underdogs," says captain Keith Tkachuk, unable to fully recover from a sprained ankle that he keeps resting and then re-injuring. "But that's OK. That's fine. That's wonderful. "This team has more depth than any time since I've been in the organization. We go out and get guys like Benoit Hogue, who won a Cup in Dallas last year, and Sean Burke. Shane Doan has emerged as a real force. We've got as mobile a defence as any in the league. "I think we're going to be OK." His, however, is a lone voice of optimism in a sea of skepticism. Within the Coyotes' den, Tkachuk remains the linchpin to success. Arguably the game's pre-eminent power forward when fit and motivated, Tkachuk's year deteriorated into a messy series of trade rumours and the ankle problems. When Coyotes general manager Bobby Smith refused to utter a public vote of confidence for his star, dissatisfaction began to ferment inside the dressing room. Now that the trade deadline has come and gone, the residual bitterness Tkachuk feels, how forcefully he decides to attack what is likely the final phase of his career in the organization, that will decide a lot in Phoenix's immediate future. "Getting our captain healthy again is such a big thing for us," says ex-Flame Mike Sullivan. "He's such a big, strong, powerful player; such a presence on the ice and off of it, that everyone in here feeds off his energy. "I don't think any of us expected what we went through. It took us a while to find our footing after we'd slipped there. But I think we've come through it. It was touch-and-go there for a while but we held together." "Maybe," says goaltender Sean Burke, "we've gotten this out of our system early." By 'early', he means pre-playoffs. The Coyotes/Jets, of course, haven't prevailed in a post-season series since 1987. So long ago, so far away, that even the Flames have won a series (and, egad, a Cup!) since. In fact, Calgary was the victim that year, with Daniel 'The Bandit' Berthiaume between the pipes. They've become the game's poster boys for playoff futility. It is a curse that hangs over the heads of everyone with any sort of tenure in the organization. The chemistry within the dressing room has been attacked. The big guns vilified for not coming through in the clutch. It is a rap they must live with until they prove otherwise. They've led series 3-1, most recently a spring ago against St. Louis, only to cave in. Which leads the inevitable: Why? Why? WHY? "Of course we get tired of hearing that question," sighs Tkachuk. "But it's not as if we've done much to make you guys stop asking 'em." He smiles, shrugs. "One of these years ..." One of, undoubtedly. But this one? Unlikely.
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