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Magic touch Coyotes hope offseason changes equal victories
Sixteen months later, the new front office views the first team cast in Gretzky's mold as the foundation for a Stanley Cup contender. "We've become younger, faster and deeper, and we will continue to develop our young players and get stronger each year," Gretzky said. "We have a good blueprint in place, and we plan on sticking with it. "We will build this team into a champion." Those are heady words for a team that hasn't advanced past the first round of the playoffs in nine tries since 1987 and went 9-10-5-1 after developer Steve Ellman and Gretzky completed their purchase of the franchise on Feb. 15. But Gretzky made improbable moves with such grace during his playing career that it's difficult to separate his executive potential from the glow of his on-ice accomplishments. And no one questions the credentials of senior executive vice president Cliff Fletcher, the architect of Calgary's 1988-89 championship team, or Dave Draper, the new vice president of scouting and player personnel, who drafted the players that helped Colorado win two Stanley Cups. "I don't know if anyone has ever come into a seat such as this with as strong a group of allies at close hand," said Mike Barnett, who replaced Fletcher as general manager on Aug. 28 -- the final piece of the management puzzle. The first day, Barnett promised the Coyotes would return to the playoffs this season. Nothing in training camp has changed his opinion. "The roster is filled with many character players," Barnett said. "Players who know only one way to the puck -- a straight line. Players who believe in the concept of team." "Character" and "teamwork" are buzzwords for the new ownership, which soured quickly on last season's high-priced stars. "It's no secret that the type of team we wanted to put together was a team that's going to have high energy, high emotion -- players that are going to be coachable," coach Bob Francis said. Forwards Jeremy Roenick and Keith Tkachuk, the Coyotes' captain for seven years, and disgruntled goalie Nikolai Khabibulin were gone by the time Barnett gave up running International Management Group's hockey division. "We had originally tried to build our team around Jeremy Roenick, but we made a business decision when he became an unrestricted free agent," Gretzky said. Tkachuk, Roenick and defenseman Jyrki Lumme were not kept because of their salaries -- about $17 million combined -- and Khabibulin was sent packing to Tampa Bay because he wanted more than Gretzky was willing to pay. Other former Coyotes simply would have been out of their element. "We've got lots of speed, lots of skill," defenseman Teppo Numminen said. "And it seems like management has a game plan and they're sticking to it. In the past, we haven't had that stability." The 33-year-old Numminen is proof there is something beyond slavish dedication to youth. One of two holdovers from the Winnipeg Jets era that ended in 1996, the 13-year veteran considered asking for a trade after Tkachuk, Khabibulin and fellow Finns Juha Ylonen and Mika Alatalo were dealt. Instead, Fletcher encouraged him to stay, and Numminen is the new captain. "I'm really excited about what we have here," he said. "The young guys are ready to play, and the good thing about it is they're improving all the time." The Coyotes didn't keep Roenick, a six-time All-Star, because they were stocking up on speedy, promising centers -- Michal Handzus as part of the Tkachuk trade with St. Louis, Sergei Berezin from Toronto in June and Daymond Langkow from Philadelphia. Most of the new players are younger and more aggressive than those who preceded them. The Coyotes averaged a league-high 44 penalty minutes in their first five exhibition games. "At this point, I think a significant number of penalty minutes is indicative of the fact that we intend to fight for each foot of that ice surface," Barnett said. Barnett, who became Gretzky's agent in 1980, believes The Great One will only enhance his reputation as a hockey magician now that he's in the front office. "He has far transcended the sport of hockey," Barnett said. "But he remains an ambassador of our sport, not unlike Michael Jordan in basketball. I don't think there's a team in any league that doesn't recognize the value of Michael Jordan or Wayne Gretzky owning a franchise."
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