Morning Meltdown – Arizona Coyotes Edition

For this Morning Meltdown let’s take a look into some of the buzz surrounding the Arizona Coyotes, overcoming the offseason and surviving the Coyotes rebranding.

"“No significant trades and no signing of major free agents characterized the Arizona offseason. In a strange way, the Coyotes could benefit from buying out the remaining three years of a troubled Mike Ribeiro’s contract and opening the door to say goodbye to right wing Radim Vrbata. These subtractions could work in the Coyotes favor.Then again, head coach Dave Tippett is wondering how to replace potential offensive contributions. The optimum word here is “potential,” as Vrbata tended to disappear for significant periods of time with little or no production. At the same time, Ribeiro, battling emotional and marital problems, appeared to be of no use to his team down the critical stretch last season.”"

To read the rest of the article, click here.

With the changes currently being made to the Arizona Coyotes, it is hard to please everyone but the changes are coming, and coming fast. Ryan Viles of Liberty Sports writes,

"“When it comes to the Arizona Coyotes, nothing appears to be safe. When the team was owned by the NHL, every year remained a question of whether or not the team would stay in the Valley. Then, before last season, the team was finally purchased by IceArizona, only to have the deal potentially voided this past month. Regardless of the roadblocks and rumors, the ownership has remained steadfast in their commitment to the Valley by signing a flurry of long-term deals, which includes their newest deal with Gila River Casinos, reassuring fans that one thing can now be certain: the Arizona Coyotes are seriously here to stay.No matter what long-term deals that the IceArizona group has inked over the course of a year – which includes deals with the City of Glendale on an arena lease (15 years), with LEVY Restaurants for concessions (15 years), Ticketmaster (10 years), FOX Sports Arizona for television rights…”"

To read more about the rebranding, click here.