NHL: My funny Valentine

It was only fitting for the soap opera sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to finally end just after St. Valentine’s Day. Hopefully, the only massacre will be that of the trade rumors that have been flying around the team’s major stars since December.

With this week’s announcement of a contract extension for All-Star goalie Sean Burke, however, the rumors about the departure of hold-out Nikolai Khabibulin seen to be closer to truth than fiction.

Rumors with less substance include those of Captain Keith Tkachuk being traded to the Flyers or the New York Rangers. Rumors persist that Khabby is being packaged with defensemen Keith Carney and Teppo Numminen as well. Jeremy Roenick rumors have quieted with new GM Cliff Fletcher’s statement that Roenick will NOT be traded, and radio reports that JR’s agent, Neil Abbott, is meeting with Fletcher this week to finalize Roenick’s new contract.

There is still a chance, however, that JR could be dealt if a contract can’t be hammered out by the trade deadline, only two weeks away.

Hopefully, now that Ellman, Gretzky and Co. have finally taken over the team, we can stop worrying about these off-ice traumas once the trade deadline has passed. Over the past several months, we the fans have heard differing reports on the financial status of the Coyotes, and the validity of those differing reports have a major impact on the credibility of rumors we have ALL heard regarding the futures of Khabibulin, Burke, Roenick and Tkachuk.

Since the NHL approved the ownership team of Ellman and Gretzky, we have heard many half-truths bantered about, including but not limited to the proclamation that the team MUST cut payroll by $10 million immediately. While the media is rather fond of throwing this “factoid” around, it isn’t necessary truthful. Gretzky has stated repeatedly since his takeover that he will do whatever is necessary to make the Coyotes a better team and bring a Stanley Cup to Phoenix. So moves that we will see between today and the trading deadline of March 13th may or may not be made solely for financial reasons.

But let me get back to my “funny valentines,” those unpredictable Yotes… After an impressive win in Buffalo against the Sabres and “The Dominator,” that included Roenick’s 400th career goal and his nine career hat trick, the Coyotes traveled to Detroit and were shelled, starting the game with a 3-0 lead, and losing after the Dead Things scored 6 unanswered goals in the second two periods. I guess they aren’t as dead as we might have thought. The road trip continues this week in Boston and Columbus before our boys return home for a rematch against Detroit in the friendly confines of AWA on March 2nd. We can only hope that the embarrassment of the performance in Detroit will stay fresh in their memories; I know it is still fresh in mine.

I do, of course, have co-workers that are Dead Things fans, and who take exception to my RED WINGS SUCK bumperstickers, so maybe my situation is a special case.

Back to that hat trick in Buffalo, though. Leave it to Jeremy to score a hat trick, one that he promised me for my birthday back in November, in an away game that was NOT televised clear across the country. And while I have made a tribute “hat trick” webpage on his new Unofficial Official Website (http://www.jeremy-roenick.com), don’t think that I won’t be reminding him of his birthday promise so many months ago.

Welcome Wayne white-out

Wayne Gretzky, Steve Ellman and Company were welcomed by Phoenix fans at Wednesday, February 21st’s “Welcome Wayne White-out,” marking the first time the traditional “white-out” has been held during the regular season.

In a brief pre-game ceremony, Gretz addressed the sell-out crowd, apparently as taken by the sight of all those screaming fans in white as we were by the sight of Wayne Gretzky donning a Coyotes jersey with 99 on the back and tucking it casually into the back of his pants as he has every jersey he’s worn over the years.

We welcome the beginning of the Gretzky Era, and thank Steve Ellman for all the work he has done to keep our Yotes in the Valley of the Sun.

I’d also like to offer my congratulations this week to Sean Burke, the Coyotes MVP-candidate net minder, who signed a three year contract extension with a no trade clause. If my boy Roenick can do the same before the trade deadline, consider this columnist a happy camper. So happy, in fact, that I will take bets that I will be happier than JR himself when he signs that contract. So ecstatic that I will even buy the first round of beers. And maybe even the second.

From the desk of the Roenick Chick