I wish for nothing but the best for the Phoenix Coyotes, their fans and the City of Glendale.

- Wayne

(Phoenix, Ariz.) — Wayne Gretzky announced today that he is stepping down as Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations of the Phoenix Coyotes Hockey Club, effective immediately.  “This was a difficult decision that I’ve thought long and hard about,” said Gretzky. “We all hoped there would be a resolution earlier this month to the Coyotes ownership situation, but the decision is taking longer than expected.  Since both remaining bidders have made it clear that I don’t fit into their future plans, I approached General Manger Don Maloney and suggested he begin looking for someone to replace me as coach.  Don has worked hard and explored many options.  I think he has made an excellent choice, and so now it’s time for me to step aside.”

“The Coyotes scouting staff has put together a great group of young and talented players who are going to improve tremendously over the next few years,” continued Gretzky.  “I’m proud of the team we’ve assembled, the organization with which I’ve been associated and the thousands of dedicated fans who have never wavered in their support of this young team.  I’m confident that the best is yet to come for hockey in Phoenix.”

“I want to thank every staff member of the Phoenix Coyotes, past and present.  It was a real pleasure to work with each and every one of you.  I’ve always said that Phoenix is a great sports city and deserves nothing but the best.  I still believe that. As a young boy, I learned to play hockey in Southern Ontario, and I know what great fans they have there.  It’s my hope they too will have an NHL franchise in the not too distant future.”

“I often said it was the greatest honor and privilege I could imagine to be able to play in the National Hockey League.  I feel the same way about being an NHL coach.  I’ve loved the four years I spent coaching the Coyotes.  Not a day went by when I took it for granted, and I will miss the competition of the NHL dearly.  It was an honor to hold the position, and I will always consider myself especially fortunate to have had this opportunity.”

I want to pass along my gratitude to every Phoenix Coyotes hockey fan.

I moved my family here to the desert four years ago with the intention that we would be here for a very long time, and of course, never expecting what has transpired in the last three months.

I am a hockey guy that does hockey on TV. It is pretty simple. That is what I get paid to do and have done for the last 20 years. When there is no certainty of a TV contract, then things get a little scary and that is what has taken place here in Phoenix. I am sure that this will all get resolved at some point in the near future.

This is no one’s fault, except for the sudden bankruptcy filing, and I can tell you for certain that no one was prepared for that happening, at least not inside the organization.

With the current situation, I had phone calls from other teams and an opportunity to do national studio NHL work as well, but was really having a difficult time as to what to do as I have gained so many great friends inside the Coyotes family and socially as well.

I have been working side by side with one of my closest friends in Dave Strader, and it feels empty to leave behind a friend and partner. Todd Walsh is a fixture in Arizona and always manages to say the right things at the right time and bring the viewer so much closer to the game and to the players. He is as solid as they get. The great thing is they will always be friends, and I am sure the text messages throughout the season with be flowing, especially when we are about to meet up!

Being on a broadcast team doesn’t just mean the TV group, and I would really be missing out if I didn’t thank two terrific people who love the game and bring it to the people for the entire 82-game schedule, and they are radio personalities Bob Heethius and Tyson Nash.

The gang at FS Arizona is a close group and Mike Roth and Mike Connolly have such passion for the game of hockey, and I will always be grateful. They always stick their necks out for the good of the broadcasts, and that is a very good thing.

On the production side, it started with Graham Taylor as producer when I got here and it went to Andy Bock after one season, with Graham getting back in the “big chair” again last year. They are great producers that love going to and producing the game…chasing me around for production meetings…and getting all fired up for another game and a couple of stories later. Thank you guys. The happy bus was always the best place to be!

To Liz, Meg, Mitch, Derek and everyone else involved in production, you know how much I think of you all, both personally and professionally. Thanks.

Dave Vest manages the content of this Web site, and is as good as it gets. My many thanks Dave, for being a real pro and great guy.

I am a very lucky person. I was asked four years ago by Mike Barnett, Doug Moss, Cliff Fletcher and Wayne Gretzky to come and join the Coyotes. I moved my family after 20 years in Chicago. That is never easy, as you can imagine. We feel as though Phoenix is a place we will want to maintain a residence, as we love it here.

I am an avid golfer and am a member at Blackstone Country Club in Peoria. We moved here to the Northwest Peoria area because it is growing by leaps and bounds, and close to Jobing.com Arena, yet easy to get to Scottsdale as well.

We have met some great people socially and through our church, Copper Hills, and their Pastor, Brad Klassen and his wife Elfie. Both have been great friends and will always be, and I know how much my wife, Lynn, will miss them and all their hiking pals!

To be leaving a person as great as Wayne Gretzky is terribly difficult, not to mention his business manager Darren Blake, his coaching staff and trainers to go along with Don Maloney and his staff, is not easy. Wayne, as you all should know by now, is an even better person than he was a player, and that says it all about him.

The Coyotes are one of the very few teams that have full-time security travel with them. Not only does Jim O’Neal, aka The Inspector, take care of all of us, he is simply a tremendous friend. Thanks Jim! All secure pal!

To be able to join the St. Louis Blues and their President, John Davidson, makes me feel really fortunate. I grew up as a broadcaster admiring and emulating JD and we had the honor of working the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics together as well as several national games on ABC. He is a tremendous person and the Blues organization is outstanding and on the rise. I am looking forward to working with John Kelly and Bernie Federko on the Blues broadcasts.

We will always have a bond here with the great fans of the Coyotes. I believe in this team, the great players and character that is on the team, led of course, by Shane Doan.

We will see each other often and I will be keeping an eye and a Holy Jumpin out for you!

All the very best,

- Panger

Darren Pang appears courtesy of PhoenixCoyotes.com

With veteran goalie Jason LaBarbera now in the fold, the first thing that comes to my mind is the size of the tandem Grant Fuhr and the Coyotes coaching staff have to work with.

Both LaBarbera (6-foot-3, 225 pounds) and Ilya Bryzgalov (6-3, 199) are imposing figures, leaving very little room for shooters to see any net.

LaBarbera has made a living combining a few terrific qualities, most notably he is a very hard-working person that endears himself to his teammates. I have said this many times. When your goalie has a great team-first attitude, the players want to battle for him. He will stay on the ice until the last player is off at practice, willing the puck to hit his large body.

A few years ago, LaBarbera got “stuck” in the minors while with the Los Angeles Kings. He could not be recalled, as he would have been plucked on “re-callable waivers” and the Kings didn’t want to lose him, therefore he stayed in the American Hockey League, and was that league’s best goalie.

He is fundamentally sound in net and has the proper mind-set to be a backup, as he was last season, watching one of the best in Roberto Luongo in Vancouver.

This is a good signing that appears to leave Josh Tordjman and Al Montoya on the outside looking in. I feel for both, as I have been there myself. This move will really test their confidence and self motivation, but as we all know, a spot in the NHL can be an injury away, or a hot streak in the minors.

Montoya played really well in his brief NHL stint at the end of last season with the Coyotes. He needs to visualize and capture his performance in the San Jose game as his standard. He proved he can stop the big boys.

- Panger

Darren Pang appears courtesy of PhoenixCoyotes.com

I have had a really great experience again working the playoffs for TSN in Canada and for NBC in the United States. It has given me the competitive view on the strengths and weaknesses of the clubs that have advanced in their “Quest for the Cup.”

Here is my take on the Western Conference Finals between Detroit and Chicago.

The keys for Chicago:

• Stay out of the penalty box. The PP’s of both teams are incredible, Nos. 1 and 2 in the postseason. The Hawks got in the “kitchen” of both Calgary and Vancouver with their constant chirping after the whistle. Adam Burish vs. Jarome Iginla and Dustin Byfuglien vs Roberto Luongo are good examples in both series. Detroit won’t bite, let alone nibble on this tactic. Don’t waste energy.

• Challenge in the neutral zone. The key to Detroit is its entries into the offensive zone. The Hawks forwards are quick and they do a great job of “cutting the ice in half” as their weakside forward will attack the puck in the neutral zone.

• Composure in the defensive zone. The minute you don’t trust your partner in your own zone is the minute the Wings will spin you right round, baby right round…so stay composed and trust your position and teammates. No running around chasing pucks.

The keys for Detroit:

• Keep your foot on the pedal. The Hawks have been as good as the Hurricanes at coming back when the game seems done. They are a resilient group with great youthful enthusiasm and skill. If you have a lead, keep adding to it. Wayne Gretzky was the best ever at putting the dagger in as deep as it could go.

• Attack the Hawks “D.” The Wings have four lines that can go all the time, so the pressure has to be put on the Hawks “D.” Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith get pucks out of their own zone in a hurry and have great chemistry. Brian Campbell has defensive liabilities below his own goal line, but has been good as the playoffs have gone along.

• Get four lines rolling early. The Hawks will use their four lines and they can all skate, so the pace will be furious. The Wings have the same depth, and have received added skill and speed in the likes of Darren Helm, Jiri Hudler and now Justin Abdelkader to go along with Kris Draper who returned for Game 7 vs Anaheim. The Wings have the advantage of playing Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk together, as they did when they lacked offense in the Anaheim series when it was tied 1-1.

- Panger

Darren Pang appears courtesy of the Phoenix Coyotes

That wasn’t what I had in mind when the 2008-09 season started, as I felt very confident in our chances to progress and take that next step to the postseason.

Make no mistake; I enjoy doing the playoffs and being in the heat of the action. Why wouldn’t I? That’s what I came here for. I came to be part of a winning team. I came to the desert to be broadcasting Coyotes games in the playoffs.

We will.

Here are five keys to the Coyotes getting into the Stanley Cup Playoffs next year:

• It is an 82-game schedule no matter how you slice and dice it up. For the past several seasons, the Coyotes have been a pretty competitive team for 60-68 games. Not an 82-game team. When adversity hits this team, the record falls. It’s time to get playoff tough…in the regular season.

The regular season is about preparing for the grind of winning the Stanley Cup. The Coyotes can’t fall in love with 5- and 10-game segments, and then fall out of love with the same group of players after a few losses. There has to be consistency. There has to be belief. It starts now.

• Accountability is a prominent word when talking about the good to great teams. There is character on the team when there is accountability in the room. Check your egos at the door when the first day of training camp begins. This is not about individual accomplishments. This is about winning as many 10-game segments as you can, especially in February, March and April. This is about believing in the dream and in the process of accomplishing the dream. It will be about not accepting poor play, from the players in the room to the coaches on the bench.

• Specialty teams win hockey games. Period. The Coyotes can not be in the bottom five in both the PP and the PK. There is no excuse for that. Wayne Gretzky has said it many times about key moments in games when the PP has to step up. Too many one-goal games were lost because of it. The PP needs structure, as it had late in the season with the likes of Matthew Lombardi, Scottie Upshall, Keith Yandle and Shane Doan on the ice. The trades brought hockey sense and chemistry, and now we have to add to the skill level.

• There has to be no negotiation when it comes to mistakes that get made, no matter who the player. I was between the benches for NBC for Game 2 between Washington and the N.Y. Rangers and the phrases you hear from players and coaches are all the same. Here they are:

“Get the puck deep”
“Chip it in and chip it out”
“No one-on-one late in the period, don’t turn the puck over”
“Take a hit to make a play”
“Close the gaps, hold the line”

There are many more, but these are staples in our game. If you can’t follow these simple sayings as an NHL player, you shouldn’t be in this league.

• There is NO entitlement. With the movement the Coyotes have made toward the draft picks and the youth, there appears to be entitlement. That can not be the case. The message at the exit meetings for all the young players was simple: Here is what you have to do in the off-season to be on the team next September. If you don’t do that and get better in these areas, then the AHL is waiting for you.

There are ZERO guarantees to be on the big squad. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Simple enough. We need an extra layer of skin if we are going to be known as a tough team to play against and a team that will compete for the Stanley Cup, not just the playoffs.

Do me a favor and watch as many playoff games as you can. Check the phrases that I have listed above. You will see them all. When the season starts, see how we are doing. Remember that in October, November and December, the teams that have gone a long way in the playoffs don’t quite have that intensity just yet. It will be in the later months that the Coyotes will have to play like men. That’s when the little things will be the biggest of all things.

Enjoy the playoffs.

- Panger

Yes, the Coyotes went out in style … winning on the road in San Jose and back at home, in a shoot out, against Anaheim. We have documented what did and didn’t happen to this team here on this blog all season. But it’s not important what I say! The purpose of this is to chronicle what the Coach has to say. We try and record and post every word that he says.

It’s amazing to witness what he goes through as not only the Coach of the Coyotes, but still as one of the faces of the NHL. Through it all he always remains consistent in what he says and in his access. He measures his words and more often that not delivers exactly what a reporter needs, and then some. We should all be so lucky in the other sports that we might cover!

So, one last sit down. A one-on-one at the conclusion of the roller coaster ride that was the 2008-2009 season.  Listen below for the full the interview with the head coach, Wayne Gretzky:

Enjoy the playoffs.  See you back at the rink soon.

- Todd

Click to hear more on the game from the Coach:

- Todd

Coach Gretzky:

And, we’ll see you tonight on AZ TV!

- Todd

Also, take a listen to this pre-game special we put together:

- Todd