In years past, the Phoenix Coyotes have usually been the team that gives out all of its good players to other playoff caliber squads. They dealt Derek Morris and Olli Jokinen last year, and trading Daniel Carcillo to the Flyers was just one more nail in their coffin as the tail-spin became worse and worse.

This season, however, the Coyotes turned the NHL on its head by making a series of moves at the trade deadline that not only solidified them in several areas, but also hikes their playoff chances up considerably in the process.

They started out this morning by acquiring defenseman Derek Morris from the Bruins in exchange for a conditional draft pick in the 2011 draft.

Morris, as you may remember, was a trade deadline casualty last season, getting dealt to the Rangers right before the appointed hour past. He has three goals and 22 assists this season, and he is still playing a workmanlike 22 minutes per contest.

Coyotes GM Don Maloney said “Derek is a talented, versatile defenseman who will strengthen our blue line. His leadership and tenacity will be welcomed in our dressing room.” Morris, who still owns a home in the Scottsdale area, agreed to waive his no-trade clause when he found out his destination would be Phoenix.

About an hour and a half later, the Coyotes made another move, shipping Peter Mueller and Kevin Porter to Colorado in exchange for winger Wojtek Wolski.

This move reeks of one of those “fresh start” type of trades, where both teams hope the players they are dealing will find success in a new environment. Wolski has had a decent season, with 17 goals, 30 assists, and a plus-15 so far for the Avalanche. As nhl.com pointed out, however, when you throw out his numbers from October and December, he has had little success, scoring only four goals in November, January, and February combined. The hope, obviously for the Coyotes, is that Wolski can hit another hot streak and help their offense score some goals.

Their next move involved getting Mathieu Schneider from the Canucks in exchange for Sean Zimmerman and a conditional sixth round pick. This trade may not be the most important one of the day for Phoenix, but Schneider is always a candidate to infuse some life into a team’s power play. With the Coyotes sitting second to last in the league with a 14.9% success rate with the man-advantage, the aging Schneider could be a shot in the arm for the struggling PP unit.

Finally, as if the Coyotes hadn’t done enough to shore up their team, they made one last move and acquired forward Lee Stempniak from the Toronto Maple Leafs for fourth and seventh round draft picks. Stempniak has played 61 games, and has 14 goals and 15 assists this season.

Stempniak may not light up the score sheet on a nightly basis, but the grit with which he plays the game was one of the reasons that Brian Burke acquired him, and the Coyotes needed some increased toughness in their forward department. He will certainly provide that to Phoenix, and he is the final piece on what was a really solid day for the Coyotes.

On what was a very quiet day for the rest of the NHL, the Coyotes ended up being right up there with the Capitals in terms of who improved their team the most. By bringing in Wolski to bolster the offense, Schneider to spark the power play, Stempniak to bring a little “truculence” to the proceedings, and bringing Morris back into the fold, the Coyotes served notice to the rest of the NHL that even though they are still the butt of lots of jokes, they are deadly serious about winning this season.

Will these moves result in a Stanley Cup making its way to the Valley of the Sun? Probably not, but at the very least, a parade route planning session wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Jim serves up hockey goodness at the Fanball blog Paint it Blackhawks, some basketball thoughts at Suns Spot on the Fanball network, and random hockey thoughts at TheHockeyWriters.com.

1. What Will It Take for Phoenix To Make the Playoffs?

According to Globe and Mail columnist James Mirtle, the amount of points it will take to get into the playoffs in the Western Conference this season will be at or around 94 points.

As it stands right now, to get to this number, the Phoenix Coyotes would have to go 7-11-1 over their last 19 games in order to get into the postseason.

Looking at their remaining games (11 on the road, 8 at home), this seems doable for the Coyotes. They still have games remaining against the likes of the Edmonton Oilers, the Carolina Hurricanes, and Florida Panthers, which seem like fairly automatic wins.

Outside of those games, they still play four other games against non-playoff teams (STL, ANA, ATL, DAL), and that would equate to seven wins by themselves if they could take care of all of those contests.

Even if they weren’t able to win all of those, they still have enough home games remaining to make a dent in that seven win goal. With a 22-9-2 record at Jobing.com Arena, the Coyotes can certainly figure out how to snatch a couple more wins. Games against Colorado, Nashville, and Chicago will provide stiff home competition for the Coyotes.

On their remaining road slate, the Coyotes have an interesting schedule that sees them play five straight non-playoff teams, then wrapping up with six straight games against playoff teams. Their final two games away from home see them play divisional foes the Kings and Sharks. Could those decide Phoenix’s fate? It’s certainly possible.

2. What First Round Opponent Would Suit the Coyotes’ Best?

Ironically, one of the team’s the Coyotes would want to face in the first round may be the Chicago Blackhawks.

They have won both games against Chicago this season, with the Hawks only scoring two goals against Phoenix. They still have to play two more times this year, but if their previous meetings are any indication, the Coyotes could make things difficult for one of the Cup favorites this season.

Another team the Coyotes play extremely tough is the Los Angeles Kings. Even though their record isn’t outstanding against the Kings, the ‘Yotes still play very well against their Pacific Division foe, and they would have a great chance of moving on against the Hollywood denizens.

3. Is Ilya Bryzgalov Up to the Pressure of the Playoff Hunt?

With a 32-17 mark so far on the season, a GAA against of 2.30, and a sparkling save percentage of .920%, Ilya Bryzgalov is having a career year at exactly the right time for the Coyotes.

With his six shutouts, he is amongst the league leaders in that category as well. If he can wrap up the season with the same level of skill that he has played with thus far, he could be in the running for a Vezina Trophy.

The question, ultimately, becomes this: is Bryzgalov a goalie that can win in the postseason for the Coyotes?

Yes, he did win a Stanley Cup while with the Anaheim Ducks, but he did so while backing up JS Giguere. He does have a career record of 9-5 in playoff games, with a fantastic GAA of 1.68 and a save percentage of .937%.

Needless to say, even in a sample size of only 16 games, Bryzgalov is more than capable of holding his own come playoff time. The real question will be whether his offense, tied for 22nd in the league with 2.54 goals per game, can support him enough to get victories.

4. Can the Coyotes Make a Deadline Move?

With a payroll that is $16 million underneath the salary cap, it would seem like the Coyotes could fairly easily raise it to get a new scoring threat into their corner before the trade deadline, but it may not be as easy as saying “sure” to more money.

With the current financial state of the team, any request for new money is pretty much going to be shot down. The best bet for the Coyotes management staff would be to try to make an argument to the NHL that they need to add a competitive piece in order to draw some more fans out for the final regular season games at Jobing.com.

Tickets are still readily available for below face on stubhub.com and other ticket websites, which indicates a dearth of demand, as well as an availability of tickets from the Coyotes themselves. A piece added to the puzzle could increase buzz amongst the fanbase, while at the same time giving them a competitive boost after an injury to Scottie Upshall took a chunk out of their scoring punch.

5. After Last Year’s Collapse, What Are Some Pitfalls Phoenix Needs to Avoid?

Last year’s Coyotes team was victimized by a media swirl about the financial state of the team, and the dealing of players like Derek Morris and Olli Jokinen didn’t help matters any.

With the season winding down and the Coyotes holding steady in the 4th spot in the Western Conference, the threat of massive lay-offs of players isn’t really a pressing threat. The real risk the Coyotes run this season is simply that of becoming complacent because of their playoff positioning.

An asset they have in that fight against becoming content with subpar effort is their coach Dave Tippett. Wayne Gretzky was never the disciplinarian type, and he always seemed to be a bit too much of a prima donna to be an effective hockey coach.

Tippett, on the other hand, seems like he can rule with an iron fist when needed. If he were to sense that the Coyotes were getting out of their game and playing lazy, he would be the first to round up the troops for a 9am practice and show them a thing or two about effort.

It’s this kind of intensity that a relatively young team like the Phoenix Coyotes needs, and it may be just what the doctor ordered to get them to make some noise come playoff time.

Oh the horror, the unadulterated horror.

Scottie Upshall, the leading scorer on the Phoenix Coyotes, will be out indefinitely with a torn ACL that he suffered Thursday against the Calgary Flames. The team said that surgery will be needed to repair the tear, and that likely means the end of Upshall’s season.

It is a devastating blow to the Coyotes, who are still scratching and clawing for playoff positioning in the Western Conference. Scottie was leading the team with 18 goals scored this year when he was injured, and his offensive presence will be sorely missed by a team that isn’t exactly the cream of the crop when it comes to offense.

The Coyotes are currently sitting in 18th in the NHL in goals per game with 2.61 per contest. This puts them behind such stalwart franchises as Carolina, Toronto, and Minnesota. They also just got done playing a game last night in Nashville that saw them take home the two points, but not net a single goal in 65 minutes of actual game play.

Nonetheless, the team has won five consecutive games at a point when they were severely faltering last season, and they still have several weapons that are capable of helping them out during this adjustment period without Upshall.

Shane Doan has slowly begun to come out of the doldrums, scoring three goals in his past five games and the wily veteran could be energized by a playoff run. After years of being beaten down by subpar teammates and play from the squad, there could certainly be a bit more left in the tank for the ‘Yotes captain.

Another player that the Coyotes will need to step up will be Radim Vrbata. He only has one goal in his previous five outings, but he is the type of player who is capable of scoring in bunches, and the Coyotes will need him to do just that if they hope to stay in contention in an ever more difficult Western Conference.

Perhaps the biggest unknown variable in all of the Upshall drama is the impact of Ilya Kovalchuk potentially going to the Los Angeles Kings. If the rumors are to be believed, the deal could be imminent, and would certainly cause a shift of power in the Pacific Division.

If Phoenix were to simultaneously lose their primary scorer and the Kings were to infuse a big-time player into their mix, the resulting damage to the Coyotes’ playoff hopes would be absolutely devastating.

So, with all of this in mind, the real question becomes this: are the Phoenix Coyotes doomed without Scottie Upshall? While their performance in the previous few games has been relatively stellar, they seem to have started to feel the loss on the offensive end of the puck.

With the team not in position to make any significant acquisitions because of its tenuous financial footing, the loss of Upshall may be a death knell on their season, and while time will tell if it is, the short-term outlook does not look good for this bunch.

Quick Coyotes Link:

Dave Vest has an excellent piece up on the ‘Yotes website that argues that Keith Yandle should be considered as a replacement for Mike Komisarek and Paul Martin on the US Olympic team. The article can be found here, and it certainly is an argument with some merit.

There are certain times during an NHL season in which a team finds out something about themselves. Whether it’s a stern road test or when a period of adversity hits, a squad will often find out whether or not they have the capacity or skill to compete for the ultimate prize: the Stanley Cup.

When it comes to the adversity factor, perhaps no other team in the NHL has faced the kind of obstacles to success that the Phoenix Coyotes have. From their potential sale and move to Hamilton, or even the financial restrictions that have been placed upon them by their limited income in the Valley of the Sun, the Coyotes have every reason to just bow to pressure and remain in the corner of the NHL room, begging for scraps and never finding true success.

If Tuesday night is any indication, then the Coyotes are not content to just be the team looking for sympathy. They took the Red Wings’ best shot and held their ground. They answered the bell when it mattered most, scoring twice in the last 90 seconds of the contest and Shane Doan eventually netted the winner in overtime, beating Detroit 5-4 for only the Coyotes’ third win over the Red Wings in the past four seasons.

Thanks to Versus, and the NHL, Tuesday night taught the hockey watching nation five important things about the Phoenix Coyotes. Yes, the final score certainly showed that they belong with the big boys all on its own, but these five nuggets are more important than the two points the ‘Yotes gained in the standings.

1. There Is No Self-Destruct Button On The SS Coyotes

In the second period, there was a palpable momentum shift in favor of Phoenix. They scored two goals approximately two minutes apart to take the lead over Detroit, and the Joe went fairly silent.

A mere 11 seconds later, the Red Wings scored to tie the game again, revving up the crowd and sending shock waves through the Coyote bench.

Normally, a team would hang its head after holding a lead for such a brief period of time, but the Coyotes continued to bust their butts, skating up and down the ice with passion, and they never stopped applying pressure on the Red Wings.

Even when the Wings held a 4-2 lead late in the game, Phoenix never quit, and this resolve was rewarded with two quick goals against Jimmy Howard (including one by Ed Jovanovski that came on a puck in the crease that Mike Babcock would have murdered to have had cleared), and the eventual game winner by Doan was simply icing on the cake.

Under Dave Tippett, this team seems to have no quit in them. Where last year’s team scuffled the entire second half of the season, this year’s team is holding strong during a particularly rough stretch of schedule. Having already played the Sharks, Red Wings, Devils, and Predators this month, Phoenix is hanging tough as games against the struggling Flames and the Rangers loom on the horizon.

2. Ilya Bryzgalov May Finally Be Coming Into His Own in Phoenix

He was being bandied about as an early season Vezina candidate, but recently Ilya Bryzgalov has had a couple of bumps in the road.

He was yanked early against the Buffalo Sabres, allowing 3 goals on 13 shots in what ended up being a 7-2 drubbing. This was a mere three games after he was also pulled early against the New York Islanders after giving up four goals in the first 30 minutes of the contest (you’ll remember that this was the game that Tippett forgot to put someone in the penalty box coming out of the first intermission, and the Coyotes skated a man down for 13 minutes in the second period).

Last night, the box score will tell you that Bryzgalov gave up four goals to a Detroit attack that is still recuperating from a spate of injuries early in the year, but what it won’t tell you is that the 32 shots he stopped were for the most part high quality chances, and that the outcome  could have been a lot worse if Ilya hadn’t stepped up.

Through it all, he maintained focus and didn’t let the quick-firing Detroit attackers rattle him, and he was a big part of the reason Phoenix won the game.

3. The Phoenix Defense Could Use Some Better Pressure

Watching the Red Wings skate circles around Phoenix defenders all night certainly left Coyotes fans with a bitter taste in their mouths.

Whether it was missed poke checks or collapsing on one side of the ice and leaving men wide open, the young Coyotes blue liners were being victimized all night by the veteran onslaught of Detroit. It was a poor display of defensive hockey that certainly had Tippett wringing his hands in anguish, and it is something that needs to be worked on moving forward by a young team that may find itself in the playoffs in two and a half months.

4. You Know Who Needs More Credit? Scottie Upshall

One of the principals involved in the Daniel Carcillo trade, Upshall is quietly having an excellent season for the Coyotes.

He is leading the team in goals this season, with 18, and he also has four game winners this season, tied for the team lead. Perhaps his most impressive statistic, however, is his shot percentage, which stands at 15.4% and leads the team as well.

When you have the team leader in goals also leading it in shot percentage, you have a very gifted player on your hands. Upshall is as unheralded as they come in the desert, and without him the Coyotes would be sunk.

5. Shane Doan

Have you ever made a mistake in life, and just prayed and prayed and prayed for an opportunity to redeem yourself, and then you get it?

Well, Shane Doan had that happen to him on Tuesday night. He committed the penalty that allowed the Red Wings to score their fourth goal in the third period, and it looked like it was going to be the dagger that ended the Coyotes’ hopes of a comeback, as well as sealing their eight straight loss at Joe Louis Arena.

After the comeback in the third period forced overtime, Doan got his opportunity for atonement, and he put a puck past Jimmy Howard to win the game for the Coyotes. After wanting to “crawl under the bench and hide” Doan did what he has done best in his career: net the big shot.

Overall, this was a huge win for the Coyotes, and was the quintessential “statement” game. This game served notice to the Red Wings, and the rest of the NHL, that this Phoenix team means business, and it could be a great omen for the months ahead.

At a time when hockey in the Valley needs a shot in the arm, this Coyotes team may be just the squad to do it.

Jim also provides other hockey goodness over at the Fanball blog “Paint it Blackhawks”. Check it out sometime, won’t ya?

I think I’m actually still in shock…my absence can solely be blamed on David Perron and this stunning goal!

P.S. Holy Jumping, indeed.

The defense in overtime disappeared quicker than Chris Tucker’s career as they let Erik Johnson and his fellow Blue Notes score just 17 seconds into overtime on an end-to-end blitz. Johnson’s shot seemed to surprise Bryzgalov like a Jackie Chan chop to the neck.

There wasn’t a whole lot to like about last night’s game at least from the Coyotes side. Chris Mason appeared to get stronger as the game went on, especially when in the third when he deflected 13 of our shots. T.J. Oshie had a goal and an assist. As I’m sure everybody in Missouri already knows, this Oshie kid is the Next Big Thing. I’ll admit it. This is a Phoenix Coyotes blog but it’s on the Oshie bandwagon.

Back to the ‘Yotes notes:

• Radim Vrbata was a highlight for Phoenix last night. He’s on another one of his hot streaks. The man’s got three goals in the last four games, seven on the season.

• Perhaps the saddest moment of the night was when St. Louis ruined two of our perfect records. Now, we’re four and ONE in overtime games this year. Also, we are now two and ONE against the Blues this year.

• To pour more salt into my wounds, my prediction was dead wrong. Keith Porter was a healthy scratch, so he had no chance of that first career assist I had dreamed up for him.

• And, we lost. So, no “5-3 victory”.

• For fantasy purposes, Taylor Pyatt couldn’t hit the back of the net if it was a….well, you know. He had five shots on goal second only to Vrbata’s eight. However, he did deliver three pretty good hits and one fancy pass to set up Vernon Fiddler in the second.

• Keith “Useless” Yandle proved it again after his ingenious slashing penalty on Chris Mason. But, with everyone who’s out Yandle’s been doing his best carrying the workload (I guess).

• Chris Mason’s save on Petr Prucha was just unfair.

• Matthew Lombardi sat out again for the third time. Ed Jovanovski missed his sixth straight game. Neither Coyote will be ready to go Saturday against the Flyers.

• Kurt Sauer, listen to Frankie Muniz.

• We remain third in the Pacific and face Philly next. They’re also third in their division.

Playstation 3 was just born. Hurricane Katrina introduces herself and inflicts major, major damage. King Kong, Crash and Brokeback Mountain topped the box office charts. Garry Kasparov shocked the world and retired from chess!

Fallout Boy was cool and Kanye wasn’t a jerk, yet. And, it was the last time the Phoenix Coyotes won a game at the Xcel Energy Center…….until last night!

Our Coyotes have gotten back to playing .500 hockey in the month of November with a win against the Minnesota Wild. Radim Vrbata led the way, Brizzy stood tall in net and Scottie Upshall hushed the wild Wild crowd late in the 3rd.

With less than five minutes to play and the Xcel Energy Center peaking with energy after tying the game, Upshall smacked in a rebound of Keith “Useless” Yandle’s shot. The goal secured a victory for the good guys and drained the caffeine high from the home crowd.

Newly-recalled Kevin Porter looked really good in his limited time. Aside from a super-hustle attitude, he made the most of his six-and-a-half minutes of playing time and had a shot on goal and a sweet hit on an unsuspecting member of the Wild (it happened so fast, I couldn’t get a name). His Hobey Baker acceptance speech is below, what a gent and a jokester.

Owen Nolan was the real shocker of the game. He didn’t do anything though. I just forgot about him and was shocked to see him playing again. (Insert “LOL”).

Vrbata was the real hero of the night collecting a goal and an assist. Oddly enough, Niklas Backstrom was awarded the third star even though Brizzy’s stat line was much better:

Backstrom: stopped 29 of 32, lost and had a save percentage of .906.
Bryzgalov: stopped 24 of 26, won the damn thing and left with a save percentage of .923.

The Coyotes will now travel to St. Louis to face David Perron, David Backes, David Rogers and the Blues. This may not be a huge match up on paper, but if their last meeting tells you anything, it shall be 60 minutes of excellent hockey. I predict that Porter will collect his first assist of his career tonight and the Coyotes will win 5-3.

1. Daniel Winnik already topped his point total from last year. Last year he only managed seven points and this year he’s already up to eight. He’s also one goal shy of tying last year’s record of three.

2. All Polar bears are left handed. And so is Ilya Bryzgalov. Coincidence? I think not.

3. University of Michigan standout Kevin Porter is back with the club. Although it’s our defense that is depleted, the club recalled this former Hobey Baker Award winner. However, he is tied for the San Antonio Rampage’s team-lead in scoring and is averaging one PIM per game this season for them.

4. A duck’s quack never has an echo. Perhaps that’s why Anaheim haven’t been the same since 2006 and the reason why Chris Pronger never sticks around any city for too long. (Sorry, still bitter about November 7th’s loss).

5. A pregnant goldfish is called a twit. If Trish Stratus has Shane Doan’s baby, can we call her Twits Stratus?

6. Horses can’t vomit. The proof here is when Mr. Ed, Cisco and that horse from Rainbow Brite all showed up and had to watch Monday’s entire game against the Bolts.

7. Butterflies taste with their feet. And Paul Bissonnette tastes with his fists.

8. It is physically impossible to lick your elbow. But, Bissonnette has hundreds of other ways to use the elbow.

9. On average, people fear spiders more than they do death. And lately, no one fears the Coyotes.

10. Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married. Uh-oh, watch out Doan.

11. TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters on only one row of the keyboard. Fascinating. Bissonnette has the longest last name on the team.

12. In every episode of Seinfeld, there is a Superman somewhere. And in every Coyotes game Superman is somewhere (i.e. Doan)

13. No word in the English language rhymes with “Month”. Although true, this means you’ll never be able to see a clever Phoenix Coyote headline that reads “November has been a Patheticonth Month.

14. Now, you want to try and lick your elbow. Heck, I did.

Granted, Chelios is a hockey phenom especially up north in Chi-town. Sorry, was a hockey phenom. To repeat myself, Chelios is 47 years of age. In order to fix an oft-injured defensive corps, it doesn’t seem like the ideal situation to hire Father Time. I mean, isn’t that what old people are best at? Getting hurt?

To me, this seems like nothing much more than signing a “name” to help put butts in the seats (i.e. The Memphis Grizzlies and Allen Iverson). To give this a better perspective, here you go:

• Brett Favre is 40.
• When Chelios made his NHL debut in 1984, What’s Love Got To Do With It by Tina Turner topped the musical charts.
• When Cheli debuted with the Habs that year, Avril Lavigne, Prince Henry, Marc-Andre Fleury, Eric Staal, Rick Nash and Lebron James were born.

More 1984 stats:

• Gas cost a mere $1.21.
• Beverly Hills Cop was the top money-making movie.
• Dynasty was cool.
• I had my first birthday. I must’ve had a blast because I don’t remember it.

Anyway, will he be a Coyote? Who knows? We shall know more by Friday night. Details of a deal have yet to be released. Would I like to see Chelios on the team? Yes, but only in the same vein as me wanting to see Howler the Coyote suit up in one game this year. Sure, Chelios’ leadership abilities are unquestionable and if we can get him on the low, then hecks ya let’s do this! But, I hate the idea of selling the farm (as if we haven’t literally done enough of that this year) for a rent-a-player. Also, there is absolutely nothing sexy about “2008-2009’s oldest active hockey player”.

He’s no Ray Moon.