NHL phoenix Coyotes

Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our weekday look at the previous night's action and some of the story lines taking place around the league. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.

Avalanche 4, Coyotes 1: Peter Budaj missed his first scheduled start of the season after he was diagnosed with swine flu. On Wednesday, he finally had a chance to step on the ice and stopped 28 shots in Colorado's 4-1 win against Phoenix, in what was a battle of early season surprises in the Western Conference.

Milan Hejduk scored a pair of goals for the Avs, who also received tallies from Marek Svatos and David Jones.

Every Tuesday, FanHouse discusses the top NHL prospects found in college hockey.

It's been a pretty good start to the season for Michigan. The Wolverines took care of business on the road last weekend, sweeping Lake Superior State (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.) to open their Central Collegiate Hockey Association schedule.

Even though junior star Louie Caporusso (NHL rights: Ottawa) has just one goal in the Wolverines' first six games, Michigan has gotten early contributions from a highly-touted freshman.

We are one step closer to some semblance of finality surrounding the Phoenix Coyotes, after owner Jerry Moyes (pictured right) agreed to sell the franchise to the NHL. The agreement was announced in U.S. Bankruptcy Court Monday, but still must be approved by Judge Redfield T. Baum. Attorneys say the deal is for $128 million.

With no money to cover the franchise's expenses, and the inability to sell to Jim Balsillie after the court nixed that idea, selling the franchise to the league was Moyes' only realistic answer. They'll take control of the day-to-day operations of the franchise while looking to find an independent owner. Of course, after the way this has played out, any prospective owners who would move the team out of Arizona need not apply.

The Phoenix Coyotes, in need of building up a wounded fan base and putting warm fannies in the seats, have come up with quite the marketing initiative. Branded "Join The Pack!" (their exclamation point) with the kicker "We Win, You Win," the Coyotes will give fans attending any of the following five games a free ticket to a game later in the season if the team wins:

PITTSBURGH -- The Phoenix Coyotes opened their season on Saturday with an impressive 6-3 win over a Los Angeles Kings team that many are predicting as a playoff team in the Western Conference this season.

On Wednesday, the Coyotes were perhaps even better in what was a rather surprising 3-0 win over the defending Stanley Cup Champion Penguins, in Pittsburgh -- a fact that was mentioned multiple times in an excited Coyotes locker room following the game.

The Coyotes didn't waste much time announcing the long-term replacement for Wayne Gretzky, who stepped down as coach and director of hockey operations on Thursday. Seven hours after Gretzky made his announcement, the club held a press conference to introduce Dave Tippett as their new bench boss.

Head coach Wayne Gretzky never had the players. Hockey executive Wayne Gretzky never had the most brilliant partners. As a result, The Great One's tenure with the Phoenix Coyotes turned into The Great Disaster.

The Phoenix experience went so Southwest on Gretzky, it has essentially ended the hockey operations and coaching career of the greatest player in the history of the game.

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While the NHL and the fans in Phoenix (and perhaps Hamilton) are awaiting any sort of final resolution on the future of the Coyotes, a major piece of the puzzle leveled a major announcement on Thursday. Wayne Gretzky, the legendary player who took a prominent role in the franchise as head coach and minority owner, has stepped down as coach and director of hockey operations.

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The Phoenix Coyotes are, if only for one night, going to try and look like a healthy, happy franchise with a supportive fanbase. Of course, anyone following their plight knows that is not the case. The hockey team from the desert has been in a fierce ownership battle in bankruptcy court and is now missing their owner/coach, who is entangled in the battle. Things got worse when the team drew only a few thousand fans -- depending on who you ask -- to a preseason game last week and received some media scrutiny for it.

With opening night almost two weeks away, the team's PR and marketing departments have awoken from their summer slumber to offer fans an opening night discount that looks like a failing car salesman's last stand. "Come down to Crazy Coyotes Motors! Everything must go! Go! GO! Our prices are low! Low! LOW!"