Bickley: The Arizona Coyotes keep hitting new lows

Dan Bickley | The Republic | azcentral.com

The Coyotes are beyond an embarrassment. They are an abyss.

How low can they go?

The parting of ways with head coach Dave Tippett came after their callous separation with Shane Doan, one of the most beloved athletes in Valley history, which came after the salary dump of Mike Smith, their No. 1 goaltender.

And all of it went down on the eve of the NHL entry draft.

YOUR TAKE: What are Arizona Coyotes doing?

So, to recap:

The team is currently owned by a man who didn’t see the value in keeping Doan on board.

As of Thursday night, they had no President of Hockey Operations.

They had no starting goaltender or No. 1 center.

They had least experienced general manager in the league.

The Coyotes checked some of those boxes on Friday morning, trading for a consistent center (Derek Stepan), a goaltender who has been one of the best backups in the league over the past two seasons (Aanti Raanta) and defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson.

But I’m having a hard time trusting an organization that doesn’t see the importance of Doan and devalues Tippett one season after giving him the keys to the entire organization.

Tippett coached the Coyotes for eight seasons. His commitment throughout ownership debacles was almost as impressive as Doan’s trademark show of loyalty. That he departs with a winning record in Arizona (282-257-83) is almost a miracle, given the lack of talent and morale he was forced to navigate.

Spare me the belief that a new voice might help this team, that Tippett’s grinding, defensive style wasn’t that fun to watch. His style was the only way to compete with a shoestring budget and a serious shortage of skilled forwards. Watch how fast he gets a job when the NHL season begins, when the first head coach on the hot seat gets fired.

What a mess. This franchise has endured a gambling scandal, relocation rumors, bankruptcy hearings and a clown show at the top. Not coincidentally, their only playoff run in the Valley came at a time when they had no owner, when Gary Bettman was the ownership representative and GM Don Maloney came to work every morning with no boss in sight.

This all feels so wrong and foreboding, and it's not even rock bottom. Meanwhile, Coyotes’ fans have gone from mourning the loss of Captain Coyote to bracing for the only disappointment left:

The day the moving vans show up in Glendale.

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