Moore: With a sole owner in place, here's a priority list for the Arizona Coyotes

Greg Moore | The Republic | azcentral.com

Committees don’t get things done, leaders do. So let’s take it as a positive sign that hedge fund manager Andrew Barroway has acquired sole ownership of the Arizona Coyotes after buying out various minority partners.

We’ve now got one voice and one direction, and the team’s first statement under Barroway is about staying in town. “We believe this will better position the Club to achieve a long-term solution in the Valley,” it read.

That sounds great, but he’s got work to do. After becoming majority owner in 2014, Barroway said the “goal is to put a competitive team on the ice every season, and one day win the Stanley Cup.”

Since then? We haven’t gotten much stability, much less a championship.

But again, being optimistic, let’s wish the new boss well and feed him an assist by helping him set priorities:

No. 1

Get a place to play. Downtown. It’s the only option, as far as I’m concerned. People in Peoria don’t want to drive to the East Valley any more than folks in Gilbert wanted to head to Glendale.

No. 2

Get a star. A big one. Somebody who appeals to people who wouldn’t otherwise care. Acquire one or grow one. But we need an iconic star to get behind; at this point the team isn’t enough.

No. 3

Engage everybody. The NHL should have more contributions from and connections with people from minority backgrounds based solely on the geographic locations of its franchises. Things have gotten better, but there’s still room to grow. Auston Matthews, the league’s brightest young star, can’t be the only guy from the Valley with Mexican heritage who has the talent to play in the pros. The Coyotes should show the rest of the sport how to reach out and fully connect with all the members of its community.