There’s an awful lot of heat in the desert with the NHL schedule ready to end in two weeks.

The Arizona (insert old joke here) Coyotes are ready to miss the playoffs for the fourth straight year and it sure sounds changes are being pondered at every level _ including the front office.

While coach Dave Tippett is highly-regarded and it doesn’t sound like he’s going anywhere, the word is Arizona GM Don Maloney is under the microscope because the Coyotes haven’t qualifed for the playoffs since they lost to the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Final 4-1 in 2012.

Not only are the Coyotes looking for a new place to play because of their tentative lease agreement in Glendale, the organization needs to have playoff success to help create interest in a difficult marketplace.

The club is headed for another Top 10 pick in the lottery and that may not bode well for Maloney. The belief is somebody in the ownership group doesn’t like this slow, methodical approach and they want the rebuild to happen faster with youngsters Max Domi and Anthony Duclair already on board.

With seven UFA’s this summer _ including captain Shane Doan, who is expected to return _ the Coyotes will have money to spend to make deals and sign players try to get back to the post-season.

Whether Maloney is one to guide the Coyotes isn’t clear but it’s certain Tippett has no concerns. Yes, Tippett is a good coach, but as one NHL executive noted they seem to be “enamoured” with him.

All this will make for an interesting summer.

THIS N’ THAT: League executives were taken aback by Ottawa owner Eugene Melnyk’s comments last week about coach Dave Cameron’s choice to start rookie goalie Matt O’Connor in Game 2 at the Canadian Tire Centre. Many felt it must have been bugging Melnyk for a long time and Cameron probably shouldn’t have put himself in that position in the first place. “When you do that it had better work,” said one league executive. “You don’t overthink the home opener. That’s one where the coach should never be questioned on who his starter is.” Nobody should interpret Melnyk’s comments as an insult to O’Connor because they weren’t intended to be. This, and a number of other decisions, mean the search for a head coach likely will begin at the end of the season ... There’s nothing new to report on Islanders’ defenceman Travis Hamonic, who requested a trade before the season. He had agreed to finish the year with the club and expect GM Garth Snow to try to fulfill the request before the NHL draft in June.

OFF THE GLASS:Boston centre Chris Kelly is recovering from a broken femur he suffered Nov. 3 against the Dallas Stars and has resumed light skating again. The time frame when he suffered the injury was 6-to-8 months so it’s now known if he’d be ready even if the Bruins went deep into the playoffs. The question is: What happens to him next year? You have to think the Bruins want to keep the 35-year-old Kelly because his does his job and has a strong character but is making $3 million this season. He’ll likely get offered a one year deal at a reduced rate and will have a decision to make because as long he’s healthy he’d be a solid veteran pickup for any team ... Speaking of the Bruins, there haven’t been any recent talks with between the Bruins and Loui Eriksson’s camp. The two sides weren’t that far apart the deadline so it’s not like they couldn’t get an extension done before July 1. He’s making $4.25 million and would like a deal in the $6 million range. The two sides were only a year apart on term when talks broke down and that’s usually the biggest hurdle.

RUMOURS DU JOUR:The Tampa Bay Lightning and forward Steven Stamkos don’t sound like they’re any closer to an agreement on a new deal so this one is going to drag into the off-season. Maybe the Bolts will change their approach if they go deep in the playoffs after advancing to the Stanley Cup final last year but right now it doesn’t appear a deal will happen anytime soon. The Bolts are going to have to weigh their options once the season ends and maybe they want to see just how far Stamkos can take them. “There’s no question he’s probably the most valuable free agent since Zach Parise and Ryan Suter,” a league executive told Insider Trading. “Those two got $98 million but you can’t give 13-year deals anymore.” Since the most a player can get on the free agent market is a seven-year deal don’t rule out the possibility of the Bolts signing Stamkos to an eight-year contract and then moving him in a sign/trade contract. “You see those kinds of moves in the NBA all the time. That would get (Tampa) a lot more in return than they’d get if he walked away,” added the executive ... After being unable to find any takers for forward Gregory Campbell and his $1.5 million salary at the deadline, don’t be surprised if the Columbus Blue Jackets try to go that route again in the summer. Campbell, 32, is being used in a fourth-line role and the thinking is GM Jarmo Kekalainen will try to move the deal at the draft.

bgarrioch@postmedia.com

Twitter: @sungarrioch