No Mas Teeks?

I wish I could say that the possible "relocation", shall we say of Coyotes forward Viktor Tiikhonov is a shock. It's not so much to me. Not exactly what I wanted to start my weekend out with, but it could've been worse I suppose. Reports this morning from RussianHockeyFans.com say that Tikhonov was spotted in Moscow recently and is said to be interested in joining the KHL team CSKA. His father, Vasily Tikhonov, is quoted as saying the following to Sovetsky Sport:

"My son has been sent to the KHL, he has already landed in Moscow and he's ready to play for CSKA. The only problem is that the league is investigating where his rights belong to. He left the NHL playing for Severstal Cherepovets, but that was two years ago".

Now... I'm sure many Coyotes fans would tell you that this, if in fact accurate; is caused by the poor play down in San Antonio, the firing of the coach, better money... etc. I think it's something different, at least in part. I think losing Tikhonov to Russia is the first of what we may see more of as time goes on, maybe not. I believe Tiki's departure is due to the lasting effects of the DoG: Departure of Gretzky.

What does that mean? Well, for those who may not be familiar with the Coyotes situation, Viktor Tikhonov along with Kyle Turris & Mikkel Boedker all played the majority of last season with the Coyotes. And none of them should have. They should've been shipped off to Texas to develop like good little rookies during training camp. But Gretzky insisted upon keeping his young guys there. Don't get me wrong, they were an impressive group of youngsters, just not nearly ready for the rigors of a full NHL schedule. So with the DoG and the rise of the Tippett era, the young kids were sent to San Antonio where they belong, for now. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but I'm certain that they weren't happy about being demoted. So when opportunity came knocking, Tiki fled for greener pastures...

Open Letter to NHLFA President, Jim Boone

Mr. Boone,

I have recently joined the NHLFA and will be revoking my membership immediately if you do not amend or revoke your Open Letter to Gary Bettman. I do not agree with the purpose of the letter and cannot be a part of an association that takes what a portion of it's membership believes and says they will organize all 30,000 members of their association to support their cause. I am one of that 30,000 and I do not and will not support it.

"I ask that you resign before January 1, 2010. If you are still in office in the new year, I will organize the 30,000 members of NHL Fans’ Association to encourage the NHL governors to replace you as commissioner. We feel that a new commissioner would be the best thing for the NHL."

No "we" don't. After what Mr. Bettman has done and continues to do for my team and my city, I simply cannot be a part of this. In an email sent out to your membership base, you addressed the concern your members had expressed in regard to your Open Letter with the following statement:

"We recently solicited feedback from you and determined that the NHLFA's priorities for this season are twofold. American fans want better access to televised games and Canadian fans want Gary Bettman replaced as commissioner.  We believe that if the Canadians objective is achieved, the Americans objective will be reached sooner.

A few of our Members have indicated that they do not support the effort to remove Bettman from office, however, this contingent is small.  Many times over the years coordinating the NHLFA, we have found ourselves advocating issues that do not necessarily align with our personal beliefs.  Nonetheless, we continue to push the opinions of the majority of our Members, understanding that we are united for a larger cause."

I don't think that the "American's Objective" will be reached any sooner with Mr. Bettman being removed from office. I think it will only make the situation worse. Furthermore, I think that having an "American" and "Canadian" objective for the fan association is ridiculous. I see no need to split hairs and feel that this is further adding fuel to the fire of America vs Canada. If this is what the NHLFA is all about, I want no part of it. You claim to be the "voice" of NHL fans but insist upon smothering my voice because it does not help you reach your objective. If this continues, I will encourage everyone I possibly can to revoke their memberships.


Sincerely,
Heather McWhorter

Getting Back to Hockey

I've been in mental over-drive the past few months. I never would've imagined that I'd be spending my summer in a court room worrying if my team would be shipped off to Canada. I'm glad that cruel summer is over now. It's unfortunate that the effects of that summer will plague us this entire season and likely beyond. But hey... we're Coyotes fans, we're used to abuse.

Throughout the summer, I had to listen to people talk about "Poor Jerry Moyes", "Poor Jim Balsillie", "Poor Hockey-deprived Hamilton", poor this, poor that... Don't worry people, they'll all be just fine. If you want to feel sorry for someone, feel sorry for the fans like me. Those who have been there supporting the team and suffer the everyday abuse that results from being a Coyotes fan. If you don't know what I'm talking about, see: The Post All-Star Break Coyotes Meltdown of 2009 or... you can just go read any online forum, discussion, comments on articles, blogs, etc that have anything to do with the Coyotes. This summer was simply the icing on the cake, we've been suffering for loving our team for quite some time.

As President of the Save the Coyotes Coalition I saw, experienced, and dealt with a lot this summer. Now its time to get back to simply being a hockey fan. I'll continue to lead the Coalition, but I'm no longer going to let it be a source of stress for me. I'm no longer going to worry about anyone's expectations. I'm no longer going to let empty seats at the arena ruin the experience of a game for me. No one can say I didn't do my part to help my team. I would be lying if I said the whole ordeal hasn't left me with a sour taste in my mouth regarding a lot of things. I learned a lot this summer - a lot about life, a lot about business and perhaps most importantly - a lot about exactly how cruel and selfish people can be when money and/or power is involved. I could write a book. It would be a best seller. But I'd prefer to just keep writing my opinions and thoughts on this here blog...