For the first time since the 2001-02 season, the Phoenix Coyotes have reached the NHL playoffs.
That gives the beleaguered Coyotes faithful reason to celebrate, and it makes fans around the NHL excited to see the return of the "White Out" in the Jobing.com Arena.
This jubilation, however, should give more than a few NHL fans reason to pause. How did the Coyotes actually become a playoff team this year?
In the summer of 2009, the ownership of the Coyotes went bankrupt. The franchise was taken over by the league itself, with the NHL acting in the team's best interest.
One of the main reasons the NHL had to step into the ownership role was the inability to find the Coyotes a buyer. Why wasn't anyone interested in taking over the team? The most obvious answer was that the team is far from a winning franchise.
Since 2001-02 when the Coyotes were 40-27-9 and made the playoffs, the team's record has been 196-232-62. Their last winning season came in 2007-08, yet that year the team was just a single game over .500 (38-37-7) and failed to advance past the regular season.
The team lacked any ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Brian Tuohy
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