On the Arizona Coyotes …
John Shannon: The Coyotes leadership group is denying that they didn’t reach out to Kyle Dubas to talk about their vacant General Managers position.
John Shannon: Coyotes co-owner Anthony LeBlanc: “…rumors are one thing, but tampering is another, and we have not reached out at all to (Dubas or the Leafs)”
Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports: They don’t know when they’ll have a new GM in place, and head coach Dave Tippett isn’t sure how they’ll be improving their team trades and free agency.
“I’m sure we’ll have a lot of discussions over the next few weeks,” he said.
The Coyotes hope to improve their blueline this offseason.
Tippett has two years left on his contract, and the way LeBlanc was talking, it wouldn’t be surprising if Tippett got an extension before he enters his final season.
Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic: Co-owner Anthony LeBlanc hopes to have a GM in place in no more than six weeks.
“Ownership have the absolute right to hire the person they are most comfortable with to run their hockey organization,” Maloney wrote in a text message. “They felt a change was needed at this time. I have no hard feelings or regrets whatsoever.”
LeBlanc has said that the Coyotes have the financial flexibility and could be active in the free agent market. They would like to bring in a defenseman. Money was available last year, but the deals didn’t materialize.
Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports: Two sources saying the City of Tucson is talking to the Coyotes about having an AHL team in Tucson for the start of next season. The Tucson Convention Center needs some upgrades to meet AHL standards.
“What I can tell you is we have looked at what it would take to renovate the facility,” Ortega said. “There were some discussions on what it would take to potentially recruit or respond to a request from a potential pro sports team.”