Coyotes mess spoils thrilling '09 campaigns from Kid, Ovie

Two thousand and nine was barely a couple of weeks old when the perilous situation facing the Phoenix Coyotes became undeniable.

The franchise had already long been considered a financial basket case while enjoying no success to speak of on the ice. Yet NHL officials from commissioner Gary Bettman on down continued to insist that the problems were not as serious as perceived, going as far as dismissing the "bridge financing" extended by the league to the team just before the new year was dismissed as routine.

Ilya Bryzgalov has been stellar between the pipes for suprising Phoenix. (Getty Images)

But when the Coyotes coach and part owner Wayne Gretzky admitted in mid-January that a moneyed partner or investor was required to keep the team alive and in Phoenix, it set off a chain reaction of events that still reverberates as the calendar page is about to turn. And with apologies to the first Stanley Cup for Sidney Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins, the career records set by Martin Broduer or even the exploits and antics of Alexander Ovechkin, that makes the Phoenix Coyotes the story of 2009. For better and for worse. The past year has had elements of both for the Coyotes, part of a saga that has no clear end in sight.

Phoenix may soon have new owners who will commit to keeping the franchise where it is -- or not. But in the meantime, the bills are still being paid by the NHL, which claimed "ownership" of the Coyotes after a nasty bankruptcy courtroom battle involving Blackberry mogul Jim Balsillie. Among the casualties were Gretzky.

The most famous name in the sport was essentially pushed aside, leaving training camp for a team that had made several changes to its roster to be directed by assistant Ulf Samuelsson until Dave Tippett was hired as head coach a week before the regular season began.

It seemed to set the stage for Phoenix to have an even greater disaster on the ice than off this season. Instead, the Coyotes have been a remarkable surprise, finishing the year as one of the league's top teams and the most successful first half in its history.

Their future is still in doubt, and given their generally pedestrian level of talent, so is this season. But that's something to deal with in 2010. For now, here's a chronological look back at the top 50 stories of this last year.

Jan. 1: The second Winter Classic, now an annual event, was a major success story for the NHL with Wrigley Field providing a great backdrop for a critical game between two of the league's best teams. The Detroit Red Wings spoiled Chicago's party by beating the Blackhawks, but the nationally televised game was a ratings success and drew rave reviews.

Jan. 2: Tragedy struck the hockey world when a young semi-pro player from Ontario named Don Sanderson died after slipping during a fight a couple of weeks earlier and hitting his head on the ice.

Jan. 7: Mats Sundin made his debut with the Vancouver Canucks in what turned out to be an ill-fated return to action for the veteran Swede. Sundin was retired, sort of, and he had refused to waive his no-trade clause from Toronto the season before because he felt that joining a team for a Stanley Cup run as a rental was, well, unseemly. But six months off was enough for Sundin, especially with the Canucks tempting him with a prorated $10 million annual contract.

Jan. 8: Whether the leak came from Tampa Bay or Montreal, the rumors about favorite son Vincent Lecavalier coming to the Canadiens in a blockbuster trade created a frenzy. The rumors began a couple of weeks before Montreal hosted the All-Star Game as part of its 100th anniversary celebrations, and ended up undermining both the Canadiens and Lecavalier's seasons.

Sidney Crosby got his named etched in Lord Stanley's Cup. (Getty Images)

Jan. 10: After sitting out two seasons and undergoing two delicate back surgeries, Steve Sullivan returned to the Nashville Predators. Sullivan scored 32 points in 41 games the rest of the way, and helped trigger a late, though unsuccessful, Nashville charge at a playoff spot.

Jan. 27: Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom and Pavel Datsyuk get suspended for one game for not showing up for the All-Star festivities. Both players had nagging injuries and wanted to use the break for some rest, but got more of it than expected.

Jan. 20: Claude Lemieux went all the way to China to prove he could still play hockey at age 43, and the trip was worth it when he made his return to the NHL with the San Jose Sharks.

Feb. 15: Less than a year after taking Pittsburgh to the Stanley Cup Finals, coach Michel Therrien gets fired. The Penguins were a playoff bubble team at the time, but would go on to win the Stanley Cup under rookie replacement Dan Bylsma.

Feb. 17: The implosion continues in Montreal with Alex Kovalev told to stay home during a road trip because of his lackadaisical play, a move which comes only a few days before his teammates Sergei and Andrei Kostitsyn and Roman Hamrlik are linked to a local mob figure.

Feb. 24: The New York Rangers fire Tom Renney as coach and replace him with former Tampa Bay bench boss John Tortorella.

Feb. 26: Martin Brodeur returns from a 50-game absence due to injury looking no worse for wear and posts a shutout against Colorado in his first game back

March 4: The much-anticipated trade deadline comes and goes without any of the major pending unrestricted free agents getting moved. The biggest name among the 40 deals made saw Olli Jokinen go to Calgary from Phoenix.

March 9: Canadiens GM Bob Gainey stunned the hockey world by firing popular coach and friend Guy Carbonneau and taking over himself.

March 20: Alex Ovechkin created a controversy with an NFL end zone type of celebration for his 50th goal of the season. Ovechkin dropped his stick like it was a hot potato and did a little routine around it, ticking off traditionalists around the league.

April 4: Boston University scores twice in the final minute against Miami University after pulling its goalie to tie the NCAA championship game before winning in overtime.

April 12: The Columbus Blue Jackets make the playoffs for the first time, joined by Central Division rival St. Louis after the Blues complete a miraculous second-half run.

April 16: The Minnesota Wild end an era by firing original GM Doug Risebrough a few days after Jacques Lemaire, the only coach the team had known, resigns.

April 27: San Jose reinforced its reputation as playoff pushovers by getting bounced in the first round by Anaheim after the Sharks finished the regular season first overall.

April 24: Rangers coach John Tortorella gets suspended for Game 6 of New York's first-round series against Washington for squirting an unruly fan near his team's bench with a water bottle.

May 5: Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes announced that he was putting the team into bankruptcy protection without NHL approval in order to sell it to Blackberry mogul Jim Balsillie.

May 13: A playoff series for the ages came to a shocking conclusion when the Penguins blew out the Washington Capitals in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

June 9: Brent Sutter surprised no one when he begged out of the New Jersey Devils coaching job because he was homesick. Two weeks later, he takes the same job with the Calgary Flames where his brother Darryl is GM.

Poll What's the biggest story of 2009? 21% Coyotes for sale   4% Alex Ovechkin's antics   45% Sidney Crosby's Stanley Cup   2% Columbus makes playoffs   3% Leafs/Flyers make big trades   24% Martin Brodeur's records   Total Votes: 345

June 12: After dropping the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals, the Penguins stormed back against the defending champion Red Wings and won Game 7 in Detroit. Captain Sidney Crosby created a controversy by celebrating so long, he missed the traditional hand shake with some Red Wings.

June 26: John Tavares, the phenom whose career has been monitored since he was 14, fulfilled his destiny by getting drafted first overall by the New York Islanders.

June 26: The Philadelphia Flyers pulled off the trade of the year, acquiring superstar defenseman Chris Pronger from Anaheim for two players and two first-round draft picks.

July 1: Despite concerns over the economy, the opening of the free-agent market proved very lucrative for a couple of Slovaks named Marian. Marian Hossa signed with Chicago while Marian Gaborik took the big bucks offered by the New York Rangers.

July 9: Joe Sakic, the face of the Colorado franchise and a member of the organization since its days in Quebec, retires after 20 seasons.

July 14: Dale Tallon is fired as general manager of the Blackhawks, ostensibly because of a clerical error that forced Chicago to pay more than necessary to re-sign some of its players.

July 29: The NHL's Board of Governors unanimously rejected Jim Balsillie as a potential owner. Balsillie had made relocating to Hamilton, Ontario a condition for purchasing the Phoenix Coyotes out of bankruptcy.

Aug. 6: Jeremy Roenick, one of the most colorful players in NHL history and among its greatest from the United States, hangs up his skates after a 20-year career.

Aug. 9: The summer of discontent continued for Chicago when the Blackhawks' young star Patrick Kane is arrested in his hometown of Buffalo for allegedly assaulting a cab driver.

Aug. 16: Mark Messier ends his hiatus from hockey by joining the Rangers as assistant GM.

Aug. 30: NHL players association boss Paul Kelly is ousted in a middle-of-the-night coup orchestrated by dissidents within the union. A permanent replacement has yet to be found.

Sept. 1: Versus, the cable network that serves as the NHL's "national" broadcaster, is lost to subscribers of DirecTV because of a rights fee dispute.

Sept. 9: William "Boots" Del Biaggio, a principal owner of the Nashville Predators and once NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman's golden boy, gets sentenced to eight years in jail for defrauding investors as part of his effort to buy into the team.

Sept. 12: Dany Heatley gets his wish and his way with a trade to San Jose. Heatley had demanded a move from Ottawa, but invoked his no-trade clause to reject a deal that would have sent him to Edmonton.

Sept. 18: The Toronto Maple Leafs finally acquire Phil Kessel, the high-scoring forward they had been targeting all summer. Toronto had hinted at making an offer sheet to the restricted free agent, but instead traded three draft picks, two of them first rounders, to Boston for his rights.

Sept. 24: Wayne Gretzky officially resigns as coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, a week before the season begins. Former Dallas coach Dave Tippett is hired a few hours later.

Oct. 9: Detroit's Johan Franzen tears his ACL in the Red Wings' home opener, and becomes the tip of the iceberg for an injury-plagued season that has affected key players around the league.

Oct. 15: Former NHL star Theo Fleury, whose career ended because of substance abuse problems, releases a tell-all book in which he described being sexually abused during his days as a junior player.

Alex Ovechkin was his usual excitable self throughout 2009. (Getty Images)

Oct. 24: Flyers captain Mike Richards blindsides and concusses Florida's David Booth with a hit to the head that restarts the debate about getting those types of blows out of the game.

Oct. 27: Chris Chelios decides that 47 is too young to retire, even if he can't find an NHL job. Instead, Chelios signs a minor-league contract with the Chicago Wolves.

Oct. 31: The Colorado Avalanche, predicted by many to finish last, end the first month of the season in first place with 10-2-1 record.

Nov. 9: A great Hall of Fame class is welcomed when Steve Yzerman, Brian Leetch, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille and Lou Lamoriello are officially inducted.

Nov. 10: The Calgary Flames (and later the Toronto Maple Leafs) create controversy in their home markets by jumping lines to access then-limited supplies of the H1N1 vaccine.

Nov. 17: Brendan Shanahan, who was instrumental in helping make fundamental rule changes that opened up the game after the lockout, retires after 21 seasons and takes a job with the NHL.

Nov. 30: Florida's Keith Ballard becomes a YouTube sensation by swinging his stick in frustration and accidentally hitting his own goalie, Tomas Vokoun.

Dec. 4: The Philadelphia Flyers fire coach John Stevens after a disappointing start to the season.

Dec. 21:Brodeur breaks the long-standing career record for shutouts by blanking the Penguins in Pittsburgh.

Dec. 30: Team Canada announces its Olympic roster.