Hey Hey folks...welcome back to your regularly scheduled links post.  Thanks to Travis for filling in yesterday as we were still on our mini-vacation.  So what'd I miss while I was gone?  Oh, the Coyotes clinched a playoff spot?  And responded by smacking the crap out of the Avalanche?  And Travis got into a fight with other Coyotes fans about Peter Mueller? And the media is stirring the pot with the Winnipeg rumors again?

Hmm...so just your typical weekend, is what you're saying?  Nah, I'm just kidding.  Great weekend for the Coyotes (sans the whole Winnipeg rumor-mongering).  And might I just say that I am very bummed that I missed Saturday's game with the Coyotes saluting the crowd (I mean, I'm sad I missed the game at all), but I love it when teams do this and I wish I had been there for it...hopefully it's a tradition they will keep going forward.

While it's great to be back, I have a ton to do, so let's get right to it, shall we?

LAST NIGHT'S NHL SCORES:  BUF 3 - BOS 2; CAR 4 - ATL 1; NSH 3 - FLA 2 (OT); LAK 2 - MIN 3; DAL 1 - ANA 3

After the jump, Bill Daly on the Coyotes ownership, handicapping the MVP, some positive news from Coyotes front office (sort of) and the some whimsy, maybe...

 

NHL's Bill Daly statement on Phoenix Coyotes ownership - NHL.com - News
Yes, it's a non-denial denial as Mirtle and Resnik pointed out over Twitter.  Yes, the fact that these rumors keep coming up is troublesome.  But, you know what..the people in the know keep denying anything is happening the Coyotes are in the playoffs, we're going to have a white out in the desert, the Coyotes are signing players (more on that below), they are taking season ticket deposits for 2010-11...I don't know, but it looks like they are much more likely to stay than go.  Now, things can certainly change, but all news points to tomorrow being a big day in the Glendale negotiations - so keep your fingers and toes crossed for more good news...

Ice Edge CEO says Coyotes purchase still on track - nhl - SI.com
Anthony LeBlanc reports that "Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated." to quote Mark Twain. They also hired former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods to help them out with some of the local stuff. For those that don't know he's actually a pretty good attorney. Definitely someone who can plow through the BS and that the CoG will listen to about legaities etc. with gift clause and other things.

NHL has spoken with True North about return to Winnipeg - Winnipeg Free Press
Which of course, is not to say that the NHL is uninterested in a potential return to Winnipeg.  And there's of course the possibility of another team in Southern Ontario or a return to Quebec City at some point.  Nobody here in Arizona wants to deny Canadian fans more hockey...or fans in other potential NHL cities (hello, Portland, Kansas City, Seattle, Las Vegas).  We love hockey, we will always love hockey and want more fans to experience the best of the best...so have at it, but just don't take our team.  Thanks!

Your weekly power rankings update: [ESPN] [TSN] [The Hockey News]

nhlnumbers.com " Team Overview
Ok, here's the current Phoenix Coyotes cap numbers, which are interesting, but not the real reason why I'm linking this.  Check out the column for 2010-11.  See anything interesting?  Don't worry, I'll give you a minute or two...

 

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Done yet?  Ok, here's the reason I'm linking it.  Yesterday, the Coyotes re-signed Paul Bissonnette to a two-year contract.  He's been a healthy scratch a lot recently because we have a dearth of forwards.  Some of these guys though will not be back next year (::cough cough :: Robert Lang :: cough cough::)  Bissonnette hasn't done a bad job when he's in the lineup - he's scaled back some of his fighting and really plays good grinder line minutes. 

The problem is that we don't want all of these guys to go away...Lee Stempniak, Matthew Lombardi, Zbynek Michalek, Adrian Aucoin and Derek Morris are all UFAs next season; Scottie Upshall, Martin Hanzal, Daniel Winnik, Wojtek Wolski and Sami Lepisto are all RFAs.  And I would say that based on their performance this year, all of these guys are due for a raise.  Now, hopefully, a new owner is coming in with deep enough pockets to make this happen (we certainly have the cap space).  Now, I like all of these guys, and I'd love to have some (or most) of them back.  But, there's also a lot of kids coming up that might fill their roles (and even provide more offense)...Kyle Turris, Mikkel Boedker, Brett MacLean...

Basically, there are a lot of moving parts, and I hope the GMDM can make it all work.  One playoff run is lovely, many playoff runs, year after year, would be even better...

Handicapping the MVP Race | The Hockey Writers
Ilya Bryzgalov gets a little love, a little mention.  There are a lot of good candidates for MVP this year, but I think everyone reading this site can agree that in terms of value to their team, nobody has done more than Bryz, even with the fabulous play of Jason LaBarbera.

Playoff Beards, Phoenix Style " The Good, The Bad, The Coyotes
Yeah, there's your whimsy...silly Keith Yandle, Adrian Aucoin (thanks, @YotesGurl for clarifying) and Taylor Pyatt with a moustache...

Ok, Coyotes are in Vancouver tonight to take on the Canucks.  Let's go Coyotes!!!