The majority of the Toronto Maple Leafs weren’t touching questions about their opponent’s messy financial situation, but the ever-personable Mike Komisarek didn’t seem to mind wading in on the topic of the Phoenix Coyotes on Wednesday.
While he acknowledged that he’s not up to date on all of the team's ownership issues, Komisarek said that players realize the dire situation in Phoenix could very well affect their bottom line given salaries are tied to NHL revenues via an escrow system.
“It seems like every week something is coming out,” Komisarek said. “Hopefully they’ll resolve the situation. I don’t know, I mean, I haven’t really been too focused on it.
“Hopefully it works out down there for them. I don’t know if they’re going to keep the team there or relocate. It’s out of my hands. Obviously now, with escrow and stuff like that, you want profitable, successful franchises. The big question is ‘is that the right situation down there?’
“It’s not for me to figure out.”
What Komisarek and the suddenly hot Leafs are more focused on is trying to beat the Coyotes on the ice. Phoenix, buoyed by strong goaltending and coaching, is among the playoff teams in the tough Western Conference, and should give Toronto a tough test given their stifling defensive play.
Having faced his teams often when current Coyotes coach Dave Tippett coached the Dallas Stars, Leafs coach Ron Wilson said he’s well aware what to expect from the Coyotes.
“Tipp is known for being one of the best defensive coaches, technically and tactically,” Wilson said. “I’m anticipating a low-scoring game tonight and a tight game. Almost every game I’ve coached against Tipp, that’s what it turns out to be.
“I think one year in San Jose, in our eight games [against the Stars], seven of them went to overtime or a shootout. They’re usually tight games and the difference is one break or another.”
Wilson added that he wasn’t surprised the Coyotes’ off-ice turmoil hasn’t affected the team’s play so far this season.
“I’m glad that they’ve found a group that can keep the team in Phoenix,” Wilson said, referring to a pending purchase of the Coyotes by Ice Edge Holdings. “They’re doing their part on the ice now, starting to win, and as everything settles down, that’ll translate [into more fans].”
Getting the starts in goal Wednesday night will be Vesa Toskala for the Leafs and Ilya Bryzgalov for the Coyotes. With six wins in its past eight games, Toronto will not make any changes to its lineup, meaning defenceman Luke Schenn will be a healthy scratch for the third game in a row.
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Coyotes captain Shane Doan drew by far the biggest media throng at Wednesday’s game-day scrum, fielding questions on everything from the sparse crowds in Glendale, Ariz., to what comes next for the only franchise he’s ever played for.
Here are a few of his more interesting observations:
“Everyone seemed to expect us to be struggling, I think everyone picked us to finish last. As a group, we really didn’t see that. We saw last year, other than for about three weeks, we were in fifth at the all-star break, and for three weeks after that, we dropped the ball and that’s what put us in the situation we were in.”
“We thought we could win, we really did … we think we can win more than we have so far and can be better yet.”
