13 Phoenix Coyotes

On the August afternoon on which prized free-agent right wing Tony Amonte arrived in Phoenix , soon after signing with the Coyotes, the temperature climbed above 110�. "I wasn't prepared for the weather," he said. "It caught me totally off-guard." If Amonte feels the heat now, wait until he tries to turn his new club into a contender. No team has endured a postseason drought comparable to the Coyotes', who have lost 11 straight playoff series, dating to the franchise's first 17 seasons as the Winnipeg Jets , and have never advanced past the second round in their 23-year history.

Phoenix hopes Amonte can change that. Despite scoring a modest 27 goals with the Blackhawks last season, Amonte averaged 39 goals a year over the previous five seasons and is the league's active iron man with 410 consecutive games played. Wayne Gretzky , the Coyotes' managing partner, coaxed Amonte into signing for less money than he could have commanded elsewhere by convincing him that Phoenix was a team on the rise. By today's standards, the four-year, $24 million contract could be a steal.

The Coyotes went 15-5-1-2 after the Olympic break to finish with 95 points and earn Bob Francis the Coach of the Year award. Goalie Sean Burke , a Vezina finalist, enjoyed the finest season (33-21-6, 2.29, .920) of his resurrected career. The 159 points produced by Phoenix defensemen trailed only Detroit 's 167. But the balanced attack of the Coyotes' no-name forwards was Francis 's biggest accomplishment. The team had four 20-goal scorers to compensate for the off-season departures of All-Stars Keith Tkachuk and Jeremy Roenick . Third-year forward Daniel Bri�re had 32 goals and will likely center a line with Amonte and Shane Doan .

Gretzky hopes that the addition of Amonte, along with a few other touches, will spell success. Wayne 's younger brother, Keith, is a scout. Over the summer Gretzky hired former Oilers teammates Paul Coffey and Marty McSorley to serve as a consultant on the power play and coach of the team's minor league affiliate in Springfield, Mass. , respectively. Now, if only the Coyotes can start winning playoff games the way Gretzky 's Oilers did.

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