There is no quit in Wayne Gretzky, and I would never think that the word quit is part of his vernacular. However, with the season he has with the Phoenix Coyotes, many wondered if he had enough.

It is clear that he hasn't.

Many fans in the Valley are tired of hearing the rebuilding mantra, but when the new CBA came into effect last season, along with the enforcement of the rules regarding clutching, grabbing, and hooking to speed up the game, the game of hockey changed. We are now seeing the effects, which are both positive and negative depending on the angle one looks at it. Positive because different teams are rising to the top and parity is being achieved. Negative because of the other teams who are just used to winning all of the time, are struggling for playoff contention.

Many teams are seeing a return to the competition after years of disillusionment and disappointment but now are seeing the payoff for waiting.

However, waiting is not fun. Waiting is not winning. Waiting is not now.

Our society, especially within the sports culture, does not place value on development but on short term results. Long term growth is not valued because the profits are not realized until much later. Sports fans have a competitive edge because they want to be part of winners and not losers. It is a badge of honor to be a fan of the winning team – just look at the out-of-town jerseys in struggling markets. Who wants a Keith Ballard jersey when number 87 will do?

Just like the stock market though, it's the long run that matters, but in sports, there are day traders and speculators. With the current season, I think the Coyotes fell into the trap of speculation by hiring certain players for that short term fix and now are paying the price, figuratively and literally.

In order to be successful, one has to fail. We, as a culture, are not accustomed to failing or observing failure. Success didn't "just happen" but it was achieved through a difficult and sometimes painful process.

It has been fun reading all of the writers rip on the legendary player who is now coach of the Phoenix Coyotes. I'm not sure why Gretzky has been a lightning rod with people trying to take him down a peg. With those that are accustomed to success, failure is hardest because these people are harder on themselves than any writer, blogger, or fan can be. Therefore when failure happens, self-doubt can creep in. We'll never know if Gretzky has felt the twinge of self-doubt, but if he has, he is not letting it control him. Besides, we are not coaching in the elite levels of hockey - most of us have day jobs and some of us get to write about those who do coach in the NHL. I wonder what would happen if we got behind the bench?

So where do the Coyotes go from here?

In regards specifically to the future of the Coyotes, the Hockey News put our draft picks in the top 50 of current prospects. With some of the current members of the Coyotes, there is a nucleus that is being formed for future success. We know who those players are and who they aren't. Hopefully, the wait time for these prospects to join the NHL team will be a short one.

However, patience isn't easy and patience isn't fun. The future is not easy to pin down when we as human beings want that success now. There is a reason why that Veruca Salt was in that
movie. We laughed at her, but there is an element of Veruca in all of us.

The future can be positive and it can be negative. We just don't know. What we do know, that there is potential with those that are here and with those that will arrive. The possibility of coaching future stars to reach a high level success is right there for the taking.

If I were Gretzky, I would want that chance to be there and to be involved when it does. Hopefully, the fans and management will afford him that possibility.

Original post by One Fans Perspective and software by Elliott Back

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