2009–10 Phoenix Coyotes season
| 2009–10 Phoenix Coyotes | |
|---|---|
| Division | 2nd Pacific |
| Conference | 4th Western |
| 2009–10 record | 50–25–7 |
| Home record | 29–10–2 |
| Road record | 21–15–4 |
| Goals for | 223 |
| Goals against | 199 |
| Team information | |
| General Manager | Don Maloney |
| Coach | Dave Tippett |
| Captain | Shane Doan |
| Alternate captains |
Ed Jovanovski Zbynek Michalek |
| Arena | Jobing.com Arena |
| Average attendance | 11,989 (68.5%) (41 home games) |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Lee Stempniak (27) |
| Assists | Wojtek Wolski (41) |
| Points | Wojtek Wolski (64) |
| Penalties in minutes | Paul Bissonnette (117 PIM) |
| Plus/minus | Wojtek Wolski (+20) |
| Wins | Ilya Bryzgalov (42) |
| Goals against average | Jason LaBarbera (2.13) |
The 2009–10 Phoenix Coyotes season was the Coyotes' 31st season in the National Hockey League (NHL), 38th season over all, and 14th season in Phoenix. After numerous seasons of losing money, the team was placed into bankruptcy and taken over by the NHL. A plan to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario, was rejected by the bankruptcy court.
Coyotes owner Jerry Moyes put the team into Chapter 11 bankruptcy during the off-season, and proposed to the court that an offer by Canadian Jim Balsillie for over $200 million be accepted and the team moved to Hamilton, Ontario. The NHL challenged the plan in court and court hearings were held over the summer in Arizona Court. Two other prospective buyers were recruited by the NHL to submit bids to purchase the team but neither made any formal offers to the bankruptcy court. The NHL was the only other group that made a formal offer in court. At first, neither offer had been accepted by the court; Balsillie's bid was rejected outright by the court, stating that it recognized the right of the league to control ownership and relocation, and not allow bankruptcy to be used as a back door. The NHL's bid was rejected because it did not propose to pay Moyes or Wayne Gretzky any money owed. The NHL and Moyes later came to an agreement and the transfer to the NHL was accepted by the court.
After the sale of the team to the NHL, the team fell under the supervision of the NHL. The team arranged a budget under the NHL ownership while allowing General Manager Don Maloney to run the club. At the trade deadline, Maloney was the most active trader, making seven trades to improve his club for the playoffs. This was reported to have caused complaints to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman from other general managers.
Fan attendance was a disappointment for the club, however, and figures supplied to the bankruptcy court showed that the club lost $5 million for the month of October alone. The club finished with the league's worst attendance, and in a lawsuit filed by the NHL against Moyes, the NHL estimated that the team would lose $20 million for the season.
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