2. Competitive Hockey
For years Arizona has been the place where terrible contracts go to die. They could skate out cup-winning caliber lines with the contracts they’ve obtained of players who never actually played for the organization. This, coupled with years of poor play on the ice, has disheartened a fan base begging for competitive hockey.
However starting around the All-Star break last season, the core of this team really started to gel. Even when the front office dismantled the team at the trade deadline, the core that stayed in place didn’t throw in the towel. They played tough and it was some of the more competitive hockey seen in the desert in a long time. While they cooled a bit in the final stretch of last season, that attitude and energy parlayed into this year with the team right around .500 and in the early wildcard hunt. Anything remotely sniffing the playoffs (no matter how early it is) is something to be thankful for as a ‘Yotes fan.