Don't expect the Coyotes to trade Sean Burke. Burke is carrying the team right now, and they don't have to make a hasty decision on Nikolai Khabibulin; they're not paying him, and they essentially don't need Khabibulin this year.
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'Gretzky is not a quitter.'
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Wayne Gretzky's past business ventures prove he is not a risk-taker.
The Coyotes deal has been unsettling for Gretzky because he doen't typically go into something that appears to be risky. With names like Jordan and Elway behind the MVP.com venture, it certainly wasn't risky at the time; and even with it's demise, Gretzky didn't take that big of a financial hit. There was no real financial risk to the Coyotes situation, but there was a question about the reputation of the organization. It was a frustrating situation for Gretzky, but it appears to have righted itself.
Now that the deal has gone through, they have to get down to the business of stabilizing the franchise and making the organization work. Some of the same attributes that made Gretzky a great player will make him a great business man. He's a lot like Mario Lemieux; he's not going to pull out of something just because it doesn't go the way he wants it to right off the bat. Gretzky is not a quitter.
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The Coyotes know Khabibulin could be essential to their future, and a goalie like him could be hard to find in a few years. They don't want to just give him up, especially considering Burke could be gone after this season – and they'd be stuck with nothing.
If they trade away Khabibulin without getting an equal in return for him, Burke will go into the summer as an unrestricted free agent with a lot of bargaining power – then they'd be in a world of hurt. If the Coyotes are considering trading Khabibulin, it would be to their great advantage to sign Burke to a long-term deal before they do.
The Coyotes could keep the rights to Khabibulin, even if they don't come to terms with his contract. They could hang on to his rights without signing him, so he could still be a part of their future. They won't give him away in a trade unless they are darn sure they're getting back a goaltender similar in age and experience to Khabibulin.
Mario Lemieux has made the comeback look easy. But Khabibulin has had a significant layoff, and he's very young. He needs to get back on the ice as soon as possible if he's to be an impact player down the stretch for the Coyotes or anyone else this year.
It's the slump factor: Anybody can come back and play well for the first couple of weeks, but eventually, they will hit a wall. No team can afford to have their goalie hit a wall in March or April. The sooner Khabibulin gets back, the sooner his slump will come and go, and the more of an impact he can have.
Khabibulin plays deep in the net and he relies a lot on instinct; he's not methodical like Patrick Roy. He needs more than practice or IHL level play to be prepared for a playoff run. If Khabibulin is not back by the first week in March, he perhaps shouldn't come back at all.
Darren Pang, a former NHL goaltender, is an analyst for ESPN.
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