Amontet

We all laughed at low-budget Team Gretzky. Our bad. Good goaltending and hard work earned the Coyotes a playoff spot. Goalie Sean Burke, 35, keyed their success, keeping them in most games. Meantime, forwards Daymond Langkow, Daniel Briere and Ladislav Nagy blossomed. This summer, Wayne's World signed right wing Tony Amonte, taking pressure off the kids. Now they won't sneak up on anyone -- including us.

	The Big Question
	Q: Can Dogs survive without the element of surprise? Why not? Yeah, early last season, the Coyotes did sneak up on everybody. But, by midseason, the surprise element was gone. Still, they kept winning and earned an unlikely spot in the postseason. Gretzky's team is young and talented. Management has done a nice job of stockpiling young talent like Daymond Langkow, Ladislav Nagy and Danny Markov. Now, with the addition of Tony Amonte, the Coyotes will be even tougher to deal with. The bottom line? If Sean Burke stays healthy, this team returns to the postseason in a tough conference. -- E.J. Hradek
	Good: Daniel Briere was one of last season's fantasy surprises, scoring 59 points on 32 goals and 27 assists. Now he gets a chance to play with Tony Amonte? Briere will have to beat out Daymond Langkow for top-line duties, but a pairing with Amonte holds a lot of fantasy promise. Bad: Three seasons ago, Brian Boucher was a sensation in Philadelphia, winning 20 games in 33 starts. After suffering a horrendous sophomore slump, he rebounded last season, posting solid numbers while platooning with Roman Cechmanek. But backing up Sean Burke in Phoenix? He's no more valuable than Tomas Vokoun. -- Eric Karabell
	Top Prospect
	Jeff Taffe, C Taffe was a great college player at Minnesota who was drafted by St. Louis, then traded away. He has added some muscle for the pounding he'll get in the NHL.
	Minors Outlook
	Springfield Falcons New owners, new coach Marty McSorley, and original Falcon Rob Murray are in, but it will be the same affiliates and same problems for Springfield, which has missed the playoffs for two straight seasons. Top scorer Jean-Guy Trudel departed and neither parent team, Coyotes or Lightning, has much depth. -- Bill Ballou

Forwards Team Gretzky surprised everyone by spending some big bucks to sign free agent sniper Tony Amonte. The deal (four years, $24 million) is backloaded to pay the most of the freight after the Coyotes' new arena is completed next season. Amonte should fit in nicely with coach Bob Francis' uptempo attack. Last season, youngsters Daymond Langkow, Daniel Briere and Ladislav Nagy stepped up with career seasons. All three are very capable of a repeat performance. Shane Doan, who turns 26 on Oct. 10, has the talent to do better than 20 goals and 49 points. Left wing Brian Savage, who may be expendable with the arrival of Amonte, can add some scoring punch when he's healthy. Vets Claude Lemieux, Kelly Buchberger, Brad May and Andrei Nazarov will make life miserable for opponents. Eager tough guy Darcy Hordichuk, acquired at the trade deadline from Atlanta, should be a fan favorite by the end of October. Western Conference Position Ranking: T6th Defensemen Among the few Coyotes who date back to the franchise's roots in Winnipeg, Teppo Numminen remains a steady leader on the blue line. And, he's surrounded by talented young defenders like Danny Markov (remember when he was an untouchable in Toronto?), Ossi Vaananen, Paul Mara and Radoslav Suchy. Former Flames captain Todd Simpson brings a nasty attitude to the rink. Unfortunately, the group's depth chart took a hit when Drake Berehowsky suffered a knee injury in an exhibition game. At best, he won't be back until after the All-Star break. Western Conference Position Ranking: T6th Goalie The 1999 acquisition of Sean Burke (from Florida for goalie Mikhail Shtalenkov and an exchange of mid-round draft picks) has been a blessing for both Burke and the Coyotes. Since arriving in the desert, the 35-year-old Burke has been the model of consistency. Burke credits goaltending coach Benoit Allaire with helping find his game. The club rewarded their stellar stopper by signing him to a new two-year deal worth $9 million. They also upgraded their depth by trading for ex-Flyer Brian Boucher, who will give Francis more opportunities to rest Burke. Western Conference Position Ranking: 3rd

Rankings: 5th Overall
Forwards | Defensemen | Goalies

RECORD: 40-27-9-6, 95 points Rank: T10th overall T6th West T2nd Pacific Playoffs: Lost to SAN in first round Home: 27-8-3-3 Road: 13-19-6-3 2001-02 results 2001-02 statistics 2002-03 schedule 2002-03 roster OFFENSE DEFENSE GOALS FOR/AVG. Overall: 228/2.78 (10th) Home: 139/3.39 (2nd) Road: 89/2.17 (25th) POWER PLAY Overall: 15.6/53-340 (14th) Home: 17.1/32-187 (11th) Road: 13.7/21-153 (18th) GOALS AGAINST/AVG. Overall: 210/2.56 (16th) Home: 92/2.24 (9th) Road: 118/2.88 (19th) PENALTY KILL Overall: 83.1/60-356 (21st) Home: 85.3/24-163 (13th) Road: 81.3/36-193 (24th) STATS LEADERS GOALS Daniel Briere (32) Daymond Langkow (27) Ladislav Nagy (21) ASSISTS Langkow (34) Teppo Numminen (33) Danny Markov (30) POINTS Langkow (61) Briere (59) Shane Doan (49) PENALTY MINUTES Todd Simpson (152) Brad May (93) Ossi Vaananen (74) PLUS/MINUS Radoslav Suchy (+26) Simpson (+20) Langkow (+18) GAA (MIN. 20 GP) Sean Burke (2.29) SAVE PERCENTAGE Burke (.920) * - no longer with team