Coyotes co-owner vows not to be a floor team

For years the Phoenix Coyotes overcame a murky future in the desert, managing to overachieve and make the postseason consistently despite hovering around the lower-limit of the NHL salary cap. 

Now that the Coyotes' future in Glendale is secured, the club has missed the postseason in two consecutive seasons. 

More will be expected from Coyotes management, coaches, and players next season and the Coyotes' ownership group Ice Edge Arizona is apparently committing the resources required to create "a real first class organization."

Speaking with Craig Morgan of Fox Sports, Coyotes co-owner Anthony LeBlanc said that this week the team's ownership group had provided general manager Don Maloney with an internal cap number for next season. "We won't be a bottom team, but we won't be a top team," said LeBlanc. "It's fair to say we will be right in the middle."

"(Don) didn't have a whole lot of flexibility last year," continued LeBlanc, "we want to make sure we do have some flexibility this year."

Beyond the payroll, LeBlanc also told Morgan that ownership has agreed to loosen the purse in other areas at the request of management:

LeBlanc also suggested that the Ice Edge Arizona group won't meddle with management's decision making processes in free agency.