It was Friday night, four days before the NHL 2020 draft, and members of the Arizona Coyotes bureau, research department and hockey operations staff arrived at the Tuscan-style mansion of President and CEO Xavier Gutierrez for 3.45 million dollars in Cholla Gardens, a Tony community in the suburb of Paradise Valley, Phoenix.
Gutierrez was still settling in his new house, which remained slightly furnished. Large folding tables were gathered together so that staff members could dine in groups during the meal. Coyotes employees, along with a large number of family members, spent the night admiring the views of Mount Camelback and traversing Gutierrez’s 11,639-square-foot house with its six bedrooms, wine room and stone wall fittings.
For most NHL teams, optimism peaked in the days before the draft. Any disappointment from last season, any organizational shortcomings, are hidden by the ephemeral noise of hope that comes with …