The team began rebulding as they tried to become good enough to be a factor in the increasingly competitive Western Conference.
Not considered one of the "elite" teams in the West, the Phoenix Coyotes knew that they had to make some huge changes to reach that status.
They tried to do so by acquiring defenseman Ed Jovanovski and former all-stars Jeremy Roenick and Owen Nolan.
They hoped to get solid goaltending from Curtis Joseph, and with the former hockey great Wayne Gretzky as head coach, the Coyotes were looking to improve the game of their prospects with the leadership of their veteran players.
[1] Note: CR = Conference rank; GP = Games played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; OTL = Overtime/shootout loss; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; PIM = Penalties in minutes; Pts = Points Bolded teams qualified for the playoffs.