ent reads. All playing surfaces must be in the best possible condition to showcase the players skills and talents.---AP Pro Foot

Coyotes players realize that the expectation outside the organization is that theyre going to be pretty good in the future. Green Bay Packers Gear . Once some of these high-profile picks start to mature, watch out. Right?Max Domi and the other current players have different plans. The Coyotes have bottomed out in their rebuilding effort and now he wants to see them make serious positive strides in the standings.I always laugh when people say, Youre going to be good in a few years. Why in a few years? Domi said during a recent phone interview. What do you mean, in a few years? With the moves weve made ... theres no reason we cant win night in and night out.Last season, the Coyotes needed a few breaks to get two points in a game. They needed the other team to play lousy. They needed high-end goaltending. Basically, they were overmatched.Internally, they now believe that if they play well, they can play with any team, regardless of how the opposition is playing.The key will be getting consistent play from a roster full of young players. Domi came out strong in 2015 but admitted he struggled later in the season -- even after everyone had warned him that harder times were coming.You have to battle the uphill battle, he said. Youre trying to elevate your game as much as you can but so does the rest of the league. Its almost like playoff hockey comes in December.Best new facesGeneral manager John Chaykas trade for free-agent defenseman Alex Goligoskis?rights raised eyebrows.?Why in the world would a veteran, puck-moving defenseman wait all these years to get a shot at free agency -- and then sign with the Coyotes? He did exactly that and at a very reasonable number ($5.475 million per season), showing just how convinced the Coyotes must be of their plans moving forward.Hell make a big difference on a defense that desperately needed him.Its unbelievable the passes and plays he can make, Domi said of Goligoski. You can tell his presence; its pretty unbelievable. Hes a mature guy who is definitely a leader. Hes going to help lead this team in the right direction.The signing of Jamie McGinn was a nice veteran addition on the wing. Hell push 20 goals -- and taking a $1 million flier on Radim Vrbata wont hurt. Theres insurance if some of the kids arent completely ready.Biggest unknownsThe prospects. The Coyotes have an extremely deep prospect pool. Its just hard to project exactly when theyre going to make consistent NHL contributions.Dylan Strome had 111 points in 56 games last season in the OHL and will be given every opportunity to play in the NHL this season.He looked great last year [in camp], said Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Hes one year older now. I think hes going to come in and do what [Anthony Duclair] and Max [Domi] did last year.It will be interesting to see if theres any temptation to keep defenseman?Jakob Chychrun?around to give him a taste of the NHL. The Coyotes are still thin on defense, an area Chayka might try to look externally for help.Goaltending remains a bit of an unknown. The Coyotes still have?Mike Smith?locked up for three more years at $5.6 million per season, a high sticker price for a guy who has a save percentage in the .915 range.Sure thingsThere are plenty of questions surrounding the Coyotes, but there are two constants: coach Dave Tippett and Ekman-Larsson. Ekman-Larsson has now put up consecutive 20-goal seasons and has been a positive possession player on a team that has spent more of its time defending than on the attack. When the Coyotes get going as a franchise, the hockey world will get a true appreciation for just how important Ekman-Larsson is as a player. Hes dynamic, but that has been lost on a bad team for the past couple years. If Arizona makes a playoff push, hell get Norris Trophy consideration.And then theres Tippett. The one sure thing is that hes going to maximize talent. Having Tippett around last season may have even cost the Coyotes a shot at Auston Matthews because Tippett managed to scratch out wins with a group that was often overmatched. The payoff is that hes absolutely the right guy to guide all this young talent moving forward.PredictionThis isnt a playoff team yet, but its headed in the right direction. At some point the Coyotes will catch the aging former powers, such as the?Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, just not yet. Theyll have to settle for a sixth-place finish -- above Vancouver -- in the division. Green Bay Packers Pro Shop .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. Green Bay Packers Store . Vaives lawyer Trevor Whiffen claims the former 50-goal man wasnt provided with a copy of the claim beforehand and that he would not have agreed to the allegations made against the NHL had he been asked to review its contents. https://www.packersjerseysale.com/ . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. The Pro Football Hall of Fame will issue refunds to ticket buyers who went home from the NFLs annual preseason kickoff without having watched any football.The competitors for roster spots with the Colts and the Packers wont get the game back, though.I can tell you this: Every one of those young players are upset, Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan said.After Brett Favre stole the show with a humorous, insightful and moving speech during the induction ceremony for his class on Saturday, the talk of league turned the next night to the field. Thats because part of it was congealed, rendering the Indianapolis-Green Bay game unplayable.The traditional exhibition in Canton, Ohio, an extra preseason contest for each team and source of local pride, was canceled when NFL and team officials deemed the turf unsafe due to hardened paint and loosened rubber pellets.Neither the Colts nor the Packers were available for comment on Monday, but both coaches expressed disappointment on Sunday night about the lost opportunity to evaluate, even though four more games remain before the regular season.These exhibitions often become yawners for fans, with most starters standing on the sideline, but theyre serious business for the undrafted and unproven guys trying to make an impression.Nothing is guaranteed in this league. Those types of games, you dont want to miss reps, especially in game-type situations, New York Giants safety Cooper Taylor, himself a roster-bubble player.You dont go live in practice any more. You just cant do that with the way the NFL has been set up.He was referring to the attempt to protect the health of the players in a dangerous sport, which is exactly why the game was called off.As frustrated as the second, third and fourth-stringers must have been by the cancellation, nobody would have wanted to put bones, joints or muscles at greater risk.If something happens to somebody, then its like `Oh, they shouldnt have played the game, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones said.Something did happen on that same field last year, to Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham. He tore the ACL in his left knee in the Hall of Fame game against the Minnesota Vikings, and his career could be over.The NFL Players Association has made field conditions a priority of its members.There is a standard, said Giants linebacker Mark Herzlich, the teams union rep. People havent held everything to that standard. So I think that is what the foccus is, and the NFL is saying we are committed to this, too, the safety of our players. Stitched Packers Jerseys. . I think that is why it happened.Baltimore and Philadelphia had a preseason game called off in 2001 when a new artificial turf at Veterans Stadium, the former home of the Eagles, was deemed unsafe for playing on. Ryan was the defensive line coach for the Ravens that year, so the news on Sunday night resonated with him.I get it. Everybody involved in the NFL wants to have that game played, Ryan said. I know everybody was excited about it, and you get a chance to see two teams play when nobody else is playing.Certainly, as a fan, everybody was excited about it. But the NFL, to their credit, did the right thing. If the fields not suitable to play, then you dont play.The Hall of Fame announced Monday the refund procedure for fans who had tickets, though no extras were offered for the inconvenience. The league offered little insight beyond what was announced about the conditions the night before.We are working with the Hall and the field supplier to determine what caused this issue, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.This is a detail-oriented league that, for example, fines players for uniform violations. So the condition of the playing surface is a serious matter.The NFL now has a separate website solely for information about its football operations , which includes a detailed page describing procedures and standards for preparing and certifying playing fields around the league.Surfaces are tested for hardness up to 72 hours before each game. The depth and evenness of the infill is measured. Even the color of the tarp is prescribed.Few things play a more important role in the quality, integrity and safety of an NFL game than the playing field, the leagues mission statement reads. All playing surfaces must be in the best possible condition to showcase the players skills and talents.---AP Pro Football Writer Barry Wilner in Canton, Ohio, and AP Sports Writers Tom Canavan in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Charles Odum in Flowery Branch, Georgia, Andrew Seligman in Bourbounnais, Illinois, John Wawrow in Pittsford, New York, and Dennis Waszak in Florham Park, New Jersey, contributed to this report.---Online:AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '