40 Comments

Thank you for this awesome interview! Glad OEL was willing to talk about all that happened in the offseason. Looking forward to getting this negativity in the past and seeing what this team can do and what GM BA can build.

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It sounds like Oliver is ready to do just that. Knowing him fairly well for all of these years, that is no surprise. He's a good soul.

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Great interview and read. Like most Coyotes fans I'm glad OEL is sticking around. One of the few bragging points we get over other teams is the surprising stability at the Captain. Only 4 players in nearly 25 years. The Sharks have had 10 during that time frame.

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Was just thinking about those four guys last night. I wrote this story when Oliver was named captain: https://theathletic.co.uk/525007/2018/09/14/coyotes-captaincy-history-a-study-in-diversity-and-dogged-determination/

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Awesome, Craig. I felt you gave him the opportunity to vent and he took the high road, but was pretty honest too.

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He really was.

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THIS is why I chose the founding member option. Good stuff Craig!

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Thanks, Dan!

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Love this article! I'm glad he didn't get traded, he's a good man and a leader in his own way!

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I suspect that a lot of the fan base agrees with you.

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Just like always, great article, Craig. I love how candid Oliver was. He wears his heart on his sleeve. Love him, and I just want to give him a big hug after this. Oh, I liked his answers about the “kids”, getting better and better, I believe that too. I miss MY TEAM. thanks.

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Good to hear from the captain, thanks for the interview Craig!

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Thanks for reading.

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Thanks Craig, excellent piece. Knowing OEL, I'm sure you didn't get 100% of the story. But I believe him when he says he wants to play for us, and that is a positive. I support him as our captain. IMO, he was not the problem, but I have harped on that already. Here is to hoping some middle ground can be found, and we can get back to winning hockey games.

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Should have stated that knowing OEL's personality.

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I knew what you meant, and you are right.

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It wouldn't be the same without 23 on the ice.

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Good interview.

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Thanks. With all of the ground to cover, I figured I would just get out of the way in this one and let him speak.

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great choice on that approach. he really seems like such a good person. you too or he wouldn't open up like that!

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Thanks so much for this awesome, insightful interview Craig! It was really great to hear OEL’s thoughts on all this and I appreciate him being so candid. I’m so glad he’s still a Coyote.

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He was very open about everything, in spite of the nature of some of the questions.

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Great read! I doubt that this will dispel the narrative that “OEL hates Arizona” that usually comes from people who don’t follow this team, but it was nice hearing him say what he did. Thanks Craig.

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I have not heard that narrative. He has always loved playing & living here.

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I’ve seen it on reddit’s /r/hockey a ton.

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Very nice to hear OEL's perspective. Thank you Craig!

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Thanks for reading.

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Nov 20, 2020
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interested to know what kind of deleted comment we just missed ^ lol

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Appreciate the nature of the questions and was glad to see he didn’t shy away from any of them. I was pretty pissed after his and Stepan’s reactions at the press conference so thanks for addressing that. Makes sense they didn’t feel great either and responded accordingly

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Thank you for the awesome article and interview!!

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Thanks for reading, Nori.

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Great insight as always Craig, thank you. It really shows his character and what a top person he genuinely seems to be. Also good to hear his relationship with Toc seems solid, at least from his perspective. I’m hoping they don’t have to trade him for monetary reasons, but weirder things have happened, particularly lately.

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Still not sure how much of this group will make it through the season, but they do sound like they have a little extra motivation.

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