It was a Friday night, four days before the 2020 NHL Draft, and members of the front office, scouting division and hockey staff of the Arizona Coyotes arrived at team president and CEO Xavier Gutierrez’s $ 3.45 million Tuscan mansion in Cholla Gardens, a tony community in the Paradise Valley suburb of Phoenix.
Gutierrez still settled in his new house, which remained sparsely furnished. Large folding tables were pulled together so that the employees could dine as a group on the prepared meal. Coyotes employees, along with a few family members, spent the night enjoying views of Camelback Mountain and touring Gutierrez’s 11,639-square-foot home, with its six bedrooms, a walk-in wine room, and stone wall accents.
For most NHL teams, optimism peaks in the days before the draft. Every disappointment of the past season, every organizational flaw, is covered up by the momentary shock of hope that came with …