during the first period of the NHL game at Gila River Arena on October 7, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona.

The Arizona Coyotes have been one of the biggest garbage fires in the early stages of the 2017-18 NHL season. Through their first five games, the Coyotes are winless (0-4-1) and have been outscored by a lopsided 22-11 margin. Things haven’t been pretty.

With the team sputtering and looking hopeless on the ice, head coach Rick Tocchet has issued an apology to the team’s fans.

Expectations for the Coyotes weren’t particularly high entering the year, but it was expected they’d be a bit more competitive than they have been after adding the likes of Antti Raanta, Jason Demers, Derek Stepan and Niklas Hjalmarsson this summer.

So far, the team hasn’t handled adversity particularly well.

Tocchet personally represented a major change as the organization moved on from former head coach Dave Tippett after eight seasons. It’s early, but the organizational changes haven’t paid off as the team has looked pretty lost in their first five games.

Though Tocchet’s approach/strategy haven’t had much time to develop, he’s already considering some strict changes.

Those changes indicate a belief from Tocchet that the team as a whole isn’t working hard enough. It also shows that he believes the team’s issues can’t be solved by just making a few minor adjustments. Those alterations sound like they’ll include both on-ice changes (bag skates!) and off-ice changes (early curfew). The players better get ready to work.

Last year, the Coyotes finished with a 30-42-10 record (28th in the NHL). Again, it’s early, but the Coyotes will need to completely overhaul their current approach if they hope to improve on last season’s finish.

About David Rogers

Editor for The Comeback and Contributing Editor for Awful Announcing. Lover of hockey, soccer and all things pop culture.