Maloney: Social media's influence felt with hockey firings

Phoenix Coyotes GM Don Maloney phoned in to Sportsnet 590's Brady and Walker Thursday morning.

On if we've reached a time of overreaction, where teams are letting GMs or coaches go too quickly:

"I think social media now has such an influence in the marketplace and where fans really do have a voice. People, whether it's tweeting or Facebook - there's no real secrets out there. Especially in the Canadian market, there seems to be such - no, I shouldn't just say that, you look what happened in Pittsburgh. I'm just hoping Ray Shero doesn't want to work in the desert, because I think our owners would get rid of me in a heartbeat if (laughs) they decide Ray wants to come in. That's how good I think he is. 

"You look at a manager's role, I think ultimately your job is to give your team a chance to win the Stanley Cup every year and there's been few better than Ray Shero, in my opinion.

"And again, I go back to maybe the last year or two in Buffalo didn't go the way Buffalo would like, but Darcy Regier had a lot of very good years in Buffalo.

"George McPhee. Look at Washington and what they have in their system. Maybe they haven't advanced quite as far in the playoffs, but they've got some real talented people through there. And their payroll is in good position.

"It's an interesting time. There's lots of pressure to win and I do think the fans have a voice in it now and all of the sudden that internal pressure, the season ticket holder pressure, forces ownership to make some changes. Whether they're really necessary or cosmetic, that can be debated."

On where he wants to take his Coyotes team:

"Well, certainly this was a frustrating year for us in Phoenix. I thought we were good enough to be a playoff team. Losing Mike Smith when we did, I thought he was... and listen, everybody has injuries, we all know that. We can't use that as an excuse. It's no different than a Carey Price or Lundqvist if they were to go down. For us in Phoenix, Mike Smith is really the key for us. I thought for the two, three weeks leading up to his injury he started to get his game to the point where he was one of the best goaltenders in the league.

"So that being said, it's two years in a row for us we've missed. We've really tried to set a standard of a minimum of a playoff team. Even though the West is tough, there's a lot of very, very good teams out there. We may not be the highest-spending team. I really think we've got a great coaching staff. With a coaching staff, goaltending and chemistry, you should have enough to get to the playoffs, as far as I'm concerned.

"So we've got some work to do. We have to turn our roster over a little bit. I think we plan to open up some positions for some younger people to bring more energy. I felt the speed of our team this year was lacking and you start looking at the Colorados of the world and even LAs and Anaheims. Everybody says how big they are, San Jose, but they're quick teams. And we all compete against Chicago and St. Louis and Dallas to me is a team that worried me all year and ultimately they were the team that knocked us out. The team speed that Jim Nill put together there with some real star players and they have a great coach. They're good. Which makes our job tough."

On Max Domi and if he'll make the Coyotes next year:

"He'll get a real long look. Max, he didn't have a great week. None of the London team - they were just off. They just looked off. That was a better team - and all hats off to Guelph. I think Guelph are really a great junior team.

"Max is strong, talented. We're going to need talent in our lineup. He'll get a long look in September."

Source: Sportsnet 590

Related: Domi 'very strong candidate' to make Coyotes