"With the Coyotes guaranteed at least another year in the Valley after the vote by the Glendale City Council, General Manager Don Maloney faces the familiar challenge - if ownership is not settled - of cobbling together a competitive team under rigid financial constraints.

That is a better situation than the team leaving, of course, but it also could foreshadow a disheartening season. The Coyotes ranked 22nd in payroll in 2010-11 at around $51 million (according to capgeek.com) and that figure probably will not be much higher this season - a bleak situation for a team desperate to attract free agents and keep many of its own, all the while trying to build its fan base.

Last season, the Coyotes ranked 29th in the league in home attendance, averaging 12,208; only the New York Islanders drew fewer fans.

"There will be challenges here in building our fan base to the level we need it to be economically successful," Maloney said. "By the City Council buying us, at minimum, another year, we can show people that we're a good developing team, a team that can have success on the ice and success bringing fans in the building."