"As the Coyotes get ready to return to the ice after the All-Star break to play five of their next six games at home, there are several areas that need shoring up.

And with only 32 games remaining -- all but one against Western Conference teams -- repeating earlier mistakes would severely compromise their bid for a third consecutive postseason berth.

The one thing General Manager Don Maloney will not do is rush into a deal, and he quickly dismisses speculation of picking up a "rental player."

"It's too soon," he said. "I still feel, with our schedule, and even our health, we can get back in the race. I feel like we're just on the periphery right now, and the next couple weeks are going to determine whether we can get back in.

"If we can start running off a little home streak here ... so it may be a little bit early. We're always looking, but when it comes to shorter-term deal just to kind of give us a little push, we're just a little cautious about doing that right now.""