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Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - The future of professional hockey in Arizona has always seemed bleak, but the present isnt looking so great either. A change in name from the Phoenix Coyotes to the Arizona Coyotes has done little to spark a franchise that in recent years was able to perform admirably on the ice even when the financial future of the club was far from stable. Currently, the Coyotes are sitting 28th in the overall league standings and they hold the same spot in terms of attendance. At least theyre finally consistent. With a 10-16-3 record through 29 games, Arizona needs to get on track quickly if it wants to avoid missing the playoffs for a third straight season. However, if the Coyotes fail to pick up the pace they are on track to post the franchises lowest point total in a full season since moving from Winnipeg to the desert following the 1995-96 season. None of this should be all that shocking, considering the Coyotes have been operating on a shoestring budget for years now. The club is 27th in the league in payroll and is over $47 million under the salary cap ceiling. General manager Don Maloney and head coach Dave Tippett have previously shown the ability to get the most out of a bad situation, but the formula clearly isnt working in 2014-15. The Coyotes were hardly impressive to start the season, but they seemed in decent shape back in early November while sporting a 6-6-1 record out of the gates. However, the club has gone 4-10-2 since then and has failed to pick up a single home win during that stretch, going 0-6-2 in front of sparse crowds at Gila River Arena to post the longest home skid in franchise history. On top of it all, reports out of the NHL Board of Governors meeting earlier this week in Boca Raton, Florida suggest the deal to sell the franchise to Andrew Barroway may be falling apart. Keeping the Coyotes in Arizona for the long-term seemed like a bad bet when the team was performing well on the ice and the clubs recent poor play is unlikely to push things in a positive direction. While making the playoffs for three straight seasons from 2010-12 -- Tippetts first three seasons as the Coyotes head coach -- the low-scoring club succeeded thanks to strong defense and goaltending. This season, the offense, defense and goaltending are all struggling at the same time, and it seems there is no easy fix for Arizona. The Coyotes are scoring just 2.24 goals per game this season while sporting a team goals against average of 3.24 as franchise goaltender Mike Smith continues to struggle less than two seasons into a lucrative six-year contract. Obviously, that is not a recipe for success. Were frustrated and disappointed, Tippett said after a 5-1 home loss to Nashville on Thursday. There are a lot of guys in that dressing room who care and want to do better. Were not getting the results we want, so the frustration continues to build. But until we turn that frustration into mental resolve to get the job done, it will continue to pile up. Of course, the clubs financial uncertainty is not helping. As Barroways ownership bid sits in limbo while awaiting league approval, the Coyotes are in a holding pattern of sorts when it comes to making deals to improve or shore up their current roster. It does sort of, I dont want to say halt the process, but slow down the process in regards to anybody we might want to talk contractually going forward, Maloney admitted earlier this week to the Arizona Republic. Despite there dire situation, there are few NHL fans who feel sorry for the Coyotes. Commissioner Gary Bettmans quest to prove a hockey team can survive in the Phoenix area has been an unpopular one, especially in places like Quebec City who are champing at the bit for another chance to support an NHL franchise. If the Coyotes continue to add on-ice woes to their fiscal problems, it may not be long until Quebec City, or another locale better suited for an NHL franchise, will swoop in and rescue the franchise. It happened for Winnipeg when the Atlanta Thrashers proved to be a failure, and history could repeat itself in Arizona. Blaming the coach doesnt seem to be an option for the Coyotes either, as Tippett signed a five-year extension following the 2012-13 season. Its hard to argue he didnt earn that deal, as Tippett not only won the Jack Adams Award in his first season with the Coyotes, but also led the club to a Pacific Division crown and a Western Conference finals appearance in 2012. Now it appears that 2011-12 was a high water mark for Tippetts Coyotes and with the franchises money problems still a going concern it will be difficult to get back to that level. Even in Arizona there are repercussions for not performing up to expectations, a fact not lost on the Coyotes GM. 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That assertion is getting harder and harder to make, especially given the way 23-year-old Danilo Gallinari has been playing this season. Zion Williamson Pelicans Jersey . This weeks topics include his take on the Kevin Pillar incident, All-Star snubs, the firing of Padres general manager Josh Byrnes and more.PITTSBURGH -- Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said he sat awake in his hotel bed Saturday night, thinking about his bullpens recent problems. He even addressed his group of relievers Sunday morning. Dustin McGowan made those worries a nonfactor, at least for a day. McGowan pitched three-hit ball for seven innings, Colby Rasmus hit a grand slam and Melky Cabrera added a two-run homer as the Blue Jays beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-2. "We had to have that one," Gibbons said. McGowan (2-1) allowed one run, striking out five and throwing 101 pitches. It was the second consecutive quality start for McGowan, a diabetic who started wearing an insulin pump on the mound in his last start. "My blood sugar still gets erratic sometimes," he said. "But thats part of the game for me. With the adrenaline going and everything, it does what it wants to do. I cant control it sometimes." McGowan eclipsed the 100-pitch mark for the first time since June 27, 2008. "Thats two outings wearing that pump," Gibbons said. "Maybe theres something to that." It was just the fourth win in 13 games for Toronto, which prevented the Pirates from completing their first series sweep of the season. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle and first base coach Rick Sofield were ejected by plate umpire Greg Gibson at the end of the fourth inning for arguing a called third strike on Jordy Mercer. The strikeout stranded two runners and ended the inning. "I think it was pretty apparent that the low strike wasnt going to come into play," Hurdle said. "But the fact of the matter was it got to a point where I felt a pitch that hadnt been called a strike all day got called a strike in, for me, a very pivotal at-bat for us." Rasmus connected in the second inning for his fourth career slam. He also doubled and singled. The Blue Jays held on to this early lead. Toronto wasted a 5-3, ninth-inning edge in the series opener and a 5-0, fourth-inning advantage on Saturday night. Josh Harrison hit two triples for the Pirates. Edinson&nnbsp;Volquez (1-3) gave up six runs and seven hits in five innings.dddddddddddd. He also allowed six earned runs in his last outing April 21 against St. Louis. Volquez pitched himself into a jam in the second inning before Rasmus stepped to the plate, issuing walks to Edwin Encarnacion and Juan Francisco to start the inning. Brett Lawrie reached on an infield single to load the bases with no outs. Rasmus hit a full-count curveball about 10 rows deep in the right-field seats for his seventh home run of the season, giving the Blue Jays a 4-1 lead. Rasmus said he was not necessarily looking for an offspeed pitch in that situation. "I was just trying to be out over the plate and throw my hands at anything because hes got a good changeup, good curveball and a good two-seamer, and he already tried to thumb me a couple in," he said. "I was just trying to be ready to put something in play." The slam negated an early lead the Pirates built on Neil Walkers groundout, scoring Harrison after his triple. Harrison also tripled in the eighth and scored on Andrew McCutchens sacrifice fly. Torontos Jose Bautista walked in the fifth to reach base in his 31st consecutive game, the longest active streak in the majors. But he went hitless, snapping a career-best 13-game hitting streak. Cabrera had three hits, and extended Torontos lead to 6-1 with a two-run homer off Volquez in the fifth. Rasmus scored another run in the eighth on an RBI single by pinch-hitter Dioner Navarro. NOTES: Highly regarded Blue Jays RHP Marcus Stroman made his big league debut, allowing one earned run and one hit while getting two outs. The Blue Jays selected the 23-year-old Stroman Triple-A Buffalo and optioned OF Anthony Gose. ... The Pirates plan to recall LHP Jeff Locke to start against San Francisco on Monday night. An All-Star last year, Locke struggled in the second half of 2013 and did not make the Pirates opening day roster. ... J.A. Happ (0-0, 4.15) is scheduled to pitch for the Blue Jays at Philadelphia on Monday night. ' ' '