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They're spiffing up their uniforms and switching addresses. They've parted ways with their longest-serving employee.

The winds of change continue to sweep through the desert.

Lean. Young. Gritty. Fast. Thrifty.

That's the mandate set forth by Phoenix Coyotes' general manager Mike Barnett, senior executive VP of hockey operations Cliff Fletcher and managing partner Wayne Gretzky. And they're adhering to their own guidelines.

The exodus of veterans began in earnest with the departures of Keith Tkachuk to St. Louis and Jeremy Roenick to the Flyers. This summer, the final on-ice tie with the franchise's days in Winnipeg was irrevocably cut when the Coyotes moved 35-year-old defenseman Teppo Numminen, Mr. Everything for as long as anyone could remember, to the Dallas Stars in exchange for center Mike Sillinger and a conditional draft pick.

2002-03 BY THE NUMBERS

Record: 31-35-11-5, 78 pts. (T19th overall, T10th West, 4th Pacific); Home: 17-16-6-2; Road: 14-19-5-3 Goals for/Avg: 204/2.49 (21st overall) Goals against/Avg.: 230/2.80 (T19th overall) Differential: Minus-26 (22nd overall) Power play: 14.3 percent (55-385, T21st overall) Penalty kill: 81.3 percent (335-417, T27th overall) 20-goal scorers: Mike Johnson (23), Ladislav Nagy (22), Shane Doan (21), Daymond Langkow (20) 50-point scorers: Johnson (63), Doan (58), Nagy (57), Langkow (52)

To try and best patch the Numminen hole, 23-year-old David Tanabe was added to an already largely-unseasoned, unproven defense corps.

Numminen had made no secret of his desire to spend the final days of his NHL career vying for a Stanley Cup and would've walked away as an unrestricted free agent next summer anyway. Still, his leaving truly does mark the end of an era.

It became clear to all that Numminen wasn't going to receive such a chance at glory in Phoenix. Not in the time left in his career. After an astounding 2001-02 season, the Bobby Francis-led Coyotes, plagued by injury -- most notably to goaltender Sean Burke -- tumbled out of the playoffs last year, to 11th in the West. Rather than look to patch and plug with oldtimers, management decided to stick to the blueprint and brought in a new, fresh group of young players, talented players, that largely had yet to deliver on the potential forecasted for them coming out of junior.

The health status of goaltender Burke, limited to 20 starts last year because of knee and groin problems, and the ability of a young, unproven defense to step up and finally deliver on expectations will determine if the Coyotes are again able to crack the top eight in an increasingly-competitive Western Conference.

Burke, still in the desert despite a flurry of rumors attached to his name at the trade deadline a year ago, reinjured his groins starring for Canada at the World Championships in Finland and was unable to finish the tournament. He'll be ready and rarin' to go for the opening of Coyotes' camp but the setback overseas was yet another reminder of the fragility of the 36-year-old goaltender's health.

Two years ago, he put in arguably the finest performance of the season at the position (33-21-6, 2.29 goals-against average) and his stats last year -- 12-6-2, 2.11 GAA -- only reinforced how much the Coyotes missed his presence. On a young team, he's a point of reference, a shoulder to lean on, an old pro to be depended upon and, quite simply, the backbone of the franchise.

The defence in front of him is young, skilled and open to questions. Paul Mara is 23, Ossi Vaananen 22, Radoslav Suchy 27, Brad Ference 24 and then there's Tanabe. Ference, Tanabe and Mara are all high draft picks looking for the right situation to blossom in a new environment.

How well they cope will go a long ways in determining how much ground Phoenix is able to make up on the rest of the pack.

Up front, the Coyotes are deep in able bodies if not name recognition. The blueprint was to assemble as many potential 20-goal scorers as possible, and Barnett and Co. have Jan Hrdina and Chris Gratton begin their first full seasons in the desert after being acquired at the trade deadline. Ex-Blue Tyson Nash is a pest without peer. Sillinger and Dan Cleary are talents who've never quite delivered on their potential. The center position is well stocked (Langkow, Hrdina, Gratton and Sillinger), leaving the underrated Shane Doan to drift back out to the wing, his more natural position.

Phoenix's top line of Ladislav Nagy, Mike Johnson and Daymond Langkow isn't exactly a Legion of Doom, but nonetheless contributed a combined 170 points in 244 games, and the acquisitions of Hrdina, Gratton, Nash, Sillinger and Cleary should only enhance their effectiveness.

The West doesn't look to be any easier this year. The old standbys -- Dallas, Detroit, St. Louis, Colorado -- are as good, no, great, as ever. The Mighty Ducks only advanced to the Stanley Cup final this year and the Minnesota Wild were 2002-03's consensus winner of the Cinderella Glass Slipper Award. Vancouver is solid. Edmonton should be improved. San Jose could scarcely play as poorly. L.A. won't -- can't -- be as banged as last season, and should further cloud the waters.

The Coyotes are expected to move into their new home, the Glendale Arena, in late December, bidding the old America West Arena adieu. The marketing pitch they're selling in Phoenix this year is: Coyotes hockey. Believe.

Despite some reasons for real optimism, sorry, not buying quite yet.

George Johnson of the Calgary Herald is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.