The Arizona Coyotes are still in the early stages of a rebuilding project.
The Coyotes haven’t qualified for the playoffs the past three seasons, but the organization is finally starting to assemble a quality group of young talent that’s worth moving forward with. But what can we expect from them this season?
Head coach: Dave Tippett
GM: Don Maloney
Team payroll: $57.6 million against $71.4 million salary cap.
Last season record: 24-50-8
Goals for: 170
Goals against: 272
PP: 20.0 per cent (7th in the NHL)
PK: 76.7 per cent (29th in the NHL)
Corsi for per 60: 54.9 (via stats.hockeyanalysis.com)
Key acquisitions: Antoine Vermette, Steve Downie, Boyd Gordon, Brad Richardson, Nicklas Grossmann, Zbynek Michalek, Anders Lindback, Stefan Elliott, Dustin Jeffrey
Key departures: Sam Gagner, John Moore, Mark Arcobello, Lauri Korpikoski, Brandon Gormley
Rookies to Watch:
Max Domi: The Coyotes’ first-round pick from 2013 is expected to make the club out of training camp in order to help spark an otherwise-lacklustre offence. The former London Knights forward scored 105 combined goals over his last three OHL seasons, including a 102-point effort in 57 games in 2014-15. He is a potential Calder Trophy candidate.
Anthony Duclair: The key component of the Coyotes’ side of the Keith Yandle trade with the New York Rangers last season. The speedy 5-foot-11 winger scored 34 points in 26 QMJHL games with Quebec last year and could immediately step into Arizona’s top-six. In 18 games with the Rangers in 2014-15, Duclair scored one goal and seven points.
Dylan Strome: The third overall pick in the 2015 draft, Strome is a big-bodied centre with his sights set on the Coyotes roster. On one hand, it’d be wise to not rush him too early, but on the other, he scored 129 points in 68 OHL games last season so he doesn’t have much to prove at the junior level. Keep an eye on his training camp.
Highlight of 2014-15
It’s gotta be a Shane Doan play. Here, his stick breaks midway through a penalty shot, but it fools the goalie and the puck still goes in!
Pre-season positional letter grades
Forwards As we mentioned above, the Coyotes have some exciting young players (Domi, Duclair, etc.) but their forward unit as a whole is very underwhelming. They don’t boast any top-line NHL scorers and lack impact players throughout the group. Shane Doan provides sentimental value to Coyotes fans, but he’ll be 39 years old this season and his skills have diminished. GRADE: D
Defence Oliver Ekman-Larsson didn’t have a great 2014-15 season, but he’s still a big part of the foundation of the team. The 24-year-old is a dynamic talent who has already shown signs of becoming a potent power play force. Outside of him, it’s a fairly unproven group. Connor Murphy is a young player with upside, but there’s a lot of question marks heading into the season. GRADE: C-
Goaltending Goaltending is probably the strength of the Coyotes, but it’s not totally inspiring after a tough 2014-15 season. Mike Smith finished the year with a career-low 3.16 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage, which is his lowest since joining the Coyotes in 2011. However, he played great for Team Canada at the World Championship in May so there’s some optimism Smith can return to the level he displayed earlier in his Coyotes’ tenure. GRADE: C
The Coyotes will have a successful season if… Smith returns to an all-star level in net and some of the team’s key young players emerge much quicker than originally anticipated.
The Coyotes will have a disappointing season if… the youngsters don’t show very much. The keys to the franchise are being turned over to a new era and while it’d be stunning if the team made the playoffs, they’d still like to see flashes from the youth.
