Arizona Coyotes are the Seattle Kraken / Florida Panthers of the 23-24 season

[Gurglesons]

Two years ago, I said Florida was the deepest team in the league.

Last year, I said Seattle was potentially the deepest team in the league.

Heading into this season, I have high hopes for the Arizona Coyotes. For clarity, I do not think they will be the powerhouses that the Kraken and Panthers were.

But, the Yotes IMO have put together a squad that has a huge chance of being a huge dark horse IF their young players can continue to progress and Cooley turns into the player I think he will be...

Keller - Hayton - Schmaltz
Zucker - Cooley - Kerfoot
Maccelli - Bjugstad - Crouse
Carcone - McBaine - Guenther

Moser - Dumba
Valimaki - Durzi
Stetcher - Brown

Vej
Ingram

Soderstrom and Guenther taking big steps.

This team is going to be a tasty little fun group if they can stay healthy.

Click to read more...

 

[Goptor]

They are the 2017-2018 Seattle Kraken

 

[Bear of Bad News]

They are the 2017-2018 Seattle Kraken

 

[EK392000]

There isn't much of a gap between lines 2-4, so I guess they are deep in that sense. But putting together 3 mediocre-average lines is nothing special.

 

[Sasha Orlov]

They’re gonna get so f***ed up

 

[HockeyVirus]

I def think they are better than a lot of people give them credit for. I would say they are deep like the Habs teams of the late 2010's. Probably going to finish outside but I could see them competing for a wildcard spot. Unsure if they actually get it though.

 

[duxfan1101]

2 issues I see:

1. That entire top 6 is under 6 feet tall (Hayton is listed at 6'1", but he does not look that big).
2. The defense is still just not good enough yet.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

That D can score and move the puck but they wouldn't be able to stop a midget team.

Entertaining and deep though and they'll be a huge pain in the ass by virtue of being in every game, will push people for a WC.

 

[PensandCaps]

If Hayton and Cooley are top 6 Cs, yah. Their depth is very good, but missing that centre who is a legit offensive force.

That D is brutal. Durzi is so bad. Hated watching him in LA.

I think they're better off tanking and trading Dumba and Zucker for picks. Could get a haul for Crouse too I bet.

 

[Rebels57]

The forward group isn't much different than Seattle, but the defense is not as as strong and will they all buy-in and play with that extra motivation to prove themselves like the Kraken did? My guess is, bottom 10 team still, but i'd like to see them do better than that.

 

[333359]

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

Yeah I have been saying that all summer too, people are like "I'm not big Dumba or Durzi fans"...did you see what they were running out there last year? Vejmelka is the best goalie you've never heard of and their coach has them fighting every game, I could see them 8-11 in the West. Helps the Preds, Hawks, and maybe even the Blues and Jets will be bad.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

That forward group is okay.

The defense has to be among the worst in the league.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Moser - Dumba
Valimaki - Durzi
Stetcher - Brown

 

[Esq]

They are totally gonna suck. Whether they are fun to watch whilst sucking, that's another story.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

The year is 2048 , the coyotes still stink

 

[AfroThunder396]

That defense is atrocious and will really undermine their already inconsistent goaltending.

Forwards are okay - decent depth, some high end young players. But there will be growing pains. I don't expect the Yotes to be a punching bag this season, I'm sure they'll play tough and be competitive most nights.

But yeah, no, I don't expect a historic turnaround and there's no reason to suspect it with they way they've built this team. Not good enough defensively to grind you to death, not talented offensively to win a track meet.

Stuck in no-man's land. Call me when they can actually draft and develop a defenseman.

 

[Walkingthroughforest]

Lmao

 

[Hisch13r]

They’re not

 

[Gurglesons]

People really underrating that D so far. Kind of funny how each of these threads over the last three years has had the same exact responses to start.

Dumba’s no longer the offensive player he was, but he has improved defensively. Valimaki was great for the Yotes once Chychrun was shipped out. Moser and Brown are underrated.

Durzi is a mess defensively, but he is going to help that Powerplay a ton.

 

[hypereconomist]

Cooley making an immediate impact, Valimaki-Moser picking up from where they ended last season, and Dumba not being awful are three awfully large "ifs" for them to be a sleeper

 

[Hisch13r]

Cooley making an immediate impact, Valimaki-Moser picking up from where they ended last season, and Dumba not being awful are three awfully large "ifs" for them to be a sleeper

Even if all of those ifs work this is not the deepest team in the league.

 

[GrumpyKoala]

I belive the statement is quite correct. Both are still finding theirs way into the nhl.

Don't hate me, I love all my children equally

 

[Bleedred]

The Panthers example is just a really weird one, as they won the Presidents Trophy the season before they made the SCF, with pretty much the same team. A lot of people act like they just came out of nowhere. The only thing surprising about them last year was how they were seemingly dead in the water in December-January and then rallied to clinch a playoff spot I think on the last day or two of the regular season.

Some people are really weird in regards to the 22-23 Panthers on this board. I clearly remember the poll on this forum picking them to beat Vegas and win the cup in the poll that was taken right before the series started. And then when Vegas dominated them and won in 5, people were trying to say they were the weakest cup finalist in the last 10-15 years or more. Clearly they missed the 20-21 Montreal Canadiens, who were easily the worst finalist since the 2006 Oilers and managed to finish dead last the next season. Albeit without Price (the MVP of those playoffs for them) and Weber.

 

[Sweetpotato]

They won't be terrible like they have been, they're at least respectable but they won't be near good enough to be considered a sleeper.