Dark horse describes them perfectly. For me they're a team that is going to pass San Jose and Los Angeles (and eventually Anaheim) to be part of the big 3 with Edmonton and Calgary. I don't know if that's this season already, but it's definitely possible. I mean there were a lot of people who didn't think much of the Leafs last summer.
First of all Tippett and his garbage system (at least for young players) is gone. In comes Tocchet who i believe wants to run more up-tempo style and let the young kids display their speed and skill.
They added a top 6 center and a top pairing d-man in one summer. Even playoff teams rarely do that, let alone rebuilding teams. I think those moves are very underrated. Both players were exactly what they needed. Center who can be relied on to play difficult minutes, and a top pairing d-man who can shutdown anyone. Takes pressure off the kids, adds belief in the locker room and on the ice makes the team a lot better.
Those two guys weren't the only ones they added though.. Dylan Strome and Clayton Keller are most likely ready to make the team as well, and i would say they are the two most important young players in their system right now. Strome has kind of been forgotten by some people as he spent the last 2 years in juniors, but he's been an absolute dominant player over there (241 pts in 126 games over past 2 seasons). He's absolutely got future #1C talent, added with 6'3" size to boot. According to reports, he looked a lot bigger and stronger during the kids camp this summer, and to me once he's ready to make the jump, he's going to be productive right away. They did a good job staying patient and letting him develop in the juniors.
Keller is one of the favorites to win the Calder next season, and a lot of people see him as a future star. If he is as good as advertised, those kind of players usually start producing right away.
Then they still have the other young guys.. Domi and Duclair who both i think will have good seasons after facing a ton of adversity last season. Dvorak is a really good player and already produced at a 50 pts pace the 2nd half i believe. Perlini got a good combination of size and shot and he could bring secondary scoring. Christian Fischer is a wild card to make the team as well, and produced in the AHL last season, as well as scored 3 goals in 7 games with the Coyotes.
Add in some pretty good bottom 6ers in McGinn, Martinook and Crouse, i think this team can have surprisingly good offense next season.
And from the back-end, Chychrun looked like a middle pairing d-man already, and forms a decent pairing with Golikoski. He's only going to get better i'd think.
OEL - Hammer could be a top 5 1st pairing in the entire league. Think about that for a second.
Schenn is a nice heart and soul guy to have on the 3rd pairing. Clendening is somewhat underrated IMO, could form a nice pair with Schenn (LHD-RHD, defense-offense).
Raanta could very well be the next Talbot. I feel like last 2 seasons prepared him well for the starter role. He's going to be hungry wanting to prove not just himself but everyone else he can get the job done, not to mention playing for a new contract.
All-in-all, for me the Coyotes will be one of the more exciting teams to watch. Obviously the depth is lacking in some areas so they need to stay healthy to even have a shot for the playoffs, but i think this team will open a lot of eyes next season. And as far as competing against their own division goes, they already had 3 wins against the Sharks and Kings last season with the inferior team. I think they'll give them problems again.
