Thoughts on the Arizona Coyotes?

Fig

Absolute Horse Shirt
Dec 15, 2014
12,957
8,449
As a Flames fan I'd say the Coyotes are primed to do a lot of damage. I think they're a dark horse not fully in position to put past a few other organizations, but I do think teams will quickly get in trouble if they underestimate that roster.

I still think they are 3rd last in the Pacific (in front of Vancouver and VGK). But if any of LA, SJS, Calgary, Edmonton or the Ducks stumble, even for a little bit, I could easily imagine quick and constant jockeying of position throughout the season and the Yotes could perhaps suddenly find themselves in a bubble position.


IMO, in seemingly a good way the Yotes have a ton of wild cards up and down their roster as well as wild cards in their coach and GM. They could easily have a dud of a hand or end up with something no one could have predicted.


EDIT: Does anyone have predicted line combos for the Yotes? I have an idea on how it might look like, but I am likely missing out on chemistry and proper spreading of talent.
 

LEAFANFORLIFE23

Registered User
Jun 17, 2010
45,389
14,256
New sole owner who trimmed the fat/country club
New coach for the first time in many years
Very talented young players either coming into the league at a full time spot and/or finally solidifying themselves as a legitimate NHL player

Where were the Leafs with Wilson at the helm of a bench with exciting young youth being the minority?

What are you talking about? the Leafs weren't young and exciting with Wilson they had nothing even close to what they do now
 

Heldig

Registered User
Apr 12, 2002
16,885
10,230
BC
They won't make the slightest bit of progress

Why the hate?

Is there really no chance they can improve by leaps and bounds ala the Leafs? While they dont have a player the calibre of A. Matthews they have added a top 6 C and a top 4 D, a coveted goalie, and a coach that has won 2 Cups plus expect an infusion of some of the best young talent in the league. They already have one of the best defensemen in the league - OEL - and some good young players.
 

LEAFANFORLIFE23

Registered User
Jun 17, 2010
45,389
14,256
Why the hate?

Is there really no chance they can improve by leaps and bounds ala the Leafs? While they dont have a player the calibre of A. Matthews they have added a top 6 C and a top 4 D, a coveted goalie, and a coach that has won 2 Cups plus expect an infusion of some of the best young talent in the league. They already have one of the best defensemen in the league - OEL - and some good young players.

they have been "on the rise" forever and not only did they not rise I'd argue they fell.

I see no reason to believe it won't be more of the same
 

East Coast Icestyle

Registered User
Mar 6, 2015
3,266
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Nova Scotia, Canada
they have been "on the rise" forever and not only did they not rise I'd argue they fell.

I see no reason to believe it won't be more of the same

People said the same about the leafs and Oilers every season and then it happened.

Arizona has made a bunch of strong improvements, and with rookies like Strome and young guys like Domi and Perlini it's not like they are going to be Colorado bad. They'll be bubble.
 

SniperHF

Rejecting Reports
Mar 9, 2007
42,632
21,042
Phoenix
His entire premise is flawed anyway. Not sure how he came up with this head-cannon.

The Coyotes have not been "on the rise" forever.

14/15 - bottomed out.

15/16 - No one expected them to be substantially "on the rise" right after what happened the year before. They finally got to integrate a few prospects like Domi and Duclair but neither were their big "prizes" from tank seasons. Doan had a resurgent season and a lot of things went right so they jumped up a tad in the standings but hardly like a rocketship.

16/17 - A bit of a setback, Duclair's sophmore slump, OEL's down season due to injury and off-ice factors, Doan is done, Domi's Injury, Strome's slower development. But some positives in the rut in Dvorak's and Perlini's emergence.

Seriously link me some non-crap-blogsite articles saying the Coyotes were on the rise for the last 3-4 years. If they exist, those authors weren't paying attention or should be laughed out of the profession. And it certainly wasn't HF consensus that the Coyotes were on the rise, go look at some standings projections/prediction threads.

THIS is the first year anyone would claim such a thing with a straight face; and even then I'd say that's premature by a season.

The only positive thing written about the Coyotes the last 2 years has been that they have a nice prospect pool. But especially a few years ago most of that talent was not ready for the NHL so no one actually claimed the team was "on the rise".

Where do people come up with this stuff.
 

firstemperor

Registered User
May 25, 2011
8,755
1,445
Thoughts are that they have one of the best prospect pools in the NHL and OEL. But I don't know if they are ready to take the next step until one of those prospects hit and hit big.
 

RABBIT

My Yearly Sponsorship has relocated to Houston
Oct 21, 2008
11,944
10,264
“Ted’s dead baby. TEDs Dead”
Half of the posts here are jokes about their financial situation in Glendale and have nothing to do with the team they'll be putting on the ice this season.

I love what they have done this offseason. Added a top line center and a top pairing defenseman, both are veteran guys with a lot of playoff experience and can help guide the young guys as they develop. Raanta has been one of the best backup goalies in the league the past two seasons and will likely do very well in a starting role. Keller will break out IMO. Domi continues to improve. Strome finally gets a chance to prove himself. Fischer may get a serious look.

There's a lot to like to like about the Coyotes and I think they've got a legitimate shot at a playoff birth.

thanks for actual hockey input. The rest of you joke recycling mouth breathers can kick rocks :)
 

The Winter Soldier

Registered User
Apr 4, 2011
70,803
21,006
they have been "on the rise" forever and not only did they not rise I'd argue they fell.

I see no reason to believe it won't be more of the same

Explain to me on the rise forever? I don't recall anyone saying in the past couple of years the Coyotes being cup never mind playoff contenders on the Mainboard. I think you are wrong on that assumption.
 

Menzinger

Kessel4LadyByng
Apr 24, 2014
40,975
32,364
St. Paul, MN
Have been drafting very well and have a good prospect pool.

Instability in ownership though will continue to be a major hinderance. Hard to attract external talent to that type of environment
 

Uncle Scrooge

Hockey Bettor
Nov 14, 2011
13,479
8,022
Helsinki
they have been "on the rise" forever and not only did they not rise I'd argue they fell.

I see no reason to believe it won't be more of the same

Adding a top 6 center, #2-3 dman and possible calder winning rookie in Keller + positive changes in management doesn't give you any reason to believe they won't get better? Not to mention all of their other young players will get better, since they all have decent amount of experience now.

Tough crowd.
 

mouser

Business of Hockey
Jul 13, 2006
29,285
12,586
South Mountain
John Chayka thought Rookie's teaching Rookie's about the rigors of the NHL was a smart idea.

Stepan, Richardson, McGinn, OEL, Goligoski, Hjalmarsson, Schenn.

They have a good number of vets. Plus guys like Domi, Rieder and Martinook with multiple NHL seasons under their belts.
 

SR

Registered User
Mar 31, 2008
6,715
5,316
Arizona
Funny how a lot of the repetitive jokes are coming from Oiler and Leaf fans.

Truth be told, addition by subtraction was key here. Cutting bait with Tippet and his dinosaur trap system was the major upgrade, regardless of the replacement. He hindered more rookies development and confidence than he did build it. Awful coach when it comes to new talent.

Stepan and Hjarlmarsson are and were immediate needs. The team hasn't had a serviceable 1/2 centerman since Ollie jokinen and even that was a stretch. Adding Hjarlmarsson to pair with Oliver is a supreme upgrade than having Murphy or Schenn flank him on the right side. This will allow Oliver to open up trusting Hjarlmarsson has him covered.

Dropping the ol ball and chain in Doan and his head case brother Mike Smith will do wonders for the room, a fresh clean start. Raanta is still a question mark, but given the opportunity as a starter I think he surprises a lot.

Adding in Clayton Keller and Dylan Strome is also another wild card since neither have the experience of a NHL season, both are very promising, though.

Do I think the Arizona Coyotes will make the playoffs? No, but I can assure they will be a hell of a lot more exciting to watch this year and likely will be somewhere in the fold just below a wild card spot.
 

Sniper99

Registered User
Jan 12, 2011
12,411
5,306
Edmonton
Adding a top 6 center, #2-3 dman and possible calder winning rookie in Keller + positive changes in management doesn't give you any reason to believe they won't get better? Not to mention all of their other young players will get better, since they all have decent amount of experience now.

Tough crowd.

We've been seeing them draft "promising this and promising that" for the last how many years" They've had one good playoff year 5-6 years ago, after that not much to write home about. Its just been more of the same, so yeah I can see what the other poster was saying.
 

SniperHF

Rejecting Reports
Mar 9, 2007
42,632
21,042
Phoenix
We've been seeing them draft "promising this and promising that" for the last how many years"

No.

The two highest thought of prospects the Coyotes have had, have only been in the system for about two years. The rest are on a substantially lower tier.

The Brandon Gormleys, David Rundblads (who they didn't draft btw), Henrik Samuelssons of the world were mid to late firsts. Often considered in the 50-20 range on the prospect charts. Hardly a promising group in the way the Coyotes needed. Those types bust all the time (look at the percentages).

And if you go to the Domi, Dvorak, and Duclair types; those are actually nice prospects/players now but hardly franchise transformative.

Where as Clayton Keller was draft just in 2016 and is a consensus top 5 and even #1 in some lists prospect right now. The Coyotes have not had a prospect of his caliber in a long time, arguably ever. The same is basically true of Strome despite his slower development.


It's like everyone has heard some announcer duo say something about all the young players the Coyotes have had and it's made people think the team is underachieving. No, the prospect group we've had hasn't actually been all that good until about 2015.

From the short lived playoff run; almost all those players were aging and the best one done on the back of a highly inconsistent Mike Smith who had one insane season. It's not a coincidence that a team making the playoffs on a core of old players has to take a long time to build up a stable of prospects because making the playoffs for those years meant the team was drafting in the 20's but their core was about to evaporate.

The idea that the rebuild is going slowly is barmy.
 

Evocable Manager

Registered User
Apr 20, 2016
3,837
883
St. Louis
I really really like what they've done and built. Their roster is well constructed and while their are some question marks they will be a well balanced team.

Martinook-Stepan-Rieder
Domi-Strome-Duclair
Keller-Dvorak-Crouse
Richardson-Cousins-McGinn

Ekman-Larsson-Hjalmarsson
Goligoski-Schenn
Chychrun-Clendening

Raanta

Really like the way that roster looks. Lot of depth, youth and the lines are well balanced. Plus they have a few other options to plug in there. The defense is nothing short of outstanding. The two swedes are one of the best offensive alongside one of the best defensive defenseman in the National Hockey League. Goligoski is very good, as are Chyrchrun and Clendening. The only real hole is Schenn who I think is underrated.

Finally they have a new coach as well.

I say they have an outside shot at the playoffs.
 

The Winter Soldier

Registered User
Apr 4, 2011
70,803
21,006
Funny how a lot of the repetitive jokes are coming from Oiler and Leaf fans.

Truth be told, addition by subtraction was key here. Cutting bait with Tippet and his dinosaur trap system was the major upgrade, regardless of the replacement. He hindered more rookies development and confidence than he did build it. Awful coach when it comes to new talent.

Stepan and Hjarlmarsson are and were immediate needs. The team hasn't had a serviceable 1/2 centerman since Ollie jokinen and even that was a stretch. Adding Hjarlmarsson to pair with Oliver is a supreme upgrade than having Murphy or Schenn flank him on the right side. This will allow Oliver to open up trusting Hjarlmarsson has him covered.

Dropping the ol ball and chain in Doan and his head case brother Mike Smith will do wonders for the room, a fresh clean start. Raanta is still a question mark, but given the opportunity as a starter I think he surprises a lot.

Adding in Clayton Keller and Dylan Strome is also another wild card since neither have the experience of a NHL season, both are very promising, though.

Do I think the Arizona Coyotes will make the playoffs? No, but I can assure they will be a hell of a lot more exciting to watch this year and likely will be somewhere in the fold just below a wild card spot.

Take it from a neutral observers point of view. The last laugh will soon be coming from Coyote fans. Not that Yotes fans do this. I find them very humble and one of the best group of fans on the main board. They have a terrific young group of prospects and players. All that is needed now is development. Development comes from coaching and experience. If the Yotes do this well, I can see this team be a player in the NHL very soon. In the NHL today, this could be overnight. Columbus, Edmonton rose from the ashes last year. It wouldn't take much.
 

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