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NHL’s 30 in 30: Arizona Coyotes

For the month of June, Last Word On Sports will be covering each team in our 30 in 30 series. Once a day, we take a look at an NHL team’s past season, what their off-season looks like, and what they could hope to achieve before the start of their 2015-16 season. Everybody wants to get better and improve upon last season’s success or downfall and NHL’s 30 in 30 gives you that analysis and preview you need to get you by during another long and grueling summer season. 30 days in June, 30 teams to cover. Starting on June 1st we start from the bottom and make our way to the very top.

Today’s team; The Arizona Coyotes. Check out our previous 30 in 30 articles here.

NHL’s 30 in 30: Arizona Coyotes

The Arizona Coyotes managed to finish second-to-last in the National Hockey League, posting a 24-50-8 record to end up with just 56 points. Their home and road records were almost identical, picking up two more points on the road thanks to the extra two wins, while dropping two more games in overtime/shoot-out at home. Their goals for/against ratio was slightly better than the league’s worst, the Buffalo Sabres, but was still an abysmal -102, good for second-to-last in that category,

The 2014-15 Regular Season

For the third consecutive season, the Arizona Coyotes failed to make the playoffs. Going from Phoenix to Arizona, a name change didn’t exactly lead to much of a culture change, as they finished last in their division and conference, and just two points ahead of the basement-dwelling Sabres. The team’s leading scorer, defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, scored 23 goals and finished with 43 points, tying the franchise record for goals in one season by a defenseman, and also establishing the record for most goals scored in one season by a Swedish-born defenseman.

Unfortunately, he was just one of only three players to hit the 40-point plateau, along with Sam Gagner and Keith Yandle, who was later traded to the New York Rangers. Captain Shane Doan, Martin Erat and Antoine Vermette, traded to the Chicago Blackhawks, all reached the 30-point plateau. The loss of Radim Vrbata, who signed with the Vancouver Canucks, visibly hurt the Coyotes with their offensive production, but the cost to retain such a valuable player proved to be a little too rich for Arizona.

Expectations were set quite high by general manager Don Maloney, but even he was aware that in order for the Coyotes to make the post-season, a lot would have to go right for them. When it became evident that the Coyotes were simply not ready to make a push for a playoff spot, the direction of the ship was changed and Maloney began to prepare his team for the future. Realizing his stock couldn’t get higher than it already was, Devan Dubnyk was traded to the Minnesota Wild for a 2015 3rd-round pick.

Veteran Vermette was traded to the Blackhawks in exchange for prospect Klas Dahlback and a 2015 1st-round pick. They also earned the rights to young prospect Maxim Letunov, a highly-skilled Russian center who is still a few years away, for defenseman Zbynek Michalek and a conditional 3rd-round pick in 2015. The big kahuna of all Coyotes trades went down on March 1st, when Maloney broke the Internet by sending Yandle, prospect Chris Summers and a 2016 4th-round pick to the New York Rangers in exchange for young defenseman John Moore, highly-touted prospect Anthony Duclair, a 2015 2nd-round pick and a conditional 2016 1st-round pick (lottery protected).

Following the changes made, the Coyotes closed out their season, going 4-14-1 in their final stretch, being shutout three times and dropping their last three games of the season. Tobias Rieder, who caught the eye of GM Maloney, was voted by Coyotes fans as the hardest working player of the year. The rookie put together a 21-point season, scoring 13 goals in 71 games while adding some speed and offensive flair that the team has desperately needed.

The Off-Season and Free Agents

Heading into the off-season, the Coyotes have a total of thirteen free agents to decide on. Of the thirteen free agents, eight of them are restricted to the team, including forwards Mikkel Boedker, Mark Arcobello, Tye McGinn and Craig Cunningham, defensemen Moore, Brandon Gormley and Dalhbeck, and goaltender Louis Domingue. In the unrestricted department, we find forwards Erat, B.J. Crombeen, David Moss and Justin Hodgman and defenseman Andrew Campbell.

The biggest free agent name at the moment is restricted free agent Boedker, who played just 45 games last season due to injury. The dynamic 25-year-old is still young enough to fit the mold of the Coyotes re-build and is one of the team’s internally-grown talents, however with Maloney being conservative with his money and Boedker’s agent asking for a little more than expected, talks are slow between the two camps. “I’ve been in discussions with his agent and we continue to arm wrestle trying to get something done,” said Maloney, at the end-of-season press conference. “So, these things are never as quick or easy as you like, but it’s just part of the process.” The positive out of the arm-wrestling match is that Jarrett Bousquet, Boedker’s agent, feels confident that a deal will be made.

The team also signed German forward Matthias Plachta, who played for Adler Mannheim of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. In 47 games, the 24-year-old put up 14 goals and 21 assists, while also scoring five goals in 15 post-season matches. Plachta, a native of Freiburg, is a big, physical presence, standing at 6’2 and weighing 220 pounds. His work along the boards is solid and if his game can transition well in North America, Plachta could be a solid fix on the Coyotes bottom-six, possibly replacing unrestricted free agent Moss.

Dahlbeck and Moore, two RFAs, are on Maloney’s priority list to keep with the team, as he believes both can make a jump to the team on a more permanent role, with Dahlbeck’s strong skating and puck movement, and Moore’s physical tools being appropriate for a top-four role. Forward Arcobello also impressed in his short time with the time and played himself into a possible gig with the Coyotes for the 2015-16 season. In 27 games, the 26-year old scored 9 goals and added 7 assists.

Non-roster players shouldn’t expect a guaranteed spot, as Maloney doesn’t want to harm the progress of guys like Max Domi, Christian Dvorak and newly-signed center Ryan MacInnis. Maloney doesn’t expect any surprises to come at training camp.

With Mike Smith signed for another four seasons, fans are hoping for a bounce back season from their starting goaltender. Maloney was also impressed with Smith during their last stretch of the season. “I think over the last four-to-six weeks Mike Smith reverted back to the form that we expect out of him, every night giving us a chance to win.” For a back-up role, Maloney is best suited sticking with Domingue or Mark Visentin, in hopes to have him groomed for a starting role if Smith fails to capture his old form.

The Draft Table

When the Edmonton Oilers won the draft lottery, the Coyotes were pushed back a spot, ultimately missing out on one of Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel. Luckily for Maloney and the Coyotes, this year happens to be a solid draft year and they are still getting their hands on a bright prospect with the 3rd overall pick. It’s almost certain they’ll choose between defenseman Noah Hanifin, and forwards Dylan Strome and Mitch Marner. Judging from Maloney’s thought process and his love for electric forwards, Marner may be an ideal candidate.

The Coyotes also hold on to the 29th pick, acquired in the trade for Vermette, as well as the 32nd and 61st picks in the second round. “Even our first pick in the second round, we think we can get potentially get a top two-line player. So, it’s all good…” Maloney said. The Coyotes are lacking forward depth in their prospect pool and the draft picks they currently hold onto can patch that problem up. Maloney figures it will be a three to four year window where those prospects will develop and make the transition to the NHL. “…that’s when it’s really going to pay off.”

New Management, New Look

While Dave Tippett remains as head coach for the time being, Maloney made a few new additions to the front office. John Chayka was signed to a multi-year deal to work as an assistant general manager and aid with the analytics department, while Chris O’Hearn was promoted to assistant general manager status, aiding with all hockey operations.

Also announced was senior vice president and assistant general manager Darcy Regier’s move to serve as the general manager of the Springfield Falcons, the Coyotes AHL affiliate.

And finally, Coyotes fans can expect a new look to the jerseys the Coyotes will wear, as announced by the team’s Twitter account. The new look will be revealed at the team’s draft party, held on Friday, June 26th, at Gila River Arena.

The 2015-16 season, the Coyotes will have new prospects, a brighter future and hopefully a bite that NHL teams fear.

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