It was reported today that Arizona Coyotes center Nick Schmaltz will not return this season. This is because of a lower-body injury. This is just another in a long line of injuries for the Arizona Coyotes this season.
INJURY UPDATE: #Coyotes center Nick Schmaltz will be sidelined for the remainder of the season because of a lower-body injury.
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) January 8, 2019
Nick Schmaltz Done For Year
Nick Schmaltz will join fellow Coyotes Antti Raanta, Jason Demers, Christian Dvorak and Michael Grabner on injured reserve. All of these players are possible to miss the rest of the season. Schmaltz was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks for Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini earlier this season.
Schmaltz was meant to step in and give an Arizona team that had hopes much-needed offence. He had done just that in his time in Arizona. However, the string of injuries has been too much for the team. Nonetheless, Schmaltz has had 5 goals and 9 assists for 14 points in his 17 games with the Coyotes. As well, he added 11 more points in 23 games with the Hawks for a total of 25 points in 40 games this year.
Lastly, this is Schmaltz’s third season in the National Hockey League. He has 105 points in 179 games. Beyond that, he still projects to be a solid top six player and is no doubt a huge loss for the Coyotes.
Injured Coyotes
Along with Nick Schmaltz, this Coyotes team has had its fair share of bad luck. This was supposed to be the year it finally all comes together for Arizona. They had a starting goalie, a solid defence core and some better forwards than in years past. However, they now have multiple forwards, their starter and a top-four defenceman land on IR for the year.
This will more than likely place them in the running for one of the top prospects Jack Hughes or Kaapo Kakko. While this absolutely is not the season the team or fans were hoping for, one can only hope there is light at the end of the tunnel and they are rewarded for their struggles.
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