If you’re an Arizona Coyotes fan you’ve been waiting patiently for the team to put a scoring star on the ice. It’s been since the 2011-12 season that the Coyotes have had a 35-goal scorer in Radim Vrbata. Last season they didn’t even manage one player to get to the 20-goal mark. So, it goes without saying that everyone is anxious to see what head coach Rick Tocchet‘s Coyotes line combinations with Phil Kessel in the lineup will be like.
Arizona Coyotes Line Combinations Including Phil Kessel
Ever since Phil Kessel was surprisingly traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Arizona Coyotes over a week ago, ardent fans want to know who his prospective linemates might be.
Coyotes Line Combinations Examined
It doesn’t take a degree in rocket science to determine that Kessel will score and score like no other Coyotes player has for years. So, who will be able to get him the puck in the image of a Sidney Crosby? He has a rocket of a shot and obviously needs the puck to score.
A likely candidate would be a skilled playmaker like Clayton Keller. Now add in that Keller had some special chemistry with Nick Schmaltz and there is an ideal first line with scoring potential oozing with possibilities. Schmaltz had 14 points in 17 games with the team before he fell with a leg injury that ended his season.
Another factor is how both Keller and Schmaltz combined for six goals, 12 assists while both were on the ice together. And, remember that was only 17 games. A very small sample of what could have been had Schmaltz not been injured. It also was apparent that Keller missed his buddy Schmaltz since Keller’s scoring numbers decreased after Schmaltz went down.
With Schmaltz in the Coyotes lineup, Keller had two goals, 13 assists. Afterwards, Keller had just six goals, 13 assists in the remaining 42 games. Now, it could just be Keller’s output fell for other reasons, but it seems apparent that having Schmaltz as his centre completely increased Keller’s output.
Kessel’s Addition Will be Significant
When The Athletics‘ Yotes beat reporter Craig Morgan asked Tocchet about his line possibilities including putting Schmaltz with Kessel together, his response was his “I’d be crazy not to try it. Schmaltz and Kessel are great off the rush.”
Phil joined the local Arizona Sports 98.7fm radio show to give his reaction to being traded and his outlook playing in Arizona.
The excitement in Arizona is running on all cylinders. It’s almost a certainty that the attendance will increase with the addition of Kessel. The team has already announced that their popular weekend game package has begun to take off. It’s a simple concept. Put good players on the ice and the fans will show up and pay their money to see them.
Adding Carl Soderberg Will Help
There was another addition to the Coyotes earlier last week. This occurred before general manger John Chayka pulled off his biggest trade in this being his fourth year a GM. He traded Kevin Connauton and a 2020 third round pick for Carl Soderberg. He is expected to supplement a front line with his size (6’3″, 210 pounds) and scoring (23 goals, 26 assists). Soderberg will also be an addition to the already excellent penalty kill the Coyotes possess.
He is a big body and will probably be stationed in front of the opposing goalie to screen and deflect shots. Adding a veteran like him and Kessel will be a good mixture of young players and veterans. The young forwards like Keller, Schmaltz, Christian Dvorak, and Barrett Hayton need to absorb all the knowledge they can from the experienced players.
Keeping Michael Grabner and Brad Richardson Together
Tocchet and everyone watching this team last season had to notice that these two talented players need to stay together whenever possible. Michael Grabner just like Brad Richardson excels killing penalties but now the opposing teams need to watch their backs as they are a threat to score shorthanded.
So Here’s Some Potential Coyotes Line Combinations
Forwards
Left Wing Center Right Wing
Clayton Keller Nick Schmaltz Phil Kessel
Lawson Crouse Derek Stepan Carl Soderberg
Michael Grabner Brad Richardson Vinnie Hinostroza
Barrett Hayton Christian Dvorak Christian Fischer/Connor Garland
Defence
Left Defence Right Defence
Oliver Ekman-Larsson Jason Demers
Alex Goligoski Niklas Hjalmarsson
Jakob Chychrun Jordan Oesterle
