A multitude of NHL players were placed on the NHL waiver wire yesterday, including New York Islanders Josh Ho-Sang. With the lack of potential offensive firepower, the Arizona Coyotes should claim Ho-Sang off of waivers. They have over $2 million in cap space and Ho-Sang is earning a mere $700,000.
Josh Ho-Sang Would Help Coyotes
Ho-Sang had a better than average career in the OHL collecting 82 goals, and 210 assists in 256 games. While that shows he may not be a huge goal scorer, he is an excellent playmaker. He averaged 1.22 assists per game. His NHL stats are a bit different. He’s only participated in 53 games with seven goals and 17 assists. To his credit, Ho-Sang is an excellent possession player. His Corsi For is right up there with a 51.3 percent number, and his Relative Corsi is 2.6. To state that he has not been given much of a chance to perfect his NHL games is an understatement.
He just hasn’t been happy with the Isles and general manager Lou Lamoriello hasn’t been pleased with Ho-Sang’s attitude. Showing up late to practice due to oversleeping doesn’t bode well with someone as strict as Lamoriello.
The 2020-21 Arizona Coyotes Lack Offence
Josh Ho-Sang has the offensive flair that could really help the team get the puck in the net. He stands 6′-0″, 173 pounds. He also has some edge to his game with 20 penalty minutes averaging 15.11 minutes a game in the NHL. The fact is the Coyotes just haven’t been able to muster enough offence to keep them competitive.
That’s where a very reasonable price of $700,000 becomes a very astute signing for the Coyotes’ general manager, Bill Armstrong to consider. He was strapped with a restrictive salary cap issue that he has since relieved a bit by trading away Derek Stepan for a 2021 draft pick from the Ottawa Senators.
Josh Ho-Sang Due to Clear Waivers Today
There’s really no time to waste if the Coyotes want to pull the trigger and acquire Ho-Sang. It seems like a no-brainer move and realistically the 24-year-old from Toronto hasn’t really been given much of a shot to show what he has as an NHL player. His potential could blossom with a change of scenery and perhaps getting out of the limelight of the east coast media helping him to perform better.
Lamoriello was clear that he didn’t think Josh Ho-Sang would make the roster with the Islanders. “We made a decision that we would be taking four goaltenders, 12 defensemen and 21 forwards,’’ Lamoriello said. “When we went over our whole group as to who we felt had the best chance of making that four to six [taxi squad], he was not one of them.’’ The relationship has been anything but cheerful between the two. Ho-Sang demanded a trade after signing a one-year deal with the New York club.
He demanded a trade and Lamoriello couldn’t find a taker. It seems that Ho-Sang may have gathered the reputation of a problem child and once that happens teams think twice about adding a player to their roster. The locker room atmosphere carries a lot of weight with most teams. One player can disrupt the room and cause more harm than good.
We’ll Find Soon, What Ho-Sang’s Future Holds
The young player may just get a shot at playing in the NHL, as teams are looking for bargains with the pandemic causing financial nightmares for most franchises. The Coyotes should take a hard look at giving him a shot. You never know. He could be that player who provides some offensive punch that the Yotes have lacked for some time. There’s no guarantee that other young players like Clayton Keller, Christian Dvorak, or Barrett Hayton will actually produce the offence the team lost when Taylor Hall went to the Buffalo Sabres as a free agent.
Sometimes a young player just needs an opportunity to get some playing time and perform. Look what happened to Garland when the Desert Dogs promoted him from the AHL. He led the team in scoring last season with 22 tallies. This is not to predict that Ho-Sang will do likewise, but you don’t know until you try.
It seems to be a win-win proposition for the Coyotes, but it may just be one that they overlook for whatever reason. Opportunity mostly doesn’t ring twice… so will the Coyotes answer the door? Ho-Sang hopes so.
