That is until they were hit with a tsunami of injuries to key players.<\/p>\n
Arizona Coyotes Struggling With Long Injury List<\/h1>\nChristian Dvorak<\/a><\/h2>\nIt was announced that the young centre, who signed a six-year $26.7 million contract<\/a>, would be out for the season about a month after he had signed his new deal<\/a>. He came down with a pectoral injury which required surgery and has not played a single game this season.<\/p>\nThere have been rumours that he could return to the lineup before the season is out. In fact,\u00a0he began to skate recently. According to Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet<\/a><\/strong>, he could be ready for a reconditioning assignment with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, as soon as this weekend. But, that was ruled out by general manager John Chayka<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\nPer president of hockey ops John Chayka, C Christian Dvorak won’t go to Tucson (AHL) this weekend for a conditioning stint\/games. The staff will review the plan after a few more practices. The feeling is that Dvorak is fully healthy, but needs reps, work — a quasi-training camp.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Craig Morgan (@craigsmorgan) February 15, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThe addition of Dvorak would be crucial as the team is really down at the center ice position.<\/p>\n
Jason Demers<\/a><\/h2>\nThe defenseman who normally partnered with Oliver Ekman-Larsson<\/a><\/strong> on the first unit has been down with a knee injury since December 15, 2018. He too has been making strides of making an early return to the depleted Arizona Coyotes’ lineup.<\/p>\nHis return is vital also since the team has just one right-handed shooting defenseman in Russian Ilya Lyubushkin<\/a><\/strong> who is in his first season in the NHL. He has played well bringing a physical presence to the Arizona\u00a0blueline.<\/p>\nDemers took part in Coyotes practice on Monday, February 11th.<\/p>\n
He was wearing a non-contact jersey. This was the first time he took part in practice since suffering a knee injury in mid-November. There’s still no timetable for his return. “He has different energy <\/em>than\u00a0anyone else on this team,”<\/em>\u00a0Arizona Coyotes center Derek Stepan<\/a><\/strong> said via the\u00a0Arizona Republic\/Phoenix Gazette<\/a>. “He\u2019s a unique bird. When it comes to energy, he seems to have a bunch of it and it seems to help us out a lot. A lot of guys look to him to lift him up when they\u2019re dragging a little bit.”<\/em><\/p>\nAntti Raanta<\/a><\/h2>\nIt’s not very promising for a team to lose their starting goalie, but nothing this season for the Coyotes has been close to promising when it comes to hard luck injuries.<\/p>\n
Raanta was playing decent goal until he fell to injury on November 28th<\/a>, just 12 days after Demers fell as a casualty. He gathered a 5-6 record with a .906 save percentage and a 2.88 goals-against-average.<\/p>\nThere’s no real update on his return, and\u00a0Darcy Kuemper<\/a><\/strong> has filled in nicely in Raanta’s absence. He has accumulated a 13-14-5 record and a .911 save percentage with a 2.77 goals against average.<\/p>\nMichael Grabner<\/a><\/h2>\nAnother starter to fall into injury mode was Michael Grabner. He had been the team’s short-handed goal scorer extraordinaire having tallied four of his six goals while a man short. He also assisted on two others scored by the other short-handed goal expert Brad Richardson<\/a><\/strong> who had three shorties himself. Between Grabner and Richardson, they have seven of the team’s 12 short-handed goals.<\/p>\nGrabner had a nasty injury when a stick caught him in his left eye. It wasn’t a pretty sight, and speaking of sight… he’s hoping his\u00a0vision is restored back to normal before he even considers re-joining the team.<\/p>\n
Nick Schmaltz<\/a><\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2019\/02\/Arizona-Coyotes-Nick-Schmaltz-injury-featured.jpg\")
Nick Schmaltz|<\/span>Fred Kfoury III\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\nThis injury was a real heart-breaker since the Arizona Coyotes traded for Schmaltz<\/a> and he was really playing some good hockey and developing chemistry with Clayton Keller<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\nHe was lost on January 1st for the rest of the season<\/a>, and again the forward lines of the team were devastated. Schmaltz had 14 points including five goals.<\/p>\nWhat amazed most observers was that general manager Chayka didn’t pull off another trade to replace a premier player like Schmaltz.<\/p>\n
Other Arizona Coyotes Injuries<\/h2>\n
Besides the above listed long-term injuries, the team has had various other key players miss significant ice time.<\/p>\n
Richardson had a hand injury and just returned to the lineup last night against the St. Louis Blues<\/a>. Missing 17 games has hurt the team’s faceoff stats since “Richie” has 54.7 percent success in the circle.<\/p>\n
It was announced that the young centre, who signed a six-year $26.7 million contract<\/a>, would be out for the season about a month after he had signed his new deal<\/a>. He came down with a pectoral injury which required surgery and has not played a single game this season.<\/p>\n There have been rumours that he could return to the lineup before the season is out. In fact,\u00a0he began to skate recently. According to Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet<\/a><\/strong>, he could be ready for a reconditioning assignment with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, as soon as this weekend. But, that was ruled out by general manager John Chayka<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Per president of hockey ops John Chayka, C Christian Dvorak won’t go to Tucson (AHL) this weekend for a conditioning stint\/games. The staff will review the plan after a few more practices. The feeling is that Dvorak is fully healthy, but needs reps, work — a quasi-training camp.<\/p>\n \u2014 Craig Morgan (@craigsmorgan) February 15, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n The addition of Dvorak would be crucial as the team is really down at the center ice position.<\/p>\n The defenseman who normally partnered with Oliver Ekman-Larsson<\/a><\/strong> on the first unit has been down with a knee injury since December 15, 2018. He too has been making strides of making an early return to the depleted Arizona Coyotes’ lineup.<\/p>\n His return is vital also since the team has just one right-handed shooting defenseman in Russian Ilya Lyubushkin<\/a><\/strong> who is in his first season in the NHL. He has played well bringing a physical presence to the Arizona\u00a0blueline.<\/p>\n Demers took part in Coyotes practice on Monday, February 11th.<\/p>\n He was wearing a non-contact jersey. This was the first time he took part in practice since suffering a knee injury in mid-November. There’s still no timetable for his return. “He has different energy <\/em>than\u00a0anyone else on this team,”<\/em>\u00a0Arizona Coyotes center Derek Stepan<\/a><\/strong> said via the\u00a0Arizona Republic\/Phoenix Gazette<\/a>. “He\u2019s a unique bird. When it comes to energy, he seems to have a bunch of it and it seems to help us out a lot. A lot of guys look to him to lift him up when they\u2019re dragging a little bit.”<\/em><\/p>\n It’s not very promising for a team to lose their starting goalie, but nothing this season for the Coyotes has been close to promising when it comes to hard luck injuries.<\/p>\n Raanta was playing decent goal until he fell to injury on November 28th<\/a>, just 12 days after Demers fell as a casualty. He gathered a 5-6 record with a .906 save percentage and a 2.88 goals-against-average.<\/p>\n There’s no real update on his return, and\u00a0Darcy Kuemper<\/a><\/strong> has filled in nicely in Raanta’s absence. He has accumulated a 13-14-5 record and a .911 save percentage with a 2.77 goals against average.<\/p>\n Another starter to fall into injury mode was Michael Grabner. He had been the team’s short-handed goal scorer extraordinaire having tallied four of his six goals while a man short. He also assisted on two others scored by the other short-handed goal expert Brad Richardson<\/a><\/strong> who had three shorties himself. Between Grabner and Richardson, they have seven of the team’s 12 short-handed goals.<\/p>\n Grabner had a nasty injury when a stick caught him in his left eye. It wasn’t a pretty sight, and speaking of sight… he’s hoping his\u00a0vision is restored back to normal before he even considers re-joining the team.<\/p>\n This injury was a real heart-breaker since the Arizona Coyotes traded for Schmaltz<\/a> and he was really playing some good hockey and developing chemistry with Clayton Keller<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n He was lost on January 1st for the rest of the season<\/a>, and again the forward lines of the team were devastated. Schmaltz had 14 points including five goals.<\/p>\n What amazed most observers was that general manager Chayka didn’t pull off another trade to replace a premier player like Schmaltz.<\/p>\n Besides the above listed long-term injuries, the team has had various other key players miss significant ice time.<\/p>\n Richardson had a hand injury and just returned to the lineup last night against the St. Louis Blues<\/a>. Missing 17 games has hurt the team’s faceoff stats since “Richie” has 54.7 percent success in the circle.<\/p>\n\n
Jason Demers<\/a><\/h2>\n
Antti Raanta<\/a><\/h2>\n
Michael Grabner<\/a><\/h2>\n
Nick Schmaltz<\/a><\/h2>\n
Nick Schmaltz|<\/span>Fred Kfoury III\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\nOther Arizona Coyotes Injuries<\/h2>\n