yave1964 Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 FPRESEASON OUTLOOK A lot of pundits thought this would be a very good year for the Coyotes, solid goaltending, lots of young prospects, vets such as Keller developing into a near star, many thought they would be a dark horse for a wild card FINAL RECORD 36-41-5 77 points, missed the playoffs. STRANGE STAT OF THE YEAR For the first time in NHL history, a team, the Coyotes, had not a single player win at least 50 percent of their faceoffs. None. Haytron came in first with 49.8 faceoff wins, and it was downhill from there. Serious, This was the most inept faceoff team in NHL history. WHAT WENT RIGHT Keller developed brilliantly into a dangerous point a game weapon. Schmaltz quietly had a fantastic season. Durzi came over from the Kings an potted 41 points on the back end. Macelli was a fantastic playmaker. Bjugstad and Kerfoot were solid vet players. Goalie Ingram was among the top five goalies in all of hockey for the first half of the season until he got banged up. Logan cooley started slow but caught fire late and showed so much promise. Guenther looks like the real deal. Crouse and Carcone had Cy Young 20 goal seasons. WHAT WENT WRONG Well Arizona voted them off the Island and now they are moving to Utah so there is that. Other than Durzi the defense had not a single puck mover and looked bad. Centers were hugely dissapointing, not a playmaker among them. Vejmelka had some damn fine games but long stretches where he was awful. HIGH POINT OF THE SEASON jANUARY 20TH the Coyotes bested the Penguins raising their record to 23-19-3 right in the thick of the final playoff spot. Ingram was injured but the hope was that Vejmelka and coompany could keep them in the mix and they would finish strong and attract fan interest. LOW POINT OF THE YEAR Everything fell apart right then and there. Vejmelka was awfulm, the kids did not hold it together and they managed to lose an insane 14 games in a row ending their season. During that 14 game stretch they were outscored 66-34. The season came to a sickening thud. Oh and they moved to Salt Lake City so there is that. FREE AGENTS Liam OBrien and his goonery will likely move on, nobody of any importance is a free agent this year. Durzi and Hsyton are both RFA who will expect to get longer deals at decent salaries. TOP PROSPECTS lots of kids are already in the NHL and proven with upside. In the minors Conor Geekie and Artu Raty are chomping at the bit for a middle six center position, Maveric Lamereaux may step into a top four defense position and is highly skilled and more or less ready. The Coyotes have 7 picks in the top three rounds this year and next. OUTLOOK FOR 2024-25 Who the Hell knows? At least they arent playing in a college facility named Mullet Arena. The new owner may step up to the plate and add to the roster with a splash. Or he may let them settle for a year or two, let the ton of good solid kids develop and build according to the old plan. Hard top say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brewin Flames Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 Great review.... Was hoping for better things from this train wreck franchise.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 (edited) 35 minutes ago, yave1964 said: WHAT WENT RIGHT Keller developed brilliantly into a dangerous point a game weapon. Schmaltz quietly had a fantastic season. Durzi came over from the Kings an potted 41 points on the back end. Macelli was a fantastic playmaker. Bjugstad and Kerfoot were solid vet players. Goalie Ingram was among the top five goalies in all of hockey for the first half of the season until he got banged up. Logan cooley started slow but caught fire late and showed so much promise. Guenther looks like the real deal. Crouse and Carcone had Cy Young 20 goal seasons. That's really promising for this team, and quid of Hayton who showed pretty good things one season ago before getting several injuries. Another right thing is head coach André Tourigny. I really things this is a good fit and that the team has the right person in the right chair. He held an interview each week on the french TVA Sports where he openly spole on hoy does he envision things, the strategies, his vision etc. And that was extremely interesting. Anyway, I had them as a wild-card team but the injuries and that awful 14-game losing streak killed their hopes. Ironically, they started to play better once they knew they wouldn't play there anymore... Another good thing is the change of ownership. If the organization finally has someone who cares and who wants to put money and a good team on the ice, that's all bonus. Maybe they will stop to be the NHL's salary dump just to ease other teams with their bad contracts. I can't believe that Bettman is keeping this dípshit owner in the loop for a potential reactivation of the franchise (yeah technically, it's neither a relocation nor an expansion. Salt Lake City is starting fresh like a new team but with former Coyotes' players, staff and assets while the Coyotes franchise is put on hold but with the branding and history staying in the boxes in Arizona. Sutpid but it helped the NHL keep the apparences...). Meruelo has five years to build something, I really hope he miserably fails. Edited April 23 by Math 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted Wednesday at 08:21 PM Share Posted Wednesday at 08:21 PM Coyotes recap...they were here....and now they're gone! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegx.ca Posted Wednesday at 11:25 PM Share Posted Wednesday at 11:25 PM 3 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said: Coyotes recap...they were here....and now they're gone! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted Thursday at 12:19 PM Share Posted Thursday at 12:19 PM All kidding aside, the Delta Center is not a terrific upgrade over where they are now. Currently, just 12,000 unobstructed seats and even after remodeling it will still be less than 18,000. The best part is the franchise is no longer connected to Meruelo. Beyond that, this is kind of a lateral move IMO. Although in theory this market should be affluent enough to support this team for the future. I'd still have rather have seen the team move to Houston than Salt Lake City. Toyota Center is closer to NHL standards as arenas go and I think it would make for a better road trip (Texas two step) and keep all but one team in the Central Division in the Central time zone. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Posted Thursday at 05:54 PM Share Posted Thursday at 05:54 PM I think there's a project for a new arena and that's should be a done deal once an NHL is there. Bettman knows that the current Delta Center is not a perennial solution, the Smiths were aware of that and that was part of the discussion prior to the move. I think this team can really take-off. They have now an owner that is willing to spent, the core is talented, they have a ridiculous amount of picks that they can use for further transactions and honestly, I had the then-Coyotes as a WC team but the inconsistent goaltending coupled with an awful 12-game losing streak sealed their fate. What they need now is the addition of one or two big names though free agency or transaction to help the team on a marketing pespective, and to bring experience on the ice. I'm dreaming but if they could get a guy like Stamkos or trade for Marner, that would have an immediate impact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radoran Posted Thursday at 08:13 PM Share Posted Thursday at 08:13 PM 2 hours ago, Math said: What they need now is the addition of one or two big names What? They have Shea Weber for two more seasons! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Posted Thursday at 08:18 PM Share Posted Thursday at 08:18 PM lol, and they also have Ekman-Larsson on the payroll until 2028-2029. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted Thursday at 09:02 PM Author Share Posted Thursday at 09:02 PM Not trying to kick the Yotes bot nearly three decades in Arizona their number one most hated rival was the fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted Thursday at 11:22 PM Share Posted Thursday at 11:22 PM 2 hours ago, yave1964 said: Not trying to kick the Yotes bot nearly three decades in Arizona their number one most hated rival was the fans. And the crazy thing is, there were times going back many years where the Coyotes looked like they were gonna start building a winning tradition. I really do believe it comes down to ownership and/or management. I mean, it wouldn't be the first time the front office or the ownership group has torpedoed their own franchise, whether by design or pure ineptitude. In fact, before I came on board this forum, I was a mod at a general sports forum where my department was hockey....and we had quite a number of Coyotes fans posting regularly in their sections. There ARE fans who want hockey in Arizona....but I am guessing its hard to build upon that small buy loyal following, or even KEEP those they do have if ownership themselves are clown show. Ship has sailed for this franchise, but if the NHL ever wanted to re-insert a team in Arizona, AND they have an owner who knows hockey, cares about hockey, or at the very least, hire good hockey people and stay out of their way, then I say hockey in the desert could still work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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