COYOTES OFFSEASON THREAD

[yave1964]

Oh why not, lets do another one....A QUICK LOOK BACK AT 2016-17: Nobody thought much of their chances this past season and they did not disappoint.  They did go out and spend some money, adding Radim Vrbata back to the fold, he was far and away the teams leading scorer and found new life after stumbling around Vancouver the year before collecting a paycheck for pretty much nothing. Alex Goligoski came aboard from Dallas to relieve pressure off the shoulders of the teams best player Oliver Ekman-Larsson and was solid. Jamie McGinn came aboard to provide secondary scoring and was awful. Other than that the kids were given time for on the job training and the hope was that quite a few of them would excel.

  Well that part didnt work quite as well as they hoped. Max domi managed only 9 goals, Tobias Reider had a few hot streaks but others when he was ice cold, Christian Dvorak was okay and showed flashes, same with Brendan Perlini. On defense, first round pick Jakub Chychrum stuck and didnt embarrass himself. Anthony DeAngelo a former first rounder bounced between the ice and the press box and was okay at times. Other young forwards such as Lawson Crouse and Anthony Duclair did not impress.

  OEL was awful last year, he tried to do too much, make up for deficiencies elsewhere and lost his game in the process. Captain and original desert dog Shane Doan threw a fit when the 'Yotes traded long time card playing buddy (I am not making that up, the two of them are best friends on the plane rides when the team is on the road) long time underacheiving center Martin Hanzal. He threatened to hold his breath or take his puck and go home even.

  They wound up with a 30-41-1 record, coach Dave Tippett appears to have survived for now but for how long is unsure as boy wonder GM John Chayka looks to play moneypuck and get the Coyotes howling.

 

FREE AGENTS:

Vrbata signed a one year deal as a safety net signing and had a great year overall, a nice power play guy, 55 points on a team where nobody else scored more than 39. He is an UFA again and wants to return. 

 

Shane Doan seel questions listed below.

 

Chris Pronger and Pavel Datzyuk contracts come off the books. Other than that none of the free agents will ever again appear in an NHL game.

 

OFFSEASON QUESTIONS:

 

1)WHO TO DRAFT AT NUMBER SEVEN?  They fell to pick number seven in a deep but not top loaded draft and also have the Wild's first rounder as partial compensation for Hanzal/Ryan White. Michael Rassmussen, a big strong playmaking center with all of these wingers in need of a set up man would be ideal. Having a late first is icing on the cake.

 

2) WHAT DO YOU DO WITH SHANE DOAN? Okay I get it, he has played forever and blah blah and is fiery and all that, but he is a low IQ hockey player who takes dumb penalties and scores 45 points a year. He threw a literal hissy fit over his card playing buddy being dealt away and there was a lot of talk of him going to the Sharks or somewhere at the deadline which didnt end up happening. Now he has made overtures that he wants to return for another year.

  If I were Chayka I am not certain that he returns. Yes he is iconic and you dont want an ugly divorce from the original Coyote, but Doan playing top six minutes is keeping those minutes from a Duclair or Domi or Perlini or Clayton Keller who will be in the mix this year as well. It might be time to give him his gold watch and send him on his way.

 

3) WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO OEL? He was dreadful at times, he coughed up the puck with alarming regularity and on a team full of kids expected to make a million mistakes the brilliantly talented OEL was a team worst minus 25 and his power play numbers slipped badly too, the worst of his career even going from 27 PPP the previous season to 19 last year. 

  Part of it was the personnel that he was surrounded by, but it was alarming watching him make poor decisions with the puck and try to do too much night after night. Keep an eye out.

 

4) THEY HAVE TO GET TO THE CAP FLOOR, WHO DO THEY SIGN? Last year, White, Vrbata, McGinn, Michalek and Goligoski came in and they traded for the ghost of Datsyuk to get to the cap floor, this year will be a scramble as well. 

  You do not want to screw with the kids chemistry, Crouse, Perlini, Keller, Reider and Domi all have top nine winger written all over them, at center they are painfully thin. Christian Dvorak was painfully overmatched at times  but looks to be a middle six center,  and Dylan Strome got his feet wet a bit and will likely stick as a talented bottom six center with upside to move up. Those two are all they have at the position.

  IMHO they have a desperate need to upgrade at center and may need to consider trading young defenseman Connor Murphy or one of the wingers to get the center they need. Murphy is big and hits hard and often, has little offensive acumen but is responsible in his own zone allowing a partner to roam. There are teams in need of defense with centers to spare and he might be worth floating out there to see what he might bring.

  Free agent centers, do you bring Hanzal back or move on? Probably not. It is a weak class, Thornton would be ideal but likely will not leave San Jose, someone is going to overpay for Bonino and Sam Gagner and I could see the 'Yotes doing that in years past but I dont have a finger on the pulse of the new GM yet. A trade is the best route.

 

5) DO YOU KEEP MIKE SMITH? this is not a rip on Smith by asking it, far from it, I dont like him because of his long history of flopping and feigning injury when the other team is applying too much pressure (he does it all the damn time) but he was the teams MVP last year, easily the best thing they had going for them. There are rumblings that he may be sent forth from the desert but I dont know.

  He is an above average goalie, not an all star but in the right situation a team could win with him in net. I could easily see why a club would want to deal for him but Arizona who has prospects everywhere has only Louis Domingue aside from smith and lets face it, Domingue cannot play. He might develop into a decent backup, right now he is a liability even in that role but maybe he could become a decent backup if he is lucky.

  I doubt Smith is dealt, with Fleury, Howard, elliott, Mason and more available for not much of anything and half a dozen others scrambling in the game of goalie musical chairs it is a buyers market at this point and smith is no better than any of those listed and the oldest of the bunch so the 'Yotes would maybe get 50 cents on the dollar dealing him and they need his contract to keep near the floor. 

 

  I see this team as being closer than some might think, a lot of talented young wingers in need of centers who know how to set the table and the offense might take off. With the right move or two they may be able to hang around looking for a low end playoff position. 

  

[yave1964]

UPDATE:

Shane doan will not be back, the team has decided not to offer him a contract. His agent says he is not retiring, just looking for a shot at the cup.

[notfondajane]

On 6/19/2017 at 6:26 PM, yave1964 said:

UPDATE:

Shane doan will not be back, the team has decided not to offer him a contract. His agent says he is not retiring, just looking for a shot at the cup.

How old is Doan? Most teams should pass on this guy! Based on his age.