yave1964 Posted May 24, 2019 Share Posted May 24, 2019 PRESEASON OUTLOOK A bit optimistic, a few of the other Western teams were getting a bit long in the tooth, the 'Yotes were hoping for a playoff run behind Raanta and Keller. FINAL RECORD 39-35-8 86 points 4 points behind the Avalanche for the final spot in the West. They didn't make it but somehow they came really close. HIGH POINT OF THE YEAR When they bested the Ducks 6-1 on March 14th they had won 10 of their previous 12 giving up only 15 goals during those 10 wins. They were 3 points up for the final playoff spot with 11 games to go. LOW POINT OF THE YEAR They faded from there, losing 8 of their final 11 games to barely miss a playoff spot in the last week of the season. WHAT WENT WRONG No scoring. None. Galchenyuk led the team with 19 goals which was tied for 133rd in the game, Keller had a sophomore slump but led the team with 47 points which was good for 122nd in the game. Raanta was supposed to be the savior in net and went down early only appearing in 12 games.Dvorak missed the first 60 games and only managed 2 goals in 20 games. Connautan who had established himself as a power play specialist over several years only managed 1 goal all year.Schmaltz came over from the Hawks and scored 14 points in 17 games before going down for the year. Derek Stepan had a very poor year. WHAT WENT RIGHT Darcy Kuemper IMHO deserved to be put up for the Vezina over Lehner who split time in net, Keumper came from nowhere and put this team on his back and kept them in the race until the final days with brilliant netminding. Galchenyuk was good, OEL was a beast, a force of nature on the back end. A bunch of guys like Grabner, Hinostroza, Panik, Cousins and Brad Richardson, all retreads bought into the team concept system and contributed with solid years. Conor Garland and Chrsitian Fischer showed they have potential to be at worst top nine forwards for years to come. The defense was unsung but very, very good. FREE AGENTS Servicable Panik, enigmatic Mario Kempe and the usable in a pinch Pickard are all free agents. The 'Yotes have expessed interest in retaining Panik. OFFSEASON QUESTIONS: WHERE THE HELL DOES THIS TEAM FIND SOME OFFENSE?It was not an accident that I left that last question capitalized, they need to find a scoring winger for the top line and a top six center. The next question is one of health, this team was snakebit last year with one player after another missing time, They need to figure out a way to stay healthy. The other big question is this penny pinching organization has a slew of free agents coming up next year including their top two goal scorers and Keumper. Can they, will they retain them beyond 19-20? Can Schmaltz be a top six center? Stepan? Chuckie? At least one of them needs to be, probably two of them. This past seasons near miss will be quickly forgotten if they dont add much needed offense but overall they should feel very satisfied with the direction of the organization. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted June 16, 2019 Share Posted June 16, 2019 Impossible season? They didn't make the playoffs despite the fact they looked like they were on their way. In that way they demonstrated they were very much the Coyotes like every other year. Maybe a little promising but not nearly enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted June 16, 2019 Author Share Posted June 16, 2019 2 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said: Impossible season? They didn't make the playoffs despite the fact they looked like they were on their way. In that way they demonstrated they were very much the Coyotes like every other year. Maybe a little promising but not nearly enough. By impossible season I meant, theylost their goalie replaced him with a 30 something never was, they had little if any offense and yet somehow managed to stick around all season in the hunt. All the peripheral numbers suggest they should have been one of the worst teams in hockey yet they made an improbable run that fell just short for the final playoff spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 14 hours ago, yave1964 said: By impossible season I meant, theylost their goalie replaced him with a 30 something never was, they had little if any offense and yet somehow managed to stick around all season in the hunt. All the peripheral numbers suggest they should have been one of the worst teams in hockey yet they made an improbable run that fell just short for the final playoff spot. They are the Coyotes. Chayka hasn't seemed able to move the needle too much on this team. The bottom few Western Conference teams helped keep Arizona in the hunt. But then the wheels fell off for the Coyotes and they ended up missing out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 1 hour ago, CreaseAndAssist said: They are the Coyotes. Chayka hasn't seemed able to move the needle too much on this team. The bottom few Western Conference teams helped keep Arizona in the hunt. But then the wheels fell off for the Coyotes and they ended up missing out. Yeah not impressed at all with Chayka, but Rich Tocchet has done a hell of a job. Very impressed with him getting the most out a team where Brad Richardson is the leading goal scorer, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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