NEWSLETTER
Over the coming days we’re going to look around the rest of the Central Division to get an idea of how the other teams in the Blackhawks’ division stack up heading into the summer. Of the four remaining teams in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, only the Dallas Stars remain from the Central. We’ll begin our series with the team that finished in last place (other than the Blackhawks): the Arizona Coyotes.
There are some reasons for hope in the desert — on the ice, at least. Clayton Keller broke out and appears to be on the cusp of becoming a star. Matias Maccelli had a marvelous rookie season and they have a nice group of young players and prospects coming soon. But a familiar cloud still hangs around the organization.
Coyotes 2022-23 By the Numbers
2022-23 Record: 28-40-14 – 70 points (7th in the Central Division)
2023-24 Projected Cap Space: $27 million
Head Coach: André Tourigny
General Manager: Bill Armstrong
2022-23 Stats
Goals For/Game: 2.74 (27th in the NHL)
Goals Against/Game: 3.60 (24)
Power Play Pct: 18.9 (24)
Penalty Kill Pct: 74.6 (27)
Coyotes Offseason Outlook
Notable 2023 UFAs: Laurent Dauphin, Brett Ritchie, Connor Mackie, Andrew Ladd (LOL)
Notable 2023 RFAs: Connor Ingram, Matias Maccelli, Christian Fischer, Jack McBain,
2023 Draft Capital:
First Round (No. overall): 6, 12 (from OTT)
Second Round: ARI
Third Round: ARI, EDM, NYI, WSH
Fourth Round: ARI
Fifth Round: ARI, VGK
Sixth Round: ARI, CBJ
Seventh Round: none
Coyotes Offseason Headlines
There are really two headlines to watch with the Coyotes this offseason, and neither has bearing on their 2023-24 on-ice product (directly… yet). The first has some impact on the second, too.
The Coyotes lost their special election bid to build a new arena/entertainment district. And that apparently had some bearing on the decision of their top prospect, Logan Cooley, opting to return to college for a sophomore season.
Arizona’s best player, Keller, made some news indirectly after the vote failed. He quietly tweeted a frown face emoji. His father, on the other hand, went off on Twitter… though he later backpedaled and said his account was hacked. If there are legitimate concerns from some of the organization’s young stars and top prospects about the arena deal, they’re in serious trouble.
Arizona (for now) had a prospect pool that Scott Wheeler at The Athletic ranked 9th in the NHL in his mid-season update. That group is headlined by Cooley, Dylan Guenther and Conor Geekie.
