Coyotes add winning pedigree in trades
The Coyotes have never hoisted the Stanley Cup.
They haven’t been to the playoffs in five years.
And only once in franchise history have they eclipsed 100 points in a season.
But after a pair of major trades Friday, the Coyotes now have more players who have tasted the postseason ice – a roster makeover that can’t hurt the Coyotes’ own pursuit of success.
“It’s huge,” General Manager John Chayka said. “We need winners.”
Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson is the most decorated of the new arrivals, a three-time Stanley Cup champion with the Blackhawks who was acquired from Chicago to fill out the Coyotes’ top defensive unit. He’s played in more playoffs games (128) than any other Coyotes player, as he was a fixture on the Blackhawks’ back end for his minute-munching, shot-blocking style – a shutdown role that’s essential in the regular season but becomes even more valuable in the playoffs.
“I’ve been fortunate playing with a lot of great players through the years in Chicago,” Hjalmarsson said. “Kind of just learn from the guys I’ve played with just how to carry yourself off the ice and how to approach games and all the ups and downs through the whole season. I think I can help out with that a lot, and I’m looking forward to kind of getting a bigger role, so to speak, in Arizona.”
Goaltender Antti Raanta was a teammate of Hjalmarsson’s with the Blackhawks before joining the Rang-
ers and although he never appeared in any of Chicago’s playoff games, Raanta was a member of the organization when it captured the 2015 Stanley Cup.
He remained in a support role with New York, getting just a few looks in the 2016 postseason, but he’s had a chance to work alongside two of the NHL’s premier netminders in the Blackhawks’ Corey Crawford and the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist. That insight could help him transition into a No. 1 with the Coyotes after the team traded for him to fulfill that job.
Raanta noticed how Lundqvist’s preparation was fueled by a relentless desire to improve. Lundqvist worked every day, Raanta said, and if there was a part of his game he wasn’t happy with, he’d spend even more time on the practice ice.
“Hopefully I could learn something from Henrik’s work ethic, and hopefully I can be one day as good as him in that part,” Raanta said.
Mindset is also key, and Raanta realizes he’ll have to hone in on an even-keel approach that enables him to rattle off 50-plus starts, but also be consistent through them all – the hallmark of elite starters. But based on how he carried himself with the Rangers, Raanta seems to have the right attitude.
“He loves being a part of a team that goes out and wins hockey games,” said center Derek Stepan, who was traded to the Coyotes from the Rangers along with Raanta. “He loves to be the guy that gets it done. That’s something that he’s going to do in Arizona.”
With most of the Coyotes’ youth concentrated among the forwards, Stepan may have the largest audience of pupils.
And he’s ready to mentor with plenty of material to share from a career that’s included four consecutive 50plus point seasons, seven straight trips to the playoffs and an appearance in the Stanley Cup Final.
“A lot of the guys in New York always say that I ‘X’ and ‘O’ it up too much,” Stepan said. “I love talking the game. I love being a part of talking a play through with somebody ... To be able to talk to some of these younger guys and maybe teach them some of the things I know and learn from them, too, is something I’ve always done.”
Arizona has other players who have won in the past. Center Brad Richardson lifted the Stanley Cup in 2012 with the Kings, and defenseman Alex Goligoski was with the Penguins when they won in 2009.
But amid a rebuild, youngsters dominate the population.
Surrounding them with more accomplished pros can not only help them learn what it takes to win, but also potentially be the catalyst they need to go through it themselves.
“They’re a hungry organization that wants success like the other teams in the league,” Hjalmarsson said. “I’m just looking to try to contribute with some experience and just playing my game and just try to get the organization back in the playoffs.”