5 players Tocchet might name for leadership group
Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet hasn’t been evaluating players during training camp only for the sake of filling out the team’s roster.
He’s also been surveying the candidates for Arizona’s leadership group.
The Coyotes have yet to announce a captain and alternate captains for this season, as Tocchet continues to mull his options.
While the organization has had a captain or co-captains for at least a portion of every season since its inception, it is possible the Coyotes would go with all alternates instead of a captain in 2017-18, Tocchet said – a blueprint followed by other up-and-coming clubs such as the Maple Leafs and Hurricanes in recent years.
Regardless, a solid team of leaders is what Tocchet seeks and he has a handful of players who would seem to make compelling cases to be included in that crew.
Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson
An alternate since 2015, Ekman-Larsson has, for years, appeared primed to become the Coyotes’ next captain.
He has the star power as the team’s best player and has embraced the spotlight, both in the community and with the media.
Ekman-Larsson also learned from former captain Shane Doan. Earlier this summer, a source said Ekman-Larsson would be named Doan’s replacement. Although that was before Tocchet was appointed coach, Ekman-Larsson still seems like a frontrunner.
It may mean nothing, but EkmanLarsson has taken up residence in Doan’s old locker stall in the heart of the Coyotes’ dressing room.
Defenseman Alex Goligoski
Goligoski was an alternate captain at the end of last season and is positioned to be a core cog for years to come since he’s signed through 2020-21.
He also wore a letter with the Stars and won a Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2009, prior experiences that can no doubt help him be a role model.
Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson
As a three-time Stanley Cup champion, Hjalmarsson certainly has the pedigree to merit consideration.
Before he was traded to the Coyotes in June, he spent his entire career with the Blackhawks – playing in a culture that has become synonymous with winning.
His style of play as a steady, shotblocking defender also elicits respect.
Center Brad Richardson
Amid this summer’s turnover, Richardson has emerged as the longest-tenured Coyotes player who isn't in his 20s.
He’s logged more than 600 NHL games and is also a Stanley Cup champion (with the Kings in 2012). Combine his easygoing personality with the critical position he plays up the middle, and Richardson appears to be someone who can easily command an audience.
Center Derek Stepan
Like Hjalmarsson, Stepan is a newcomer, arriving from the Rangers in an offseason trade, but he hasn’t acted like one.
He’s been very vocal on the ice and has brought a lighthearted feel off it.
A 50-point producer in the past, Stepan is also well aware of what it takes to have success in the NHL as he’s made the playoffs each season of his career. He’ll be tasked with setting the tone in games as the Coyotes’ No. 1 center, but he also has the opportunity to help the team’s youngsters establish themselves as mainstays in the league, too.
Injury update
Ekman-Larsson continues to rehab his left knee injury suffered in last Saturday’s preseason game but may skate Thursday, Tocchet said.
Goalie Antti Raanta missed practice Wednesday. He’s dealing with a lowerbody injury that Tocchet said isn’t a major issue.
Backup Louis Domingue was on the ice Wednesday and is fine after leaving Monday’s preseason game with an upper-body injury.
Roster move
The Coyotes placed winger Emerson Etem on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to the American Hockey League.
Pondering the protests
The NHL has yet to have a player kneel during the national anthem amid the recent surge in protests in the NFL after President Donald Trump called for owners to fire players who didn’t stand.
Asked how he’d react if a player took a knee, Tocchet said it doesn’t matter what he thinks but rather how a player feels.
“I actually liked what the Cowboys did the other night,” he said. “I liked they took the knee and then for the national anthem they stood up. That, to me, was great. I thought that was a good way of showing solidarity in both aspects of it. I thought that was great.”
While the Golden State Warriors will not be stopping by the White House as NBA champions, the reigning Stanley Cup champion Penguins announced they would make a visit.
“I know those guys,” said Tocchet, who was an assistant with the Penguins before getting hired this summer by the Coyotes. “They’re great people. They made a great decision to represent the Penguins, going into what the office represents. I would never criticize the guys that are going. They’re phenomenal people.”