Coyotes have a new look
Club hopes to silence all the doubters
Bill Armstrong has seen the betting odds out of Las Vegas. The Arizona Coyotes general manager is fully aware the Coyotes aren’t being given much of a chance to make the playoffs this season.
So are the players and head coach Rick Tocchet. Long odds and widespread uncertainty about the Coyotes from outside the organization are nothing new from one year to the next, and that’s not limited to just the product on the ice.
“We’re pretty used to it. Not a lot of people believe in us,” Coyotes captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson said. “But we feel like we have a lot of good guys and we have a lot of good hockey players in that (locker) room. We’re confident about the group that we have and we know that we’re really a tight group of guys having a lot of fun together. We’re going to keep working hard and trying to get better.”
Certainly, things that aren’t lacking are excitement and anticipation, and the Coyotes didn’t stand pat with their roster nor did they stay quiet on the business side between the end of last season — which saw the club win a postseason series — and the new year. Returning to the playoffs won’t be easy,
but if the moves to bolster the forward position pay off, the possibility exists.
Armstrong said the oddsmakers are underestimating his team.
“This is a young group that’s got a tremendous amount of talent on it. Make no mistake, we’ve got to take a step,” Armstrong said. “With this grind of the season, it’s going to be a challenge for us because of the simple fact that we play Colorado, who’s probably ranked the No. 1 team in the NHL, and then you’ve got Vegas, you’ve got St. Louis, three of the top teams in the NHL right there.
“It’ll be a good test of our will to fight to get into the playoffs,” Armstrong added. “You’re going to have to scrape, kick and claw, and not only do you have a lot of games in a lot of days but you’ve got COVID just lingering around.”
If the Coyotes intended to rebuild under Armstrong, it didn’t happen to a large extent right after he took office in September. The team is set to open the regular season on Wednesday with a new bunch of forwards, a still-young core of players mixed with veterans who have had a few seasons together and a strong tandem of goaltenders, once Antti Raanta gets back up to speed after missing some training camp.
The fact that the Coyotes are already being counted out of the playoff mix by many is three things to the team: not unexpected, a bit frustrating since they won a series in the bubble last season, and motivational, in the sense that the team will use it as an edge to be more competitive.
“We all have our different ways of getting motivated,” Tocchet said. “Some guys, when they’re doubted, they rise to the occasion. Other guys don’t listen to it, they’re always going to play hard. We’re not picked anywhere near anywhere. I really don’t care about that as a coach, it’s all outside noise.”
The Coyotes and Armstrong made a number of high-level changes and additions in their front office to address the hockey end, creating a goaltending department and turning to experienced talent evaluators and coaches to add to Armstrong’s and Tocchet’s staffs. On the business side, there has also been turnover and some initiatives that have created a buzz around the team.
The first-ever NHL Latino majority owner, Alex Meruelo, brought in who is now the first NHL Latino president and CEO, Xavier Gutierrez, over the summer. Gutierrez went right to work in the community to attract a wider fan base, and a steady stream of announcements and fan initiatives followed.
Of note were the unveiling of the 25th anniversary logos and nod to the franchise’s past in the form of purple retrolook jerseys and the popular crescent moon painted at center ice. More recently came the Coyotes’ plan to allow up to 3,450 fans inside Gila River Arena for January home games, placing an emphasis on fan safety.
“I remind people that I’ve only been here for seven months, but it feels like so much has happened,” Gutierrez said. “The thing that has been just so inspirational for me has been the way that the entire organization ... has really embraced the purpose of why we exist as an organization. That purpose is to really utilize the power of sports to make a difference. Make a difference for each other, for our community, for our fans, for every stakeholder that is invested in this organization.”
A lot will have to go right for the Coyotes to get into the top four of a loaded Honda NHL West Division and make the playoffs. The offense must produce more goals, the defense has to keep the team in games and the goaltending of Darcy Kuemper and Raanta, the top two at the position, likely has to be at the level it was last season. The Coyotes will have to find a way to beat the teams considered among the division’s best multiple times in a short season, with eight meetings with each of the seven other teams.
And then there is keeping the players as free from COVID-19 as possible so as not to miss extended time. That challenge will be monumental without a bubble.
“I don’t feel like the season is going to stop if people test positive, kind of like the NFL,” defenseman Jason Demers said. “I think it’s up to the guys to look at yourself in the mirror and follow those protocols, even though may be a little cumbersome at times. It’s not a long season so I think guys can dedicate themselves to the protocol and police themselves.”