Coyotes’ 25th season arrives
Challenges ahead during their 56-game campaign
Thursday night was supposed to happen in October, with a packed house at Gila River Arena, a red carpet walk for the players, fans lining the route into the building and the usual energy and buzz that accompanies the home opener for the Arizona Coyotes.
But when COVID-19 happened, the end of last season forced a delayed start to this new one, the virus continuing to affect everything in life. And while there will be fans inside the arena — a maximum of
3,450 in socially-distanced groups — so much will be different, from the sanitized fan experience all the way to the numerous player protocols that will have to be followed strictly in hopes of avoiding postponements of games.
Oh, and this is the 25th anniversary of Coyotes hockey in the Valley. It could have been an opening night filled with even more celebration mixed in with nostalgia. Instead, the anniversary will span two seasons. First up is a commemorative jersey patch, the crescent moon logo at painted at center ice and the wearing of throwback Kachina jerseys as the predominant home uniform.
“As with many things, this pandemic has put is in a position where we really have to be flexible,” Coyotes President and CEO Xavier Gutierrez said. “We have to think outside the box about how to go about our business. And we just thought it was really important to do two things. One, to point out and highlight and celebrate and pay respects to the fact that this is our 25th anniversary. But yet, we want to celebrate with the entire community, with our rabid fan base ... the fact of the matter is we weren’t going to be able to do that in the maximum way that we think we should without having fans in the stands filling it up.”
Such is a the backdrop for a season bound to be like no other for the Coyotes and the NHL, and it all begins for the Coyotes on Thursday night against the San Jose Sharks.
“There’s been a lot of challenges. The 35, 40 years I’ve been involved in the NHL, there’s been a lot challenges, and other teams are going through it, too,” Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet said. “That’s why you’ve got to prepare your players and have them prepare themselves. You’ve got to be ready for anything. Has this been the best scenario to prepare? No. But I think we’ve done the best that we could and I think the guys have done a nice job dealing with some stuff.”
COVID has affected the Coyotes’ season-opening roster. Forward Lawson Crouse was a COVID protocol-related absence on Wednesday, which could cost him time early this season.
Fifty-six games, 115 days. Line up the eight-team Honda West Division at the starting line and hit the gas.
Tocchet admitted that with a short training camp and therefore less time to look at forward line combinations and defensive pairings, the Coyotes are a work in progress. He hopes the team can maintain the energy level it showed the last few days of camp, and having even a few thousand fans able to attend games should help with that.
It’s certainly better than being the in the bubble, where the Coyotes last summer played in front of no fans and piped in crowd noise in Edmonton.
“Whoever’s coming, they’re going to be excited to watch a hockey game, so that’s good, they can bring some enthusiasm,” Tocchet said. “Hopefully we give them something to cheer about.”
The Coyotes have been working since long before training camp started in early January. They’ve skated in groups and many players have been in the Valley for months.
“Really excited that Game 1 is finally here. The start of a new season is a fun time. You want to see what you’re made of,” goalie Darcy Kuemper said. “There’s always a lot of buildup, this year especially.
“Really happy that we get an opportunity to play.”
Should Crouse miss extended time, the Coyotes will likely replace him with John Hayden on a line with Johan Larsson and Christian Fischer. Then someone from the six-man taxi squad could be added to the 23-man main roster.
This is the kind of adversity the Coyotes might have to deal with at times all season long, playing a schedule that offers few breaks against a division with at least three bona fide postseason contenders in Colorado, Vegas and St. Louis.
“You’re going to see twists and turns to the season like you never have because it is an all-out sprint,” Gutierrez said.
Eight players are in the final years of their contracts, including two forwards on one-year contracts in Drake Caggiula and Derick Brassard, plus defensemen Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jason Demers, Alex Goligoski, Jordan Oesterle and Ilya Lyubushkin. It’s also a big year for goalie Antti Raanta, who can also become an unrestricted free agent after this season.
All eight figure to play a pivotal role in the lineup.
The Coyotes were a playoff team last season. That means they can contend for the postseason, with their core players back for another season together.