YOUNG AND RESTLESS
Youthful Coyotes show a ton of promise, but there’s still a lot of growing up to do
HOCKEY ANALYSTS
fall into this trap all the time. Team X has a young roster. Therefore, they’re bound to get better in coming seasons. But that’s not always the case, as Arizona has proven for the better part of 15 years. Sometimes development stagnates or flatlines. Under the right guidance, however, it can flourish. The Coyotes had a terrible start under rookie coach Rick Tocchet. But in the last two months of the season, they were a top-eight team in the West, even ahead of Vegas. IMMEDIATE NEEDS: The Coyotes have to find a way to keep the learning curve pointing upward for young players, especially with Clayton Keller their top player as a rookie. The likes of Max Domi, Anthony Duclair, Lawson Crouse, Louis Domingue and others had their best season as NHL freshmen. Perhaps there’s an appetite to use them in a more sheltered environment with some vets. LONG-TERM NEEDS: Even if the Coyotes are able to hang on to Oliver Ekman-Larsson beyond his UFA season in 2018-19, the team will be in dire need of defensemen in a few years. Niklas Hjalmarsson has another year remaining on his deal while Alex Goligoski and Jason Demers have three years left apiece, but they’re on the wrong side of 30, and there’s not much in the system. CAP SITUATION: GM John Chayka has to be careful not to hand out too many sevenor eight-year contracts to every entry-level player up for negotiation. The likes of Domi, Christian Dvorak, Christian Fischer, Brendan Perlini and Dylan Strome shouldn’t be issued anything more than bridge deals. IN THE SYSTEM 2018-19: Strome has owned this space the past couple of years. Average skating has held him back, and he gets far less time and space with the puck on NHL ice. He is making fine adjustments in the AHL and we’ll finally see him in October. DID YOU KNOW: Tyler Steenbergen is a late bloomer. The undersized winger had just 46 points in his draft year in 2015-16 and went unselected. Seasons of 90 and 102 points later – plus the 2018 WJC gold medal-winning goal – and he’s a top-10 Coyotes prospect.