Record - 25-50-7 (57 points), 8th in the Central Division
Goals For: 207 (32nd in the NHL), Goals Against: 313 (31st in the NHL)
Leading Goal Scorer - Clayton Keller (28)
Leading Point Scorer - Clayton Keller (63)
Last season wasn't kind to the Desert Dogs out in Arizona. In fact, the past decade hasn't been kind to them. They've made the postseason just once since their run to the Conference Finals in 2012, putting together just 3 winning seasons in that time. Aside from the lack of success on the ice, their front office and ownership hasn't exactly lived up to the ethical standard that Commissioner Gary Bettman would like them to. In January of 2021, their now former General Manager John Chayka was suspended by the NHL for the entire year for violating the league's combine testing policy. The Yotes had to forfeit a 2020 second round pick as well as a 2021 first rounder. Chayka was subsequently fired and former St. Louis Blues Assistant GM Bill Armstrong has since taken over.
Armstrong's job is far from an easy one at the moment, but one thing he doesn't have to worry about is filling in seats. Not because the team will be good and draw massive crowds, but because the team was forced to relocate and play in the same arena and the ASU Sun Devils. That's what happens when you don't pay your taxes kids. The city threatens to lock you out of your own arena, and then eventually forces you to move elsewhere, which is exactly what happened. The Coyotes will have to spend the next three seasons in a college arena that seats just over 5,000 people. At this point, I'd think that a relocation to Houston would be a more ideal scenario, but Gary Bettman says the team isn't going anywhere. Not to a new home city, and certainly not anywhere as far as contending for a playoff spot goes.
Like the Montreal Canadiens, the Yotes are also well within the Connor Bedard sweepstakes. If you're like me, and think that the draft lottery is rigged to a certain extent, there's no chance the NHL lets Bedard go to the desert to dry out and die. Regardless, Coyotes fans are in a Lloyd Christmas mentality:
Bill Armstrong and company really didn't make any earth-shattering offseason transactions that move the needle by any means. They know where they stand. They're a last place team that's trying their very best to be competitive on a nightly basis. They understand fully that playoffs aren't within reach. So for now, what they're going to do whatever they can to put a team on the ice that at the very least gets people in seats.
They have plenty of young prospects and core pieces they can build upon within their organization. Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz are both terrific players who are capable of putting up a point per game, and will be in Arizona for the long haul. Barrett Hayden is an up and coming prospect who just hasn't burst onto the scene yet. Jacob Chychrun is young, Norris caliber defenseman. Although he may not be with the club come season's end, he requires a massive return as far as trades go, which also greatly benefits the Yote's rebuild. Shayne Gostisbehere is another solid D-man who can efficiently run a powerplay and put up points from the backend. Former first round pick Lawson Crouse came into his own in the ladder half of the season finishing off the 2021 campaign by notching his first 20 goal season. They have prospects from this past draft that very well could be superstars in this league in #3 overall pick Logan Cooley and #11 overall pick in Conor Geekie. As far as this season goes, however, none of this matters.
Outside of the players mentioned, there is really no one else in this lineup that stands out. And even the guys I did talk about, none of them are true gamebreakers in this league. Their draft picks won't even be with the club for a majority of the year. Logan Cooley will be playing in a larger arena in front of more fans at the University of Minnesota, and Conor Geekie will be playing up Winnipeg in the WHL to start out. Geekie may get called up sooner if he has a great start to his WHL season, but don't expect Cooley to be with the Yotes before the ending of the Gophers' season in March.
Like the Canadiens, this will be a long season for the Desert Dogs. The difference is they'll be the laughing stock of the league given their current room and board situation. It really is embarrassing that it ended up coming to this. And the fact that they are competing for last place makes it all the more worse.
Yotes fans deserve better than this. The team deserves better than this. I just hope that they figure it out from an ownership standpoint. I think it's time Alex Meruelo and Andrew Barroway sell the team and move on, even if it does end up in relocating the team to a new city.
Next up we have the Seattle Kraken, who may surprise some people next season. 'Til then, here's a song I'm sure we all jammed out to at one point or another during the glory days.
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