After the 2022 NHL Draft, the opening of the free agent market and several staff moves during the offseason, NHL.com is profiling the various teams for the 2022-23 season, which begins on October 7. Today, the Arizona Coyotes.
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Record in 2021-22 : 25-50-7, eighth in the Central section; excluded from the playoffs
Best striker : Clayton Keller (28)
Best passer : Phil Kessel (44)
Best scorer : Keller (63)
The arrivals
• Nick Bjugstad (A)
• Zack Kassian (A)
• Troy Stecher (D)
• Josh Brown (D)
• Patrik Nemeth (D)
Bjugstad signed a one-year contract on July 13. The 29-year-old had 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 57 games for the Minnesota Wild last season. As for Kassian, the Coyotes acquired him from the Edmonton Oilers on July 7. The 31-year-old had 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 58 games with the Oilers last season.
Video: MIN@CGY: Bjugstad finds the top corner as he drives for goal
Stecher, 28, agreed to a one-year deal on July 13. He spent the last season with the Detroit Red Wings and the Los Angeles Kings. He had three points (one goal, two assists) in 29 regular season games and four points (two goals, two assists) in four Stanley Cup Playoff games. Brown, 28, signed a two-year contract on July 13. He had six assists in 52 games with the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins last season. Nemeth was acquired in a trade with the New York Rangers on July 13. He had seven points (two goals, five assists) in 63 games last season.
Departures
• Phil Kessel (A)
• Alex Galchenyuk (A)
• Loui Eriksson (A)
• Anton Stralman (D)
All four became unrestricted free agents. Kessel finished third in Coyotes scoring last season with 52 points (eight goals, 44 assists) in 82 games, while Galchenyuk had 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) in 60 games. Eriksson had 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) in 73 games, and Stralman took second place among Coyotes guards with 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 74 games.
Video: ARI@SJS: Kessel completes Crouse’s fine game
They knock on the door
• Jack McBain (A)
• Victor Soderstrom (D)
• Matias Maccelli (A)
• Jan Jenik (A)
• Ivan Prosvetov (G)
• Nathan Smith (A)
• Dylan Guenther (A)
McBain, 22, signed a two-year rookie contract with the Coyotes on March 23. He had three points (two goals, one assist) in 10 games after making his NHL debut on April 12. Soderstrom was drafted 11th overall in 2019 and played 16 games with Arizona last season without scoring. The 21-year-old also played four games in 2020-21 and had two points (one goal, one assist).
Maccelli played 23 games with the Coyotes last season and had six points (one goal, five assists). The 21-year-old Finn led the Tucson Roadrunners, the Coyotes’ farm club in the American Hockey League (AHL), with 57 points (14 goals, 43 assists) in 47 games. Jenik had three points (two goals, one assist) in 13 games with Arizona last season. The 21-year-old also had 47 points (17 goals, 30 assists) in 51 games with Tucson.
Prosvetov, 23, got the start in three games with the Coyotes last season, going 0-2-1 and allowing 13 goals on 104 shots (.875 save percentage). He was the No. 1 goaltender in Tucson and went 15-22-5 with a 3.66 GAA and .880 save percentage in 45 games. Smith, 23, had four points (two goals, two assists) in 10 games with the Coyotes last season after signing with them after his third season at Minnesota State University. where he registered 50 points (19 goals, 31 assists) in 38 games. Guenther was drafted ninth overall in 2021. At 19, he had 91 points (45 goals, 46 assists) in 59 games with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Hockey League (WHL), last season.
Video: NSH@ARI: McBain cuts deficit in half
Needs
depth and time. The Coyotes are in the process of rebuilding, so they need to continue developing their young players to add depth to their roster before they eventually become playoff contenders again.
what they said
“There might be a time when we need a player to play with us immediately, but we don’t really want that scenario to happen. We prefer our young people to go through the process and then earn their place. In the next few years, you will see talented young players entering the organization, which will inspire hope. – Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong at the Coyotes website.
Planned training 2022-23
Nick Schmaltz — Travis Boyd — Clayton Keller
Lawson Crouse — Nick Bjugstad — Zack Kassian
Nick Ritchie — Barrett Hayton — Christian Fischer
Liam O’Brien — Jack McBain — Andrew Ladd
Shayne Gostisbehere — Dysin May
Jakob Chychrun — Troy Stetcher
JJ Moser — Josh Brown
Karel Vejmelka
Ivan Prosvetov
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