Coyotes monthly mailbag: You asked, we tried to answer

Jan 18, 2019; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes goalie Darcy Kuemper (35) defends the goal against Pittsburgh Penguins center Riley Sheahan (15) and right wing Phil Kessel (81) in the third period at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
By Craig Morgan
Jun 27, 2019

You guys had a lot of questions this month. I think this is a record. Thanks for your interest, but my editor doesn’t need any more copy to read, so let’s get right to the questions.

That would depend upon the deal in question. It’s difficult to guess which player a team might want, but I have been told that Dvorak has generated plenty of interest. The degree of interest is difficult to gauge, but he is a young center on a cap-friendly contract.

I don’t know. If ever there were a season for it, this would be it with the oodles of marquee names that could be targets, headlined by Mitch Marner, Brayden Point, Mikko Rantanen, Patrik Laine, Sebastian Aho and Matthew Tkachuk, but my hunch is that we will not see one. Between a tight cap, the likelihood of teams matching and the general distaste it creates between clubs, offer sheets are an overblown and seldom-used tool. The last time one was employed, in fact, was six years ago. I’m not sure why they still exist.

On a scale of 1-10, I am a zero. Then again, you did drop a shrimp or two before you got your game back.

It is a perplexing disconnect. I had hoped for an easy day.

It’s a little too early to throw Söderström into the prospect rankings. Let’s see what he does at camp and where he plays next season. That said, he is clearly the defensive prospect in whom they place the greatest hope for elite status, given the pick they spent on him and their desire to move up to get him.

It is far better than the alternative. I appreciate you, Mike.

I need more information. Are we talking about the roster as it is currently constructed? Are we talking about the best offensive line? Are we talking about a couple of years down the road? They obviously hope Barrett Hayton pans out as a top center, but the way the Coyotes are constructed makes this feel more like a win-by-committee approach than a clearly defined No. 1 line. That said, they need a few players to be difference makers, whether that is Hayton, Clayton Keller, Alex Galchenyuk, Nick Schmaltz or others.

Create a welcoming environment for new fans and build your own communities with gatherings, communication, etc., but you guys are already doing that. Oh, and keep giving me good story ideas. Definitely do my work for me. That helps immensely.

Definitely both socks before any shoes. I keep my shoes in the garage. I don’t dress in the garage. That would be weird. And hot.

Man, this is hard.

Goalie: Antti Raanta. Honorable mention: Mike Smith.
Defensemen: Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jason Demers. Honorable mention: Keith Yandle.
Wings: Shane Doan, Radim Vrbata. Honorable mention: Ray Whitney.
Center: Danny Briere. Honorable mention: Brad Richardson.

TBD. We haven’t even spoken to Alex Meruelo, but you can bet that anyone who comes into this situation has done some homework on the options. There are well-connected people in this community who believe there is a deal to be done.

I really cannot provide much. All I’m told is that Nick Schmaltz (knee), Kyle Capobianco (knee) and Michael Grabner (eye) are all progressing well.

There are too many options on the table to answer that question. I would think he would explore any and every option, but I will underscore something he said the other day. They want to add without taking pieces away from their core. My suspicion is the next (and maybe only) move will be in free agency. Remember, they still have long term injured reserve on Marian Hossa’s contract as a possibility to create more cap flexibility.

I don’t think there are many untouchables on this roster, but John Chayka likes the idea of keeping his core intact and seeing what they can do with a year of better health.

Well, I was conducting interviews on Day 1 and I didn’t attend Day 2 due to the breaking trade news, so nobody. To be honest, development camp is more of an orientation than anything. Anybody that tells they came away with significant impressions of a player from development camp is blowing smoke. Even team officials acknowledge this.

I don’t know yet. I have been told the door is not closed on a return, but it feels unlikely. I will continue to monitor it.

The Western Slope was beautiful, highlighted by Telluride and Ouray. We stayed a bit south of Telluride toward Durango. That became a problem when the road south was closed due to an accident. We had to take a three-plus hour detour through Ouray and then over the mountains to get back home. Don’t ever try that at night. It was Pass-of-Caradhras treacherous.

See above. Telluride was amazing; getting home was not. We found a great rental house on a stream in a stand of aspens. It even came with a dog. And ownership news, of course.

See above. Most options are on the table, but the Coyotes are not concerned with having lots of centers. In fact, that’s the goal. Rick Tocchet believes the NHL is headed toward a time when all lines have a pair of centers to create more versatility — on face-offs and in a variety of other offensive and defensive situations.

I could see them adding a scoring wing, but not one of the high- (perhaps over-) priced wings. Even if the players on the roster who had down years return to normalcy, and even if the young players progress, I still think this team needs an offensive shot in the arm.

I guess we’ll wait and see. They’ll still have to come back to the same place after trips and their division opponents will be farther away, for the most part.

I am not a talent evaluator so I will pass on this question. I can tell you I ran into a number of NHL scouts and executives at the Vancouver airport on the way home and the general consensus was that he was a terrific pick.

Carl Söderberg is under contract for only one more year and I don’t think Victor Söderström will be on the team next season so I could see Carl passing the torch. I guess that would make him Soda Pop.

I don’t respond to all-caps threats, Greg. Ask nicely.

The peregrine falcon, of course.

Generally dark, but not when it’s mixed with peanut butter or ice cream.

Can I answer that after their roster is set? Will they be healthy? I think they can challenge for a playoff spot. I think they need to be a playoff team. It has been too long.

It is not “Manos: The Hands of Fate.”

— The French Connection
— Aliens
— American Beauty
— The Shawshank Redemption
— The Green Mile
— Schindler’s List
— Fight Club
— Saving Private Ryan
— The Silence of the Lambs
— Gladiator
— Braveheart
— The Usual Suspects
— Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
— Michael Clayton (Clooney deserved more props for this)
— Kung Fu Panda
— Collateral
— The Book Thief
— Dead Poets Society
— Terminator 2
— Tombstone (Val Kilmer is awesome)

You asked for 20, right?

All I know is John said he has plenty of flexibility. Their cap number and their actual spending are obviously different, but they are well above the cap floor on the latter.

You have to factor in long term injured reserve for Marian Hossa’s contract. If they go that route, it will create more flexibility. Here’s a good primer on LTIR: https://www.capfriendly.com/ltir-faq

All I have been told is that Capobianco is progressing well. I know he worked out with rehab guru Bill Knowles earlier in the offseason. Don’t think they have interest in Donskoi.

I don’t know what the Central will look like in a couple of seasons so I’m not going to speculate on that. In the simplest terms, they need their young players such as Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Christian Dvorak, Christian Fischer, Vinnie Hinostroza and Jakob Chychrun to keep progressing, and they need their stars such as Oliver Ekman-Larsson to play at a high level. They need Barrett Hayton to pan out as a top center and they probably need more offense.

The door has not closed yet on his return, although it appears unlikely. I will address that topic when it has been clarified.

Well, I rented a one-room, largely unfurnished apartment to cover the draft in Dallas last year. That was interesting. On the other end of the scale, the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver is one of the nicest properties I have ever seen.

I addressed Allen elsewhere (multiple times, actually).

No, I don’t think Alex Galchenyuk will be traded.

I really can’t speak for other teams. I do think more teams are moving toward a holistic approach to evaluation, based on my conversations with other writers, but I don’t think the majority have specialists such as Brenley Shapiro in their employ.

I don’t think we are going to see an arena that is completely privately funded due to interest payments on loans, property taxes and the like. We’ll see what Meruelo’s plans are once he arrives, but he has an interesting background upon which to rely for such a venture.

Not that I can see, but maybe Nick Merkley will challenge for a roster spot in the bottom six.

I addressed this above. I don’t know yet.

We’ll see, but I suspect John Chayka has one more move coming.

That’s too broad of a question. Can you narrow it down for me?

If he continues to progress in his rehab and is healthy, sure. I would think right now he would be the No. 8 defenseman, so the first call-up.

Maybe in a package, but I still think they want to see what happens with P.O. once his body fills out. Remember, his brother, Mathieu, also took a while to fill out.

I don’t know where he’ll be yet, but I am almost certain it won’t be in the NHL. They will determine that at training camp.

I doubt that will happen with all of their other options, but he will probably continue to take some draws and there are situations in the Coyotes’ system where the players are interchangeable.

How do you know what the Central Division will look like when they arrive, based on trades, free agency, aging players, injured players, etc?

I would imagine they are pretty close, but there could be another move coming to add scoring and they’ll need to fill out a couple of forward spots.

The talk among NHL executives at the draft was that John Chayka was in on almost every discussion. I believe they have had interest in Kreider in the past. Not sure on Connolly.

I expect P.O. Joseph to play in Tucson this season.

Bad ice generally means soft or choppy ice, making the puck bounce and slowing down the game.

Sugar cookies. Oatmeal raisin and the Gila River Arena brand of chocolate chip cookies are both meh.

I think he can challenge for a roster spot in the bottom six, provided he is fully healthy, which has been an issue in past seasons.

I suspect he will make the team. They might break him in at wing to ease his entrance to the NHL. Eventually, he’ll be a center.

I don’t know yet. That is for the coaches to sort out at training camp.

If they move, I would expect it to be an east-side location, but you never know what a new owner might bring.

I think so, but only if the price doesn’t get too crazy.

Pavelski was always a long shot and I don’t see that happening. I think there are mixed feelings about Ryan Dzingel. Let’s see what the market dictates.

It has to do with the draft year (2019), not Doan. It was just a nice coincidence that I exploited in a tweet.

I don’t think there is any rush. Let’s see what Keller does to earn that contract in the first couple months of the season.

He was well-respected as an assistant coach in Nashville. The Buffalo head-coaching gig obviously didn’t go well. He says he has learned from both experiences and that is generally what happens. Too many people assume that when a coach is fired — for a variety of reasons behind the simple narratives that are often spewed — he lacks ability. That argument does not allow for the possibility of growth and change. Remember, Rick Tocchet was also fired. He did a pretty good job last season in the face of all the injuries.

It is fair to be skeptical. It has been a long road. Everything sounds positive right now. We’ll see.

I still see him as more of a playmaker. Thirty goals is a big number. Would you take 25 goals and 35-40 assists?

I addressed this above. I don’t think the Coyotes are going to be a cap team but John Chayka insists he has flexibility.

This is an important season for Alex Goligoski. Rick Tocchet was close to benching him at one point last season. You never know what sort of personal issues might be impacting a player but they are expecting more from Goligoski this season. They like Oesterle’s progression. Tocchet was just praising him in a conversation a few days ago.

I don’t know. I have barely watched the first two days due to interviews and the breaking trade story.

I doubt it. I think they like breaking them out for special occasions. I am a big fan, however.

I assume you are referring to Phil Kessel? If so, Pittsburgh wants to make a hockey deal for Kessel and I don’t think the Coyotes will give up much for Kessel. If the Penguins want to shed cap space, the Coyotes would love to have Kessel and Kessel would love to play for Rick Tocchet again, but that possibility still looks remote.

(Photo of Phil Kessel, left, and Darcy Kuemper, right during a January 2019 game: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today Sports)

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