Coyotes monthly mailbag: Ownership, prospects and line combos

SAN JOSE, CA - DECEMBER 23: Conor Garland #83 of the Arizona Coyotes celebrates scoring a goal against the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on December 23 2018 in San Jose, California (Photo by Brandon Magnus/NHLI via Getty Images)
By Craig Morgan
Dec 27, 2018

Tucson Roadrunners general manager Steve Sullivan has told me of the team’s prospects: “I think they all have a chance.” You really never know until a player gets that extended chance. Garland has speed, some skill and has been surprisingly good in battles and in fundamentals that coach Rick Tocchet preaches such as stopping on pucks. That said, his productivity level at the AHL and NHL levels has not screamed top-six forward. Until proven otherwise, I still see Garland’s upside as a fourth-line energy guy in the NHL’s evolving mold of fourth lines. You don’t have to have size and physical play from that line. Speed and some skill are a nice alternative to that old-school approach. On a team that lacks scoring, a little more offense from the fourth line could help.

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https://twitter.com/JFontane11/status/1077952273332920320

Let me start by saying my opinion means nothing. The coaches tinker with the lines based on matchups, balance, who’s playing well, who is not, and a host of other factors. Their analysis runs through far more metrics than we see. That doesn’t mean the combinations will work; it just means they are well planned.

With that acknowledged, here are my choices for lines with the current personnel and everyone being healthy.

Panik — Stepan — Keller
Galchenyuk — Schmaltz — Fischer
Grabner — Richardson — Hinostroza
Crouse — Dvorak — Cousins
Ekman-Larsson — Demers
Goligoski — Hjalmarsson
Chychrun — Oesterle
Raanta
Kuemper (with Hill pushing hard for this spot)

I am surprised the city has not commissioned a study yet to discover what that would look like. Suns owner Robert Sarver remains a major impediment to that possibility because he has made it clear he does not want to partner with the Coyotes, but 41 more dates downtown means more tax revenue and more money for local businesses. As always, the devil would be in the details of who pays what, but the city should at least examine the possibility rather than risk losing a significant downtown draw.

Losing a team stings and Luke has Seattle roots. They show when he forgets to dye his hair.

Its nice of you to offer because I am always open to coffee. I’ll be in all three cities, but there’s no need to buy me a cold brew. The Athletic kindly pays my expenses.

https://twitter.com/john181818/status/1077930558523465731

I doubt they would waive Kuemper. If they feel Hill is ready to assume a spot in the NHL they could always rotate both goalies until one emerges as the starter. They just have to make sure Hill is getting enough work — in games and practices — to continue his development. It’s telling that Calvin Pickard hasn’t earned a start yet. To me, he is the one who will likely be waived if they need the roster spot or tire of carrying three goalies, but with Antti Raanta likely out for the rest of the season, the Coyotes don’t have to make a decision yet.

The Coyotes have a numbers problem right now on defense so a Capobianco call-up would likely come because of injuries or a couple guys playing very poorly for an extended period of time. That said, Sullivan singled out Capobianco in a recent conversation as a player to watch. Sullivan thinks Capobianco’s skills on the back end are elite. As is almost always the case with young defensemen, there is room for growth in defensive-zone play.

It’s too early to project what they will do at the trade deadline. They are five points out of a playoff spot. Two months and 26 games remain before the Feb. 25 trade deadline.

It is my understanding that the prospective buyers would do so with the intent of keeping the team in Arizona. Any long-term commitment would likely be tied to the franchise’s ability to get a new arena built.

https://twitter.com/bruinsbeer/status/1077233894913646594

I’m not sure what you mean by “all in” because no team relies solely on analytics when making decisions. That said, the Blackhawks and Penguins have both made a concerted and significant commitment to analytics. They have won six of the past nine Stanley Cups.

I know I speak for me when I say that sugar cookies should return. Oatmeal-raisin cookies are for plebes.

I’m not sure it was a matter of not being able to extend him. I think it was more a question of whether they wanted to extend him at the required/market price.

Stable, reasonably funded ownership and a new arena closer to the team’s majority of regular and premium season-ticket holders. Can I choose a third? I will anyway. A franchise center.

It’s too early to say what the Coyotes will do with Jenik and Westerlund. There is still too much season remaining, therefore plenty of evaluation ahead.

Cat was home in Houston with family last week, so she has attended 15 of the Coyotes’ 18 home games. She has eaten two dogs per game, except for one game where pizza and cookies took precedent, limiting her to one dog. Her current count stands at 29. She’d only need to eat one dog when the Coyotes play Vegas on Dec. 30 to reach 30 by the end of the year, but a source told me she hopes to eat three to get back on her two-dog-per-game pace. Of course, if she really wanted to impress us all, she’d eat nine to make up for the three games she missed.

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https://twitter.com/PuckStopper86/status/1077324691411554305

They already have.

https://twitter.com/AZHockeyNut/status/1077286336980082688

I do not think the Tucson call-ups would be the kind of barter that teams would be looking for to trade an NHL player at the deadline or in the summer, unless we’re talking about Adin Hill or Kyle Capobianco, neither of whom I see being traded. President of hockey operations John Chayka is always looking to improve the roster, however, so if a deal becomes available, he’ll explore it.

https://twitter.com/DuranSamuels/status/1077278395501707264

I don’t think there is any precedent for taking control of the team due to Ottawa’s particular issues, and I don’t think the NHL is even remotely interested in taking such a step. That situation will bear watching, and it appears commissioner Gary Bettman is willing to help facilitate a deal for a downtown arena.

https://twitter.com/TrevFK/status/1077261761701588992

Everything I have heard has indicated that a sale is, in fact, not imminent or close. I think there is a lot of activity around this sale and a desire to get it completed as quickly as possible, but I have also heard there is a great deal of fluidity within the deal (structure, financing, etc.) that must be sorted out. Could a deal happen soon? Sure, but deals of this magnitude are complex and tricky. To put a timeline on the sale at the moment, with all that still needs to be sorted out, is likely premature.

I think it demonstrates that Derek Stepan and Brad Richardson could never be movie critics. They should keep their night jobs. I mean, it is obviously a Christmas movie.

Chayka told me Wednesday that Grabner (eye) just started working out off the ice. Chayka said he’s progressing and has passed all of his tests to date, but there is still no timetable on his return to game action. It’s possible he could resume skating next week when the team returns home from its two-game trip to Los Angeles and Anaheim.

I still think they need a couple of elite forwards, specifically some goal-scoring. A true No. 1 center would be nice, too, but those are hard to find. As I noted above, they could also use stable, reasonably funded ownership so they don’t have to be a cap-floor team year after year. It’s much harder to win when your budget is so tight.

I’m sure they are scouting multiple options, but without knowing where they will pick — the range is still wide — I doubt they have zeroed in on a particular player or two. That normally comes later in the draft-planning process.

Coaching and management are always factors in a team’s performance, but to me, the biggest factors in their shortage of elite talent, especially up front, is because they have failed to find those players in past drafts (sometimes because they had bad luck in the lottery) and because of their small budget. Free agency is generally not the place to build your team anyway, but it can certainly help supplement your core. The top of the NHL Draft lottery produces gems, but plenty of NHL teams have found elite talent later in the first round, or even in the ensuing rounds. The Coyotes have not drafted well enough in the past, but the jury is still out on the past few seasons.

https://twitter.com/AZHockeyNut/status/1077243261037625344

Not at all. If Garland scores 25-30 goals (that won’t happen), I think he should have a different celly for each one.

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