Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet was frustrated after a 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights at Gila River Arena on Sunday. He has peeked behind every curtain for solutions. He has tried every trick to vault Arizona into a surprisingly attainable playoff position in the Western Conference. He has employed every line combination, every form of motivation and he is no longer interested in the available assortment of alibis.
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“Whether you want to use injuries or no depth, that’s fine,” he said. “I don’t use that excuse.”
This is standard fare for a coach, whose job is to push forward, no matter the obstacles. The problem for Tocchet is that the excuses are legitimate. While he wasn’t happy with his team’s overall effort on Sunday, fixing the team’s issues requires more than energy. It requires time, more money and better players.
The Coyotes are not like most NHL teams. They don’t have the depth to absorb the losses of goalie Antti Raanta, defenseman Jason Demers, forwards Michael Grabner, Christian Dvorak and the absence at various points of forwards Alex Galchenyuk, Vinnie Hinostroza and Brad Richardson. Nor do they have the financial backing to search the market for suitable replacements.
Because their drafts prior to 2016 produced such uneven results, they do not have top-end forward prospects waiting with their American Hockey League affiliate in Tucson to fill the void either.
Conor Garland, Mario Kempe and Michael Bunting (now back in Tucson) have filled in for the injured players admirably, bringing energy and speed. The first two earned praise from Tocchet for their effort on Sunday, but those three forwards have combined for four goals and seven points in 34 combined games. That’s not going to solve the Coyotes’ scoring woes, and with the potential exception of Nick Merkley, who is still rounding into game shape after ACL surgery in March, the Coyotes do not have any other forward prospects in Tucson who might boost one of the league’s more anemic offenses.
It’s easy to pin that shortcoming on the current management group for not finding solutions, but that is misguided analysis. John Chayka has been the general manager since only the 2016-17 season. In the first draft he oversaw in 2016, the Coyotes drafted forward Clayton Keller and defenseman Jakob Chychrun in the first round, and added Demers in a trade during training camp. At the 2017 NHL Draft, he brought in center Derek Stepan, defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson and Raanta via trades. Last summer, he added Galchenyuk, Grabner, Hinostroza and Jordan Oesterle, then traded for Nick Schmaltz this season.
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Given the team’s considerable financial constraints that keep it near the cap floor in terms of actual spending, Chayka has done about all he can do until the prospects he has drafted the past two years such as Barrett Hayton, Jan Jenik and Nate Schnarr join the mix (if they pan out), along with the prospects he’ll draft this summer, and the free agents he may sign.
“If you look at my first draft, we pick Keller and Chychrun; it’s a good problem to have that they are on the team,” he said. “If they were in the American (Hockey) League my answer could be a lot more positive in terms of the high-end prospects we have in Tucson.
“It’s going to be the same issue with Barrett. He may go through Tucson; he probably doesn’t. If you have those high-end guys that don’t need that time it’s typically a good thing.”
Maybe so, but the Coyotes need more high-end guys than they have. It’s a superstar-driven league and you’d be hard-pressed to identity even one of those on the Arizona roster, based on current production levels and history.
Chayka said he is not concerned that the Coyotes no longer have a glut of prospects waiting in the wings as they did a couple seasons ago.
“We’re at the point where having a massive bulk of players isn’t the goal as much as starting to narrow in on a core group and then supplementing around them,” he said. “That’s what we’re after.”
One or more of those additions must be a high-end point producer if this is to become a core that can sustain winning. The Coyotes haven’t been lucky enough in recent drafts to land top-two picks that jumpstart a rebuild like the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Buffalo Sabres, Colorado Avalanche and Winnipeg Jets have. With the jury still out on the past two seasons, they also haven’t drafted well enough to find those players later in the first round or in the later rounds. Imagine how much different this team would look with a franchise center like Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews, Nathan MacKinnon, Jack Eichel, or a true goal scorer such as Patrik Laine, Patrick Kane or Mikko Rantanen.
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Short of some lottery luck this summer where the top prize is franchise center Jack Hughes, the Coyotes will have to find other means to add those game-changing forwards that could end what will become the NHL’s second-longest playoff drought after the Sabres make the postseason this year.
As 2019 begins, here is a look at the Coyotes’ top prospects at each position.
Forwards
Barrett Hayton
Age: 18
Team: Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario Hockey League)
Stats: 20 games, 15 goals, 33 points.
Comment: Hayton is the top prospect at any position in the Coyotes system. He has played well in juniors and at the World Junior Championship. It would not be a surprise to see him make the roster next season. He’ll almost certainly be in the NHL by 2020-21.
Nick Merkley
Age: 21
Team: Tucson Roadrunners (AHL)
Stats: 7 games, 2 goals, 6 points
Comment: Merkley returned to action on Dec. 12. Provided he can get back to where he was at the end of last season, Merkley should jump to the NHL club by the end of this season.
Conor Garland
Age: 22
Team: Tucson/Coyotes
Stats: 18 AHL games, 8 goals, 19 points; 12 NHL games, 2 goals, 4 points
Comment: On an ideal roster, Garland’s speed and skill would make an attractive addition to the fourth line. He needs to prove he can produce more to climb into the top nine.
Jan Jenik
Age: 19
Team: Liberec (Czech Extraliga)
Stats: 10 games, 2 assists;
Comment: Jenik had an assist in his only game for the Czech republic at the World Junior Championship.
Nate Schnarr
Age: 19
Team: Guelph Storm (OHL)
Stats: 32 games, 20 goals, 52 points
Comment: Schnarr signed his entry-level deal with the Coyotes on Dec. 10. He is tied for seventh in the OHL in points and tied for fifth in assists.
Defensemen
Kyle Capobianco
Age: 21
Team: Tucson
Stats: 30 games, 4 goals, 25 points
Comment: Capobianco ranks third in the AHL in points by defensemen. The Coyotes love his mobility, passing and vision.
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P.O. Joseph
Age: 19
Team: Drummondville Voltigeurs (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League)
Stats: 29 games, 7 goals, 26 points
Comment: Joseph will turn pro next season, likely with the Roadrunners. The Coyotes project him as a top-four defenseman. He also brings high character.
Kevin Bahl
Age: 18
Team: Ottawa 67s (OHL)
Stats: 37 games, 4 goals, 17 points
Comment: Bahl has good mobility for his size (6-6, 231). He has been working with skating coach Dawn Braid since his early teenage years.
Filip Westerlund
Age: 19
Team: Frölunda (Swedish Hockey League)
Stats: 14 games, 1 goal
Comment: Westerlund had a goal and an assist in Sweden’s 5-4 overtime win against the United States on Saturday at the World Junior Championship.
Robbie Russo
Age: 25
Team: Tucson
Stats: 29 games, 1 goal, 16 points
Comment: Russo’s right-handed shot could prove valuable to the Coyotes in a call-up or depth role.
Goaltenders
Adin Hill
Age: 22
Team: Coyotes/Tucson
Stats: 11 NHL games, 2.39 goals against average, .916 save percentage/6 AHL games, 3.22 GAA, .871 SP.
Comment: Hill is 7-3 with the Coyotes this season. His play has helped ease the loss of Raanta and put backup Darcy Kuemper on notice.
Merrick Madsen
Age: 23
Team: Tucson
Stats: 11 games, 2.70 GAA, .889 SP
Comment: Madsen is an intriguing prospect who could supplant Hunter Miska as the No. 2 goalie in the system behind Hill. He had a standout career at Harvard.
Hunter Miska
Age: 23
Team: Tucson
Stats: 17 games, 3.00 GAA, .901 SP
Comment: Miska has shouldered the majority of the Roadrunners’ games with Hill in the NHL.
Ivan Prosvetov
Age: 19
Team: Saginaw Spirit (OHL)
Stats: 27 games, 3.32 GAA, .894 SP
Comments: Prosvetov may have the highest upside of any of the goalies in the Coyotes’ system – like top-10 NHL goalie potential. He is still adjusting to the culture, language and style of play in his first season of North American hockey.
(Photo: Jerome Miron / USA Today Sports)