Welcome to the AZ Coyotes Insider newsletter. My plan is to publish stories four to six times per week. By subscribing, you’ll be supporting independent, accountable journalism. Subscribe now so you won’t miss a story. The opening face-off for Game 5 was as good as it got for the Coyotes, who were eliminated from the playoffs in a second straight 7-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Edmonton on Wednesday.
What exactly is the value of a committed fan, and more importantly, do the AZ Coyotes understand this? Do they sympathize with the highs and lows that go along with this, how things were hyped to get people in the seats, and how you work hard to keep your hopes up year after year, when it is obliterated. I wrote one of the Coyotes (probably the longest running) front office personnel. I was gratified that he would even take the time to respond, but he faithfully has continued. In his words, we appreciate your support, hang in there etc. Then he told me that a rebuild is typically a six-year process, and pointed out the highs and lows of the TB Lightning as an example of a rebuild. Well, we just finished in embarrassing fashion year 6 of the promised rebuild. IO know that because of Covid-19 a lot of things were different but here we are once again. Fans who have stuck with the Coyotes for all this time are now being asked to endure another rebuild, six years?? To be perfectly honest, Craig, I don't know if I have it in me. After years, thousands of dollars, is this a core that can actually be built into a winner? You're right that Taylor Hall is the best player out there for the Coyotes, but I don't see how it makes sense to spend the kind of money and/or assets that Taylor Hall is going to want and ask for. In the end, I don't see many ways forward to continue my commitment. I can say that every year that passes I become more and more cynical over the hype, the build up, the promises etc. And it gets worse when what is the freshest in your mind are these last two playoff game debacles. Is there anyone on this roster to do what it takes to become a winner. I don't know. I'm glad in it all that you've chosen to be a sounding board and resource for no-nonsense, balanced Coyote information. I thank you for that.
Happy to move on from anyone over 25 not named Kuemper. But I don’t see the point unless they replace the coaching staff. Tocchet and co. have been exactly as disappointing as the players Chayka provided them.
Chayka continually switched out pieces not currently performing for Tocchet (Domi, Duclair, Strome, Perlini, Galchenyuk, and futures) for pieces with very strong track-records I’d offensive production, even recent production prior to the trades (Galchenyuk, Panik, Schmaltz, Kessel, Stepan and Hall).
There was a continuous cycle of once promising offensive talents that were homegrown under the previous regime, sent away while hand-picked, more established talent that was supposedly a good fit for Tocchet was brought in. Chayka completely cycled through the very top of the lineup for Tocchet multiple times.
The one constant? Failure to produce offensively. Not only did the likes of Duclair, Domi, Perlini, and Strome fail to produce under Tocchet, so did Stepan, Panik, Galchenyuk and Kessel. Even Schmaltz and Hall have been disappointing from a pure production standpoint.
What has Tocchet accomplished that entitles him to another GM turning over the top of his roster to suit him yet again? Why should this guy get so many chances? His career as an NHL head coach has been a abject failure by any objective measure.
It is difficult to generate offense consistently when you are last in the league in puck retrievals after shots and last in possession breakouts. Can this set of D make plays? I suspect not but I’m not sure. Until now Coach T has seemed pretty content having the defensemen shoot the puck around the boards or flip it out. Basically it has been the game plan for 3 years. Against good teams (like the last 9 games) you don’t have much puck possession and end up giving up 50 shots because it comes right back at you. Now you hear “we need to make plays” but I don’t see that as ever having been part of the game plan. And if you haven’t done it for 3 years you can’t all of a sudden start making plays.
I think the worst part is that they’ve ruined any emotional investment I previously had in the team. For the last 3 years when things were supposed to be “better” we’ve been treated to nothing but disappointment. I’ve found that I can’t even really bask in the wins because of the skepticism I have in the team to actually sustain that success. Even winning against Nashville was a sort of pyrrhic victory, because I envisioned this series going something like this. Until they clean house (both players and coaching staff) I fear that I won’t be able to enjoy watching the team anymore. This is the lowest I’ve felt as a Coyotes fan, which is telling because they made the “playoffs” for the first time in 8 years.
I can’t stomach another season of Tochett behind the bench. I know we were overmatched, and that changes need to be made. That being said I don’t know how you keep a coach after a performance like this series where it just looked like we wanted to go home. This roster is far from perfect and changes to the roster need to be made, but I would like to see what some of these guys can do playing for another coach with a different system.
I think we need an upgrade on the coaching first. The offensive schemes are non-existent, and in fact there is only one - counter-attacking off of a turnover. It's a team-wide issue to transition the puck from the defensive zone to possession in the offensive zone that they fail at over and over again. This is further exacerbated on the power play where they still fail to get set-up a single time more often than not. The power play zone entries are the primary example of how this team needs a coach who can think the game offensively. I think all of this is hamstringing too many guys on the offense because there isn't a system doesn't rely on the opponent failing or a player coming up with some creativity entirely on his own.
If anything, bringing in a new coach to improve the offense will increase the value on the trade market of the pieces that still aren't fitting.
I had this exact conversation mid-game with an Avs fan. Whether intentional or not, the new GM and ownership are about one or two decisions away from a rebuild anyway. Tippett was right when he said the franchise wasn't ready, RT has done the best he could but the talent just isn't even close to being there. The team is only missing one piece truly, unfortunately that's an entire 1st line. If I were Hall, I'd want nothing to do with this team. Kessel isn't going anywhere. And the biggest concern is all the players Craig mentions probably won't be here next year, we don't have a single candidate to take their position. Let's remember OEL is making 8.25 M, Keller 7.25, Kessel and Stepan 7 and 6. But equally bad is Goose, Hammer, Chychrun, Dvo. It'd be really nice to see the new GM assert that one year prove it deals from European and Russian talent would help balance this team out on the check books. Everyone sees what wins games, RT's system would benefit a lot more from the hard hitting team Arizona tried to be in the Nashville series, barely saw 1 or 2 hits a game in the Colorado series.
I certainly have no answers other than the talent gap was too wide, Phil Housley experiment should be over, OEL needs to decide whether he wants to be there or not, and the Coyotes need someone to come in and put in an offensive system that could work with the talent level.
Uggg! I totally agree with the comment, “This is the lowest I’ve felt as a Coyotes fan, which is telling because they made the “playoffs” for the first time in 8 years.” Every year, I get so excited. Right now, I am not sure about going thru another “re-build”. Guess I have no choice since my tickets are already paid for for next year. As always, spot on Craig, thanks.
As a lifelong coyotes fan, I'm obviously no stranger to misery. But previous teams (specifically those under Tippet) at least had some heart. And perhaps at times that was mostly due to Doaner and his leadership. Even when teams were bad they would still show some grit and hit someone or make it difficult on their opponents.
The most disappointing thing to me was watching these last two games as we were getting embarrassed 7-1 and not seeing a single player step up to make life hard on the Avs. We just sat back and let them play their game exactly how they wanted to play it.
And don't even get me started on our "zone entry strategy" of dumping the puck from the red line and having literally no one ready to contest possession in the corner.
Craig, thank you for the great coverage this season. I can't wait to see more of your work this offseason.
I can deal with another rebuild, as long as Tocchet is not part of it. Sorry Craig, but I am more convinced that he is more of a problem than an asset. It's clear either his system is flawed or he has no idea how to get players to buy into it. Nothing now can change my mind. He needs to go. Let's find a new talent from the minors and give them a chance, no more re-treads. We need to try something fresh.
Another issue is if we go down the rebuild path, yet again, will Muerelo be able to stand it? It's gonna mean slow ticket sales and no enthusiasm for a new arena. This was such a critical stage for this team. Where we could have taken that next step to real relevance, or failed. Honestly, if I had not renewed my plan already for next year, I probably wouldn't now. And don't give me any crap for not supporting the team. I have supported for 23 years. Was there for all the bad years of relocation, NHL ownership, fighting the idiots from Canada online, Glendale city council meetings, and nobody wanting the team. If they refuse to put a non-competitive team on the ice, I'm done. Fans can only take so much (yes this is an emotional post after an awful week, but I've reached my limit). I want a real NHL team!
Both of my teams (the Yotes and the Pens) are facing a lot of tough questions and no easy answers in this off season. Both have very different issues (except for the power play; both were not good at that in the regular season, and even worse in the post-season).
On the Coyotes front...man, this franchise has been unlucky as heck. I only started following them when I moved here three years ago, but that's been long enough to learn a lot of the history, thanks in large part to Craig. They just have never gotten that lucky bounce of the ball, or the once-in-a-lifetime free agent signing. It's a team that has been made up of role-players for most of its existence, and while role players are vitally important, you can't have a successful team with nothing but.
I know they have to trade/not re-sign multiple vets this off season. I hope Stepan isn't one of them. His offensive production has declined, but he's the kind of leader they really need in the locker room, and he might be one of the smartest players I've seen in terms of hockey IQ. He'd be a major loss. I'd like to see Richardson back, too, for the same reasons, if he'd be willing to come back on a cheap contract again.
And then there is the question of goaltending, the team's major strength. Do you deal Raanta in an effort to shed salary and maybe get some young assets/picks? Can Hill be an adequate backup?
I think I've resigned myself to next year being a major evaluation/prove it year, especially with a new GM coming in. I want to see what Hayton can do as an every day player, what Schmaltz can do when healthy, and that Chychrun's progress wasn't just a fluke. I want to see what Crouse and Dvorak can do with bigger roles. I want to see if the positive signs from Keller in the post-season carry over in to the next season.
And then looming in the not-that-distant future is the Seattle expansion draft. What kind of decisions do you make in light of the fact you're going to have to leave players unprotected.
All I can say is we live in interesting times. There are reasons that phrase is purported to be a curse.
I wouldn't classify trading a few vets as a rebuild, it's more like retool. If they trade nearly all the vets than yeah it's a rebuild. There definitely needs to be changes. Most of us knew going in to this series that the Coyotes probably weren't going to win but the last two games were just embarrassing. Coyotes Nation wants success and if it takes another rebuild, fine, sure, whatever. What I think Coyotes Nation can't handle is an owner pushing for the post season when it's clear the team isn't ready. I wouldn't be shocked if that is what happened to Chayka and why "the plan" got tossed. We need stability, we need sustained success, we need a level headed GM with a plan and an owner that isn't going to toss it all at the first sign of adversity.
The "what-if" of the 2015 draft is what makes this hurt more. With a little luck, the Coyotes could have had a true 1C, and I suspect this franchise would be on a much different trajectory.
I can’t argue with that Craig, no one is stopping the likes of a McKinnon. But it wasn’t just his line that outplayed AZ but the rest were fine. We both know that Darcy is the MVP, but Grubauer’s stats exposed offensive ineptitude up and down the lineup.
It’s fine the Coyotes lost to Colorado. Expected. But it’s HOW they lost that is frustrating.
What exactly is the value of a committed fan, and more importantly, do the AZ Coyotes understand this? Do they sympathize with the highs and lows that go along with this, how things were hyped to get people in the seats, and how you work hard to keep your hopes up year after year, when it is obliterated. I wrote one of the Coyotes (probably the longest running) front office personnel. I was gratified that he would even take the time to respond, but he faithfully has continued. In his words, we appreciate your support, hang in there etc. Then he told me that a rebuild is typically a six-year process, and pointed out the highs and lows of the TB Lightning as an example of a rebuild. Well, we just finished in embarrassing fashion year 6 of the promised rebuild. IO know that because of Covid-19 a lot of things were different but here we are once again. Fans who have stuck with the Coyotes for all this time are now being asked to endure another rebuild, six years?? To be perfectly honest, Craig, I don't know if I have it in me. After years, thousands of dollars, is this a core that can actually be built into a winner? You're right that Taylor Hall is the best player out there for the Coyotes, but I don't see how it makes sense to spend the kind of money and/or assets that Taylor Hall is going to want and ask for. In the end, I don't see many ways forward to continue my commitment. I can say that every year that passes I become more and more cynical over the hype, the build up, the promises etc. And it gets worse when what is the freshest in your mind are these last two playoff game debacles. Is there anyone on this roster to do what it takes to become a winner. I don't know. I'm glad in it all that you've chosen to be a sounding board and resource for no-nonsense, balanced Coyote information. I thank you for that.
Whatever happens...we need Craig to help make some sense of it all.
Happy to move on from anyone over 25 not named Kuemper. But I don’t see the point unless they replace the coaching staff. Tocchet and co. have been exactly as disappointing as the players Chayka provided them.
Chayka continually switched out pieces not currently performing for Tocchet (Domi, Duclair, Strome, Perlini, Galchenyuk, and futures) for pieces with very strong track-records I’d offensive production, even recent production prior to the trades (Galchenyuk, Panik, Schmaltz, Kessel, Stepan and Hall).
There was a continuous cycle of once promising offensive talents that were homegrown under the previous regime, sent away while hand-picked, more established talent that was supposedly a good fit for Tocchet was brought in. Chayka completely cycled through the very top of the lineup for Tocchet multiple times.
The one constant? Failure to produce offensively. Not only did the likes of Duclair, Domi, Perlini, and Strome fail to produce under Tocchet, so did Stepan, Panik, Galchenyuk and Kessel. Even Schmaltz and Hall have been disappointing from a pure production standpoint.
What has Tocchet accomplished that entitles him to another GM turning over the top of his roster to suit him yet again? Why should this guy get so many chances? His career as an NHL head coach has been a abject failure by any objective measure.
It is difficult to generate offense consistently when you are last in the league in puck retrievals after shots and last in possession breakouts. Can this set of D make plays? I suspect not but I’m not sure. Until now Coach T has seemed pretty content having the defensemen shoot the puck around the boards or flip it out. Basically it has been the game plan for 3 years. Against good teams (like the last 9 games) you don’t have much puck possession and end up giving up 50 shots because it comes right back at you. Now you hear “we need to make plays” but I don’t see that as ever having been part of the game plan. And if you haven’t done it for 3 years you can’t all of a sudden start making plays.
I think the worst part is that they’ve ruined any emotional investment I previously had in the team. For the last 3 years when things were supposed to be “better” we’ve been treated to nothing but disappointment. I’ve found that I can’t even really bask in the wins because of the skepticism I have in the team to actually sustain that success. Even winning against Nashville was a sort of pyrrhic victory, because I envisioned this series going something like this. Until they clean house (both players and coaching staff) I fear that I won’t be able to enjoy watching the team anymore. This is the lowest I’ve felt as a Coyotes fan, which is telling because they made the “playoffs” for the first time in 8 years.
I can’t stomach another season of Tochett behind the bench. I know we were overmatched, and that changes need to be made. That being said I don’t know how you keep a coach after a performance like this series where it just looked like we wanted to go home. This roster is far from perfect and changes to the roster need to be made, but I would like to see what some of these guys can do playing for another coach with a different system.
I think we need an upgrade on the coaching first. The offensive schemes are non-existent, and in fact there is only one - counter-attacking off of a turnover. It's a team-wide issue to transition the puck from the defensive zone to possession in the offensive zone that they fail at over and over again. This is further exacerbated on the power play where they still fail to get set-up a single time more often than not. The power play zone entries are the primary example of how this team needs a coach who can think the game offensively. I think all of this is hamstringing too many guys on the offense because there isn't a system doesn't rely on the opponent failing or a player coming up with some creativity entirely on his own.
If anything, bringing in a new coach to improve the offense will increase the value on the trade market of the pieces that still aren't fitting.
I had this exact conversation mid-game with an Avs fan. Whether intentional or not, the new GM and ownership are about one or two decisions away from a rebuild anyway. Tippett was right when he said the franchise wasn't ready, RT has done the best he could but the talent just isn't even close to being there. The team is only missing one piece truly, unfortunately that's an entire 1st line. If I were Hall, I'd want nothing to do with this team. Kessel isn't going anywhere. And the biggest concern is all the players Craig mentions probably won't be here next year, we don't have a single candidate to take their position. Let's remember OEL is making 8.25 M, Keller 7.25, Kessel and Stepan 7 and 6. But equally bad is Goose, Hammer, Chychrun, Dvo. It'd be really nice to see the new GM assert that one year prove it deals from European and Russian talent would help balance this team out on the check books. Everyone sees what wins games, RT's system would benefit a lot more from the hard hitting team Arizona tried to be in the Nashville series, barely saw 1 or 2 hits a game in the Colorado series.
I certainly have no answers other than the talent gap was too wide, Phil Housley experiment should be over, OEL needs to decide whether he wants to be there or not, and the Coyotes need someone to come in and put in an offensive system that could work with the talent level.
Uggg! I totally agree with the comment, “This is the lowest I’ve felt as a Coyotes fan, which is telling because they made the “playoffs” for the first time in 8 years.” Every year, I get so excited. Right now, I am not sure about going thru another “re-build”. Guess I have no choice since my tickets are already paid for for next year. As always, spot on Craig, thanks.
As a lifelong coyotes fan, I'm obviously no stranger to misery. But previous teams (specifically those under Tippet) at least had some heart. And perhaps at times that was mostly due to Doaner and his leadership. Even when teams were bad they would still show some grit and hit someone or make it difficult on their opponents.
The most disappointing thing to me was watching these last two games as we were getting embarrassed 7-1 and not seeing a single player step up to make life hard on the Avs. We just sat back and let them play their game exactly how they wanted to play it.
And don't even get me started on our "zone entry strategy" of dumping the puck from the red line and having literally no one ready to contest possession in the corner.
Craig, thank you for the great coverage this season. I can't wait to see more of your work this offseason.
I can deal with another rebuild, as long as Tocchet is not part of it. Sorry Craig, but I am more convinced that he is more of a problem than an asset. It's clear either his system is flawed or he has no idea how to get players to buy into it. Nothing now can change my mind. He needs to go. Let's find a new talent from the minors and give them a chance, no more re-treads. We need to try something fresh.
Another issue is if we go down the rebuild path, yet again, will Muerelo be able to stand it? It's gonna mean slow ticket sales and no enthusiasm for a new arena. This was such a critical stage for this team. Where we could have taken that next step to real relevance, or failed. Honestly, if I had not renewed my plan already for next year, I probably wouldn't now. And don't give me any crap for not supporting the team. I have supported for 23 years. Was there for all the bad years of relocation, NHL ownership, fighting the idiots from Canada online, Glendale city council meetings, and nobody wanting the team. If they refuse to put a non-competitive team on the ice, I'm done. Fans can only take so much (yes this is an emotional post after an awful week, but I've reached my limit). I want a real NHL team!
Both of my teams (the Yotes and the Pens) are facing a lot of tough questions and no easy answers in this off season. Both have very different issues (except for the power play; both were not good at that in the regular season, and even worse in the post-season).
On the Coyotes front...man, this franchise has been unlucky as heck. I only started following them when I moved here three years ago, but that's been long enough to learn a lot of the history, thanks in large part to Craig. They just have never gotten that lucky bounce of the ball, or the once-in-a-lifetime free agent signing. It's a team that has been made up of role-players for most of its existence, and while role players are vitally important, you can't have a successful team with nothing but.
I know they have to trade/not re-sign multiple vets this off season. I hope Stepan isn't one of them. His offensive production has declined, but he's the kind of leader they really need in the locker room, and he might be one of the smartest players I've seen in terms of hockey IQ. He'd be a major loss. I'd like to see Richardson back, too, for the same reasons, if he'd be willing to come back on a cheap contract again.
And then there is the question of goaltending, the team's major strength. Do you deal Raanta in an effort to shed salary and maybe get some young assets/picks? Can Hill be an adequate backup?
I think I've resigned myself to next year being a major evaluation/prove it year, especially with a new GM coming in. I want to see what Hayton can do as an every day player, what Schmaltz can do when healthy, and that Chychrun's progress wasn't just a fluke. I want to see what Crouse and Dvorak can do with bigger roles. I want to see if the positive signs from Keller in the post-season carry over in to the next season.
And then looming in the not-that-distant future is the Seattle expansion draft. What kind of decisions do you make in light of the fact you're going to have to leave players unprotected.
All I can say is we live in interesting times. There are reasons that phrase is purported to be a curse.
I wouldn't classify trading a few vets as a rebuild, it's more like retool. If they trade nearly all the vets than yeah it's a rebuild. There definitely needs to be changes. Most of us knew going in to this series that the Coyotes probably weren't going to win but the last two games were just embarrassing. Coyotes Nation wants success and if it takes another rebuild, fine, sure, whatever. What I think Coyotes Nation can't handle is an owner pushing for the post season when it's clear the team isn't ready. I wouldn't be shocked if that is what happened to Chayka and why "the plan" got tossed. We need stability, we need sustained success, we need a level headed GM with a plan and an owner that isn't going to toss it all at the first sign of adversity.
The "what-if" of the 2015 draft is what makes this hurt more. With a little luck, the Coyotes could have had a true 1C, and I suspect this franchise would be on a much different trajectory.
I can’t argue with that Craig, no one is stopping the likes of a McKinnon. But it wasn’t just his line that outplayed AZ but the rest were fine. We both know that Darcy is the MVP, but Grubauer’s stats exposed offensive ineptitude up and down the lineup.