47 Comments
Jul 10, 2020Liked by Craig Morgan

Happy with the lack of “Taylor Hall ruins team chemistry” comments so far

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That was an uninformed narrative.

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Jul 11, 2020Liked by Craig Morgan

TaYlOr HaLl RuInS cHeMiStRy

it's about as lazy as "Phil Kessel eats a hot dog every day"

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If we lose to the Preds, we have a 12.5% chance at LaFreniere... if we beat the Preds, do we have a 12.5% chance at re-signing Taylor Hall?

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Jul 10, 2020Liked by Craig Morgan

Imagine a triple OT game 5 loss to Nashville, Hall re-signs to finish what he started here, and we win Lafrenière anyway. Ahhh...nice to dream. Haha.

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That's quite a scenario.

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If we lose to Nashville, I think the odds of Hall being a Coyote next year are lower than the odds of Lafrenière being a Coyote next year. Haha. But it’s nice to dream.

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I cannot lay odds.

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Hard to say. Not a lot of teams will have cap space, but the Coyotes would have to clear some to re-sign him and that may be difficult.

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Craig, good article, thanks for all of the great content. What kind of scenario would make sense to clear the cap space? It would be great if we re-sign him, but it kind of feels unlikely.

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Why is he going to sign here? Have you looked at the roster? He's the only legit first line player this team has and they are not as good as Vegas, Edmonton and Calgary.

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It feels like no one really expects him to re-sign here. We have a lot riding on the short Nashville series. Not sure if it's quite a franchise defining moment for us, but the trade for Hall was a big gamble that still has the chance to pay off. Hall or no Hall, Chayka still has a lot of work to do.

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Jul 10, 2020Liked by Craig Morgan

God I hope we re-sign him. It's been forever since we've had an electric player to watch.

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Jul 11, 2020Liked by Craig Morgan

i have to say, i do hope Chayka and Ferris can finagle something together.

a) the anonymity angle might be a big player here. the Coyotes aren't exactly the most eye-catching sports team in the Valley of the Sun, so it's pretty easy for a hockey player to go grocery-shopping and not have anybody recognize him. Edmonton is Edmonton, and even New Jersey is still within the Tri-State Area and gets a lot of bleed-over media coverage.

b) there's always the weather. fans don't necessarily seem to take that into account as much, but players certainly do. like, you really think Jeremy Roenick's gonna give up how nice the weather is in Scottsdale to move back to... Boston? heck no.

c) if Hall really wants to be a star player on a team, here's a team that currently doesn't really have anybody with that electric and dynamic element. he doesn't have to fight for minutes with other star players: he *is* the star player.

d) above all else, Hall might just be sick and tired of bouncing around between organizations. we can't just blindly slap the prime directive of "make as much money as possible" onto people like we can in economics. there are other factors at play.

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Jul 10, 2020Liked by Craig Morgan

I wonder how much the flat cap will hinder Chayka’s ability to create the necessary cap space to re-sign Hall, if Taylor actually has any interest in remaining a Coyote. There will be a lot of teams looking to trade players who’s cap hits outweigh their effectiveness. It might be a tough sell.

Looking at the Coyotes roster, there aren’t very many players that are overpaid (from a cap to production standpoint). Kessel fits the bill, but he has a NMC and there likely wouldn’t be much interest in him anyway. Stepan is great, but his cap hit vastly outweighs his production. Grabner is probably only moveable if Chayka attaches an asset. I don’t see a Chayka moving Keller or Schmaltz.

The only defenseman that’s overpaid is OEL who has a NMC. The rest of the blue line (apart from maybe Oesterle, who isn’t paid enough to matter) seem to be well worth their cap hits. Raanta is a wonderful luxury, but makes a lot for a rarely available (albeit outright elite) back-up.

One interesting thing is that both Stepan and Raanta are due only $2m each in actual salary, despite carrying a combined 10.75aav cap hit. That should make them attractive to any budget team (think pre-Meruelo Coyotes) that isn’t concerned with the salary cap, only real dollars. Ottawa and New Jersey fit the bill. Possibly Detroit. Neither player has any trade protection in their contract (Stepan’s was voided when traded from NYC).

I wonder if Chayka’s pride would allow him to trade Stepan and Raanta to a team like Ottawa for a negligible return, after having just paid a king’s ransom for the duo just three years ago. If it meant keeping Hall, I’d certainly do it.

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All good questions for examination at the proper time.

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Chayka hasn't done a good job. He spent to the cap and they were 4th best team at best in division. Wouldn't have made playoffs w/o extended format.

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Check that, 5th best team. My bad.

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Jul 10, 2020Liked by Craig Morgan

I know there is obviously a lot of on the ice content for you to write with training camps and the bubble quickly approaching. Do you anticipate an interview with Xavier Gutierrez before the restart?

Are we going to be spoiled with a daily post from you or how often do you anticipate posting?

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I do hope to talk to Gutierrez soon. Right now, I expect to post about as frequently as I did at The Athletic (4-5 times per week). Events/news could alter that on occasion, however.

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I know what Nattie Hattie said about their doubts of fans being at the games at the start of the next season beginning December 1st ...

These researcher brains gotta get a vaccine out there if not that, I’ll sign a waiver..

Trying to relive my past life of 60-80 mile running weeks is proving tougher than I expected and I’m ready to get back to more realistic goals like catching my 6th foul puck and my 3rd 50/50.

Easier goals.

And that’s my opinion this morning.

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"Trying to relive my past life of 60-80 mile running weeks is proving tougher than I expected and I’m ready to get back to more realistic goals like catching my 6th foul puck and my 3rd 50/50."

Ha! Good stuff. Let's hope they make it happen.

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Jul 10, 2020Liked by Craig Morgan

A hockey podcast I heard indicated high end free agents may lean towards a 1 to 2 year bridge deal to max out on a deal later, considering current situations. May bode well for AZ?

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Maybe.

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Lots of moving parts/variables to consider, but Taylor has said he doesn't want to do that.

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Jul 10, 2020Liked by Craig Morgan

I think hockey players are generally underrated when it comes to how smart they actually are - the game is fast and ever evolving, they have to think and react in a split second - those plays the coach hastily scribbles out on the white board are out the window almost as soon as the puck drops. Although well-spoken we all know about the interview code....

This guy is just on another level.

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Completely agree. Taylor Hall is one of the most articulate, thoughtful interviews I have come across in my career.

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I sure hope he likes it here and wants to play here.

I won his Dbacks night sweater at the auction so he’s gotta like it here and want to play here.

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Ha! I'll pass that along. A lot of factors to consider, but playoff success is one of them.

What if Colorado comes calling with Nate MacKinnon and a boatload of cap space?

What if his hometown team, Calgary, comes calling?

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Oh God, I cannot even begin to imagine how scary the Avs would be if they somehow grab Hall...ugh.

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Robert... Have you received the sweater yet? I won the bidding for his St. Paddy's sweater but have yet to receive it.

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I emailed the foundation a few days ago and just got a reply saying that they are waiting for July 13th, when they will have the players sign them, then notify me again after on how they can be picked up or mailed.

I got Lybushkin’s too ha

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Ha, I emailed the foundation two weeks ago about same topic and received no response at all. I guess they like you more.

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Jul 10, 2020Liked by Craig Morgan

Thanks Craig ...it feels like Taylor brought what they expected out of Kessel to the team...an elite player in his prime. With Phil healthy finally, I'm really looking forward to seeing what they can do. And a healthy OEL with a different mindset.

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I do wonder how health & rest will impact this team, and many others.

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Don't the Coyotes need cap room to sign Hall? If so, our ability to re-sign him rests on Chayka's ability to get a Stan Bowman or Peter Chiarelli to take Grabner, Stepan, Goligoski or... and I may be ahead of the curve in suggesting this, but ... OEL?

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Yes, they will have to make room for him by moving contracts out.

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I'm not sure there's a market for any of those four guys with the level of cap uncertainty that we have. Winnipeg has cap room... maybe bundle a prospect and a bad contract, like the Coyotes did for Crouse, etc.?

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Jul 11, 2020Liked by Craig Morgan

i'd floated the idea a few months ago, not just for the Jets' available cap room, but because of the whole Dustin Byfuglien situation. the Jets' defense has kinda turned into a mess, and somebody like Goligoski might be a useful veteran presence for the younger players on the roster (Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk, etc.).

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Too early to say, but maybe...

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Craig, we all know Phil loves working out in the offseason. Do you think he was doing lots of box jumps in his downtime, or will he be fatter than usual? And is $7m a season for a 40 point scorer a good deal for the team? Thanks!

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Phil has to give them way more than he has so far. Conditioning commensurate with a 32-year-old body is part of that.

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Since we know the team wasn't making any playoffs w/o Covid setting up this extended tournament, do you think Muerelo cancels Chayka and Tocchet bringing in his own people as he did dumping Cohen? Is this first series v. Nashville make or break for mgmt? I mean they are playing in the worst division in the league, and they spent up to the cap. Still weren't making it. That's not good gm'ing....

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No, he gave Chayka an extension and believes in him. Tocchet and his staff are more tenuous. Tocchet will go into the last year of his contract next season so I think 2020-2021 is a make-or-break year for the coach.

RE: The cap, they are at the cap ceiling in cap hit, but in reality, they are not actually spending to the cap. They are well under it, spending about $72.8 million this season. The GM'ing would look a lot better had they landed a No. 1 center through the luck of the lottery (see Buffalo (somehow still struggling), Colorado, Toronto, Edmonton, NJ, etc.). That critical piece is still missing from this roster and it filters through the entire group. They obviously hope Barrett Hayton will be that guy, but to me, he looks more like a No. 2. We'll see...

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No #1 center to play w/ Hall, so why would he stick around? Unless he likes the winter weather...

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It's a fair question. The flat cap is going to make things tough on a lot of teams, but the Coyotes are also in that boat.

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5th best team in division... NOT GOOD...

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