I can’t believe that Stepan is only 30, he’s got to be one of the most professional players in the league. I know that his on-ice performance hasn’t matched his salary, but he seems like one of the best role models in the league for how to conduct yourself off the ice and in the locker room. Then again I’ve never met the guy, so you’d know better than me.
Unrelated from this article, but I just want to say how nice it feels to be commenting about the upcoming playoffs while watching a live Dbacks game. It's good to have a few hours away from the pandemic environment.
I hope there’s a world in wich we keep Hall and Big Carl. Big Carl was such a presence on the ice all year. It would be an incredible loss to the team if he went elsewhere!
Great piece Craig, as always. If the coyotes don’t end up signing Hall and trade either Stepan and/or Raanta which free agents this offseason could you see the yotes take a look at?
I'm really interested to see how moving some players will pan out with the flat cap. In the past we've been a team able to absorb cap hits (like Hossa) in exchange for assets. I'll be interested to see if what we'll have to give up to move some larger cap hits (Grabner comes to mind).
Thank you for making this easy to understand for the math-impaired... also, the situation sucks. There have been worse sucky situations, of course... but still.
(also thanks for the email login option cuz I have a bazillion passwords I can barely remember and I am on my iPad this morning...)
They are over my head for this casual fan but I do hope we can keep Hall, but yet, I’d like to keep Stepan too.
I’d hate to lose Fischer, Hintesteoza and Osterle too!
Oh boy.
The thing that impressed me most about these guys, particularly Stepan, Garland , Chykrun and Keller is how much they know about other sports.
Did you see that episode where those guys were talking about the NBA, NHL, soccer and everything!
Expert knowledge of them all!
Back when the YOTES had that STH get together with the team ( that they hated so much ha) Stepan came up to me and I knew he was a “ Badger” and I was a “ Hoosier”.
He knew all the Wisco/IU stats in everything..
I had nothing.
I could only name the top 7 runners on Coach Mick Byrne’s Wisco XC team.. that was it.
Those guys are subject matter experts in all the sports at all levels..Shane Doan too.
I like that young group for 21-22 and for a year or two after that, especially if we keep Hall, OEL, and Hammer. However, when thinking about the Cup teams of the the past several years, we still are lacking that massive first line that Cup teams tend to have. Could the Coyotes make a deep run like Vegas has done based on goal-tending, depth and coaching(?), I hope so. But, the best teams win more often than not, even when they don't bring their best every night.
Lots of options, it will be interesting to see how Seattle plays in to things as well. Also I know Crouse has shown improvement but I think this is the first time he's been listed as part of the core.
Hey Craig, fyi, your articles aren’t showing up in Google news searches (when searching for Arizona Coyotes), so to expand your audience you may want to look into it. Loving your articles btw.
Craig do you sense that Chayka will try to clear out space before signing Hall or wait till afterwards? If they do manage to get Hall every GM in the league will know the Coyotes are $8 million over the cap and I feel like that's where you get taken advantage of because you have no leverage.
Craig. . . thanks for the deep dive into OEL. I know he has been dealing with a lot (death of his mother, injuries, lack of top level talent around him), but I thought his play has been erratic the past couple of seasons compared to the 2011-2016 time period. When he is playing well and active in the offense, the team has more success (IMHO). Sounds like he is primed for a great playoff run which is good news.
I can’t believe that Stepan is only 30, he’s got to be one of the most professional players in the league. I know that his on-ice performance hasn’t matched his salary, but he seems like one of the best role models in the league for how to conduct yourself off the ice and in the locker room. Then again I’ve never met the guy, so you’d know better than me.
Unrelated from this article, but I just want to say how nice it feels to be commenting about the upcoming playoffs while watching a live Dbacks game. It's good to have a few hours away from the pandemic environment.
First
I hope there’s a world in wich we keep Hall and Big Carl. Big Carl was such a presence on the ice all year. It would be an incredible loss to the team if he went elsewhere!
Have the expansion draft rules for Seattle been finalized yet? Is it going to have the same rules as the Vegas draft?
Related topic - Who gets a name first: NHL Seattle or the Washington Football Club?
Great piece Craig, as always. If the coyotes don’t end up signing Hall and trade either Stepan and/or Raanta which free agents this offseason could you see the yotes take a look at?
I'm really interested to see how moving some players will pan out with the flat cap. In the past we've been a team able to absorb cap hits (like Hossa) in exchange for assets. I'll be interested to see if what we'll have to give up to move some larger cap hits (Grabner comes to mind).
Thank you for making this easy to understand for the math-impaired... also, the situation sucks. There have been worse sucky situations, of course... but still.
(also thanks for the email login option cuz I have a bazillion passwords I can barely remember and I am on my iPad this morning...)
Another Great read.
I enjoy these articles.
They are over my head for this casual fan but I do hope we can keep Hall, but yet, I’d like to keep Stepan too.
I’d hate to lose Fischer, Hintesteoza and Osterle too!
Oh boy.
The thing that impressed me most about these guys, particularly Stepan, Garland , Chykrun and Keller is how much they know about other sports.
Did you see that episode where those guys were talking about the NBA, NHL, soccer and everything!
Expert knowledge of them all!
Back when the YOTES had that STH get together with the team ( that they hated so much ha) Stepan came up to me and I knew he was a “ Badger” and I was a “ Hoosier”.
He knew all the Wisco/IU stats in everything..
I had nothing.
I could only name the top 7 runners on Coach Mick Byrne’s Wisco XC team.. that was it.
Those guys are subject matter experts in all the sports at all levels..Shane Doan too.
How do they have time for that?
Thank you for your articles.
I think how post season plays out will determine a lot of these scenarios? A deep playoff run vs. a play-in round knockout?
I like that young group for 21-22 and for a year or two after that, especially if we keep Hall, OEL, and Hammer. However, when thinking about the Cup teams of the the past several years, we still are lacking that massive first line that Cup teams tend to have. Could the Coyotes make a deep run like Vegas has done based on goal-tending, depth and coaching(?), I hope so. But, the best teams win more often than not, even when they don't bring their best every night.
Lots of options, it will be interesting to see how Seattle plays in to things as well. Also I know Crouse has shown improvement but I think this is the first time he's been listed as part of the core.
Hey Craig, fyi, your articles aren’t showing up in Google news searches (when searching for Arizona Coyotes), so to expand your audience you may want to look into it. Loving your articles btw.
Craig do you sense that Chayka will try to clear out space before signing Hall or wait till afterwards? If they do manage to get Hall every GM in the league will know the Coyotes are $8 million over the cap and I feel like that's where you get taken advantage of because you have no leverage.
Craig. . . thanks for the deep dive into OEL. I know he has been dealing with a lot (death of his mother, injuries, lack of top level talent around him), but I thought his play has been erratic the past couple of seasons compared to the 2011-2016 time period. When he is playing well and active in the offense, the team has more success (IMHO). Sounds like he is primed for a great playoff run which is good news.