The Coyotes have had to spend the summer filling the gaps left by some surprise departures. Former Edmonton Center Sam Gagner has arrived with the task of replacing Radim Vrbata and Mike Ribeiro. Vrbata was second highest scorer with 51 points last season but has optwd to join vancouver, while Ribeiro was bought out of an expensive contract due to alcohol problems that created tension in the camp last season. Mikkel Boedker was one player who was a good offensive force last season while youngsters Max Domi (son of Tie) and Lucas Lessio are hoping to feature.
A young puck-moving
defense is lead by Keith Yandle and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, but with
youngsters Connor Murphy and Brandon Gormley ready to step up, the
loss of Derek Morris to free agency will be softened. To be fair he
was a liability at times last season. Yandle and Ekman-Larsson are
two of the best defenseman in the league at providing offense from
the blue line and they will really need to step again to make up for
the loss of offense.
To make the playoffs
this season, the Coyotes will need to improve their defense and
penalty kill. As was so bluntly pointed out by some dumb-ass
Blackhawks fans last November 'the Yotes cant hand a 2PP' If the
Penalty Kill struggled last seaosn Phoneix finished fourth on the
Power Play and that will have to stay the same if they want to
challenge. With the additions of physical forwards Joe Vitale and
B.J. Crombeen on the fourth line as well as Antoine Vermette dropping
down to the third line where he can exploit his faceoff and forecheck
abilities, means the Coyotes are much stronger in the bottom six
forwards. Mike Smith also needs to rediscover his form from 2012 and
stop messing about making pointless pizza comercials.
Having started strongly
last season, Phoenix fell apart down the stretch only winning one of
their final eight games. The year before they lost eight of their
last nine. That ultimaltely proved their undoing, I have to say I am
worried for the season ahead. I am not sad to see the back of Mike
Ribeiro who was a huge disapointment, but losing Vrbata is a huge
loss to a team already short on offense. I really cant see this
Coyotes team going anywhere near as close as they did last year.
Boedker – Vermette –
Doan
Korpikoski – Domi –
Gagner
Erat – Hanzal –
Moss
McMillan – Vitale –
Chipchura
Klinkhammer –
Crombeen
Ekman-Larsson –
Michalek
Yandle – Stone
Gormley - Schlemko
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