The Coyotes were missing Jason Demers, Antti Raanta, Nick Schmaltz, Michael Grabner, and Christian Dvorak for over half the season and yet they still kept themselves in contention until the bitter end, missing out on the playoffs by 4 points. The Yotes used a stingy defense that tied the Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues for the fifth-fewest goals allowed last year to keep them in contention but eventually it was their lack of goal scoring that sunk them. They finished tied with the Dallas Stars for the third-fewest goals in the league leaving them 4th in the Pacific Division and 18th in the league.

Additions: Phil Kessel, Carl Soderberg

Subtractions: Alex Galchenyuk, Nick Cousins, Kevin Connauton

Forwards:

The Coyotes addressed one of their biggest needs this summer by acquiring Phil Kessel from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Kessel has hit the 20 goal mark in all but his first two seasons in the NHL and hitting that mark would make him the highest scorer on the Yotes this past season. Adding Carl Soderberg also gives them added depth down the middle but in the end they’re just lacking too much offensive punch with one of the worst ranked top-6’s.

Defense:

Oliver Ekman-Larsson is a stud on the blue line and they have a great defender in Niklas Hjalmarsson but he won’t provide any offense. After the two of them the rest of their lineup becomes really suspect.

Goalies:

Antti Raanta missed 66 games last year due to multiple injuries but Darcy Kuemper did a fantastic job filling in. Getting Raanta back to full health will be a big key to the Yotes success but don’t be surprised if Kuemper gives him a run for the number one spot.

The Point Prediction:

We have the Coyotes regressing in their overall league ranking down to 24th and once again missing the playoffs. The good news is that they’ll show themselves to be an up and coming team with a 4th place finish in the Pacific Division.

 

(Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images)