The Coyotes appear to be in one of those weird years where their kids aren't ready so they play a horrible combination of veterans and finish in last place.
On paper - this didn't seem to be a possibility. They have Dave Tippett as coach and he's respected as one of the best in the biz (though in hockey that isn't always a reflection of your actual abilities but rather just time spent around the game). They have Vbrata, Doan, Hanzal, OEL, Murphy, Stone, Goligoski and Smith - on paper, a solid cast.
And then they have a bunch of rookies to mix in. It's the perfect rebuilding combo - get your kid's feet wet while insulating them and staying competitive.
However, somewhere along the line, this all went sideways.
The veterans are playing terribly and the rookies aren't getting very much ice time.
Michael Stone and Connor Murphy (that six year deal is looking brutal right now) have gone from hopeful building blocks to players who just aren't very good. Stone in particular has struggled coming back from injury this year. Murphy hides a lot of his problems playing with OEL but doesn't exactly help make him any better.
Goligoski has been a complete bust.
Any other team would have asked Doan to quietly leave. If other teams are seriously considering trading for him, they should fire their scouts.
Vbrata has been good, but in a rebuilding year, the Coyotes insist on giving a 35 year old with no NHL future the most ice-time. He took Duclair's job just by showing up and Duclair has subsequently struggled, though Tippett played him about 12 minutes in the second game of the year, so he's as responsible as Duclair is for his disappointing season.
Hanzal is the teams top centre, but he doesn't look right since his 452nd career injury.
Domi is the team's best forward, injured twice in the same fight.
Peter Holland was a good addition, but he's more suited to a team who wants to try to put scorers on the fourth line than actually being anyone's #2 centre.
Last game, the Coytoes played Duclair, Crouse, Dvorak and Perlini among the lowest amounts of minutes on the team. Keep in mind that this strategy resulted in a win, but a win that required insane amounts of luck for the team to achieve, considering they were absolutely crushed by Toronto and no one would have batted an eye if the Leafs won that game 6-1.
On defense, despite their crushing failure, Goligoski and Stone played the most after OEL. Deangleo was the fifth most played D and Chychrun got 14 minutes. Connauton didn't even play.
It's a gd joke and it makes the team unwatchable. At least if you are gonna lose, it'd be nice to cheer for your future.
The Coyotes best defense would look like this: OEL/DeAngleo Chychrun/Connauton Goligoski/Schenn. But they've never even tried that.
Note that against the Leafs, only three players were positive possession players: Chychrun, Duclair and DeAngelo.
Once again, I ask: if you're going to be the worst team in the NHL, why not give more ice-time, especially PP time, to your rookies?
Today the Coytoes will lose to the Wild, while simultaneously being haunted by their unfathomable decision to give away Devon Dubnyk. Not like anyone saw that coming, but it still sucks.
I've never seen a team in more need for a shake-up. Tippett is essentially unfireable, so what's to be done?
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