Arizona Coyotes: 3 Keys To Success for 2017-18
The Arizona Coyotes are on the right path to success after a positive offseason. Here are three keys to their success in 2017-18.
Perhaps no NHL team addressed their needs more aggressively this offseason than the Arizona Coyotes. They improved in every facet of the game. And the Coyotes did it all on one glorious day. By acquiring center Derek Stepan and goaltender Antti Raanta from the New York Rangers, they got a number one center and a potential starting goalie. Trading for Niklas Hjalmarsson gives them a real top pairing for the first time in a while.
While they won’t contend this season, the 2017-18 season is still an incredibly important one for the Coyotes. Fan interest is starting to die out, especially since they haven’t made the playoffs since 2011-12. With the Coyotes’ rebuild entering its fourth season, improvement is a must.
Success in 2017-18 won’t be defined by wins and losses for Arizona. It will be determined by growth. Here are three keys to ensuring their success this season.
Goaltending
The Coyotes enter the 2017-18 season with their two primary goalies signed to one-year deals. Raanta will be an unrestricted free agent after the season while Louis Domingue will be a restricted free agent. The math is simple. Arizona has to figure out if either of their goalies are worth investing in long-term.
Raanta has the upside to be a starter, but for how long? He’s already 28 years old. However, one could argue Raanta doesn’t have the miles on his legs that other goalies his age have. So this could work in his favor. Also working in Raanta’s favor is the lack of depth in next year’s free agency class.
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The Coyotes gave up a lot for Antti, so naturally, he’ll get every chance to be the starter. Still, it’s critical Arizona figures out if he’s at least a short-term option, if not a long-term one. Domingue will be playing for his job as well. Perhaps even more so than Raanta, considering how easy it is to find a backup goalie.
Duclair
As of August 24, the Arizona Coyotes have yet to sign restricted free agent forward Anthony Duclair. His 2016-17 season is best described by Murphy’s Law. Just a year after finishing fourth on the Coyotes with 44 points, Duclair put up just 15 points in 58 games. He enters the 2017-18 season needing to prove himself. And the Coyotes need Duclair to rebound strong in order to improve.
Even if it’s just to inflate his trade value, Duclair bouncing back would be an immense help for Arizona. They need scoring and, as he showed in 2015-16, he can do that. Duclair needs to generate more offense. Spending some time playing alongside Stepan or Christian Dvorak will likely help with this.
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Strome
The Arizona Coyotes need to figure out what they have in Dylan Strome. Sure, acquiring Stepan is huge because he gives the Coyotes a top center. However, figuring out if Strome is one too might be their most critical and important key to success in 2017-18.
He has tore it up at every level of hockey he has played in. Except for one – the NHL. In seven career games, Strome has just one point. And he looked rather overmatched in his brief NHL sample size.
It’s hard to judge the 2015 third overall pick because, frankly, he’s still just 20 years old. But looking at Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel, selected just before him, it’s understandable why the Coyotes want results out of him.
Going into the 2017-18 season, Arizona is likely going to take the training wheels and restrictions off Strome. They need him to play in the NHL so they can see what they have in him. Strome needs to go out there and, in the words of Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus, make mistakes. That’s how you learn.
The Coyotes are going to make mistakes this season. It’s inevitable. But these growing pains are something everyone must go through. Hopefully the Arizona Coyotes will be better off for going through them.