NHL Standings Basement Arms Race:Leafs, Oilers, Coyotes, Sabres

Arizona Coyotes right wing Shane Doan (19). Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

#29 Arizona Coyotes

The Arizona Coyotes have had the most recent success of the group, with a run to the NHL Western Conference Finals during the 2011-12 season. After two seasons of missing the playoffs, it became apparent during the 2014-15 season that their strategy shifted to rebuilding. Both management and ownership were adamant that they did not need a “complete rebuild” and made a few trades. Soon after, the Arizona Coyotes joined the race to the bottom and finished 29^th with 56 points, in the hopes of landing one the #1 NHL Draft Pick.

“We know we’re having a difficult season. We need to bring some young assets in. We want to introduce more youth and speed into our lineup, which is what we plan on doing going forward.” – Don Maloney, General Manager Arizona Coyotes

Despite the drop in performance and not winning the NHL Draft Lottery, the Coyotes made some smart moves that landed them some great prospects. It started mid-season with moving Rob Klinkhammer and a 2016 conditional 5^th round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for the defensive prospect Philip Samuelsson.

Without a doubt, the best moves were towards the trade deadline. The Coyotes rented Antoine Vermette to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for prospect Klas Dahlbeck and a 2015 1^st round pick. Then the Coyotes rented Zbynek Michalek and a 2015 conditional 3rd-round pick in exchange for the prospect Maxim Letunov. The Coyotes were able to re-sign both Antoine Vermette and Zbynek Michalek this offseason. Further, the Coyotes also traded Keith Yandle, Chris Summers and a 2016 4^th round pick in exchange for prospect Anthony Duclair, John Moore, a 2015 2^nd round pick and a 2016 conditional 1^st round pick.

After a season with some great trades, the Coyotes obtained the 3^rd overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft and selected elite prospect Dylan Strome. The Coyotes have a lot of young talent 25 and under in their system. This includes 1 top 5 pick, 3 picks in the top ten, 9 first rounders and 16 in the first two rounds.  This doesn’t include the prospects drafted later, who are so far performing above their draft pedigree (Philip Samuelsson, Michael Stone, Anthony Duclair and Tobias Rieder).

It looks like the Coyotes have made very quick progress in their rebuild, but I do not expect the Coyotes to make huge strides this year. They still have a lot of older veterans who will serve two purposes. One is to help mentor the youth on the team. Secondly, they will serve as trade bait towards the Trade Deadline once again.

If there is little progress in the standings early on, another race to the bottom to obtain a high draft pick could be too tempting. This time they might just land Arizona’s own Auston Matthews.

Next: The Buffalo Sabres