Arizona Coyotes: Clayton Keller leads exciting young team
A New Hope
It’s not a secret that the Arizona Coyotes aren’t doing too well as a franchise. Having a dreadful arena situation and bad finances will do that to you. But for the first time in a while, the Coyotes have hope.
Keller gives them a forward they can build around. He’s one of the most exciting and skilled wings in the league. At 20 years old, his best days are ahead of him. Keller had one of the best rookie seasons in Coyotes history in 2017-18 and should build on it this season. It’s been a while since Arizona has had a forward as fun to watch as him.
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Ekman-Larsson gives the Coyotes the franchise defenseman they’ve long needed. His extension also gives Arizona a ton of credibility. A top-tier blueliner wants to play for the Coyotes. That’s a pretty exciting thing to think about. He’s likely their future captain and it’s honestly a bit surprising the Coyotes haven’t made it official yet.
Mike Smith did some awesome things in goal for Arizona. Now Raanta gives them a potentially even better netminder. If he can stay healthy (and that’s a fairly big if), he’s shown the potential to be a franchise goaltender.
The Coyotes need this core to have success because they can’t afford to fail. Failure could mean hockey in Arizona is done.