coyoteshockeyfan

Just something I drew up a little while ago, just thought Id post it to put a little more info in this forum while hockey is absent. It was a busy offseason with lots of smart acqisitions, the Coyotes will look to become the most improved team in the NHL this coming season. They finally have 2 explosive scoring lines, with their #1 all being extremely talented and should be held together for a long time given their youth. The Coyotes offseason, above all else, has been about acquiring depth, probably THE sore spot of last year. This has given the Coyotes four strong lines, something they never had last year, with most of the pieces being young talent. The defense has also been upgraded, with picking up O'Donnell and Gauthier, two big hitters that should be able to clear the front of the nets. Goaltending should be strong as Boucher, the holder of the NHL record for consecutive shutouts, has always played well in front of solid defenses, which he now has. If he faulters, help is not far away in top prospect David LeNeveu.

Projected lines:
Nagy - Comrie - Doan
M. Johnson - Nedved - Hull
Saprykin - Ricci - Kolanos
Nash - Rupp - Chimera

O'Donnell - Morris
Gauthier - Tanabe
Mara - Hulse

Boucher
B. Johnson

Departures:
Langkow (traded to Calgary for Gauthier and Saprykin)
Suchy (traded to Columbus for draft pick)
Novoseltsev (free agent, signed in Russia)

Extras (The Coyotes will probably carry only 3, trading or buying out the rest):
Doull
Devereaux
Cleary
Ference
Nazarov
Savage

Top Prospects:
D. LeNeveu (G) - He is looking like a star in the making. Probably the Coyotes #1 Prospect and their hope for the future. Could be a starter by this time next year.
K. Ballard (D) - Traded for at the deadline with Colorado, probably one of the closest prospects to the NHL level. He is going to have to fight for a spot on the big club though, as the Coyotes already have 3 puck-carrying defensemen.
F. Sjostrom (F) - Former 1st rounder for the Coyotes, played with the big club for most of last year. Due to lockout, he is currently playing in the AHL, could stay there for a while with the Coyotes' new found depth.
M. Spiller (D) - Like Sjostrom, another player with promise and some NHL experience with the Coyotes last year. Could end up in the AHL for the rest of the year, as he just wasnt ready for the NHL last year.
B. Wheeler (F) - Selected 5th overall, he is going to be a work in progress for a long time, considering he is still in high school. The Coyotes have lots of faith in him, personally ranking him 3rd on their boards, behind only Ovechkin and Malkin.

Any thoughts?

ASUCHRIS

nice overview. Just figures the damn lockout happens, just when we have real promise...

boondockdrunk

Has anyone noticed that barely anyone has noticed that there is a lockout? Funny..... anyway, I dont have faith in Wheeler... I just think he was picked cuz we dont have to pay him till next year. Also, I didnt like the rest of the draft... I thought it was a very poor draft. But I doubt it matters, cuz I dont think the NHL will survive this lockout.

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coyoteshockeyfan

We wouldnt have had to pay anybody we drafted this year or next year...

SunCardfan

It's good to have young players because they might be older by the time the lockout ends.. I'm not a big Hockey fan so I don't mind so much if hockey sacrifices it's sell for the other pro teams so they realize what could happen to them...

coyoteshockeyfan

With free agency winding down and preseason just around the corner, I figured now would be a good time to make an update to this. What a difference a year makes, the lockout at long last is behind us and Coyotes fans can finally put their newly reconstructed team to the test. They certainly did not make as many moves this off-season as last, but in hindsight this proved to be a smart call. By signing the majority of their players last off-season before the lockout instead of this year, the Coyotes were able to capitalize on the 24% reduction in all existing player contracts, rather than looking for overly expensive free agents in a market where other GMs desperately needed to sign bodies. However, they were able to make one of the best free agent signings of the frenzy by signing Curtis Joseph to a $1M deal, with the chance for added incentives. Joseph is expected to push Boucher for the starters role this training camp and nicely shores up what was widely considered to be the Coyotes worst position. The Coyotes were also able to bring back players such as Brian Boucher and Brad Ference at a sizable discount.

Additions:
Curtis Joseph - Signed as an unrestricted free agent from Detroit. One year deal for $1M plus incentives
Steve Passmore - Passmore spent last season in the Chicago organization. He will back up prospect David LeNeveu in San Antonio of the AHL.
Chris McAllister - Depth signing. The guy has lots of size, at 6-8, 240. Will spend most of the year in San Antonio.

Departures:
Andrei Nazarov - Expensive enforcer became expendable when Phoenix signed Doug Doull last off-season. Signed by Minnesota.
Dan Cleary - This guy will be a steal for which ever team decides to pick him up. He became expendable with the Coyotes new found depth on the bottom two forward lines.
JM Pelletier - Last year's back up for our AHL affiliate left for Florida as an unrestricted free agent.
Brent Johnson - Still unsigned, Johnson is a decent back up at the NHL level, but Phoenix wisely chose to go in a different direction with our goaltending.

The top six forwards of Phoenix is one of the strongest groups in the league, but the Coyotes have a couple choices on which direction they can choose to go in. If a younger player such as Krys Kolanos, Olag Saprykin, or Fredrik Sjostrom is able to elevate their game, they could see lots of time on the second line left wing, allowing Mike Johnson to be on the third line right wing, giving the Coyotes three very strong and balanced lines. The Coyotes can also choose to flip either Brett Hull or Mike Johnson to the left wing, thus giving them two deadly scoring lines. The defense could possibly be the weakness of this team, even though it is much improved. Getting Tanabe back from injury will be a huge boost, along with the aquisitions of O'Donnell and Gauthier, but our core of three defensive defenseman is not as strong as it should be. Although our offensive defensemen are extremely quick, our defensive defensemen are slow and could attract many unwanted penalties in the faster-paced new NHL, especially Sean O'Donnell in particular.

Projected lines:
Nagy - Comrie - Doan
Kolanos - Nedved - Hull
Saprykin - Ricci - Johnson
Nash - Chimera - Rupp

O'Donnell - Morris
Gauthier - Tanabe
Mara - Hulse

Boucher
Joseph

Extras: Devereaux, Doull, Ference

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