The Arizona Coyotes have a long road ahead of them this season after an unlucky 2020 for the team.
To be a fan of the Coyotes might feel like going through an endless loop of a mediocre team that can’t seem to get things right. The COVID-19 playoffs were the first time in eight years the Coyotes had made the playoffs, and somehow, the team lost more than it should have.
The list of misfortunate events that proceeded early last year with the illegal testing that costed two draft picks, Taylor Hall’s trade that costed another two draft picks plus Hall leaving for the Sabres and the team’s top draft pick, Mitchell Miller, being exposed for multiple racial-base violent and cruel acts towards one of his schoolmates.
However, there is some light that is breaking through the dark clouds that are currently looming over the Coyotes hockey club. The new general manager, Bill Armstrong, has vowed to change Arizona’s team culture. The new culture that he is speaking of will be revealed during the season with a condensed version due to COVID-19.
Armstrong has already made some moves. He has traded Derek Stephan to the Ottawa Senators for a 2021 second-round pick. Former New York Islander Derick Brassard has also been signed to a one-year deal. There have been notable PTO’s, such as Jordan Schmaltz, Frédérick Gauthier and Zane McIntyre.
With the number of tryouts and signings that are only for a year, it looks like Armstrong is taking a year to understand what works and what doesn’t while he is trying out some new ideas. This season would be the best for it as well. With how depleted their future options are and how the team looks after last season, it won’t be a season that anyone can expect the Coyotes to compete in.
That may be used to their advantage with what Armstrong’s future plans are with the organization. The team is without any huge superstars, however, that can also be linked to St. Louis’ Stanley Cup team last year, which Armstrong had a hand in with being the head of amateur scouting.
Arizona is great at giving people who haven’t had a good opportunity elsewhere a different environment to compete and thrive in. Conor Garland and Darcy Kuemper are both examples of this. This can also be a year that an unlikely name will come out and be known to the Coyotes fanbase.
However, the team has one huge issue that prevented them from gaining more traction in 2019-20. Their goalscoring has been an issue both last season and in years prior. Although they had their moments, sometimes they would only score once during the game, and as such, would lose 2-1. Sometimes, it would be worse, being shutout by a team that only scored once against them.
But it is a new story for the Coyotes this season. It may not be a smooth ride in the next 56 games, but it will be an important one. If this season is a failure, it is up to Armstrong to make it the best failure the team has ever seen.