TEMPE, Ariz. — To the outside world, the art of the rebuild seems simple.
Just lose as often as you can. That must be the best way to secure a high draft pick, right?
Not so fast.
There are multiple layers to this discussion, so let’s try to peel a few of them back.
The topic of tanking can be a delicate one, especially for a league that prides itself on competitive balance and parity.
So what of a team like the Arizona Coyotes, an organization that would clearly benefit from winning the sweepstakes for Connor Bedard, the consensus top pick for 2023 who is lighting up the WHL?
And how does a team like this walk that fine line between trying to build a competitive culture, while still realizing that racking up losses and stockpiling future draft picks is probably best for them over the long term?
Earlier this week, amid the hoopla of the opening of Mullett Arena, Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong mentioned they were trying to follow in the footsteps of the Tampa Bay Lightning, while admitting that’s not exactly an overnight process.
It’s easy to understand why the Coyotes would aim to become Tampa Bay West, if you will, when you look at the recent success enjoyed by the Lightning, including consecutive Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021 and a third straight appearance in the final in 2022.
Much of that success was built on a draft and development model that included a first-overall pick in sniper Steven Stamkos (2008), a second-overall selection in defenceman Victor Hedman (2009), a 19th-overall find in goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy (2012,) and a second-round sleeper in Nikita Kucherov (2011), to name a few.
Four superstars were among the 12 draft picks and additional three undrafted free-agent signings that came up in the Lightning system on that 2020 roster, the rest of it bolstered by trades — including shipping the third-overall pick in 2013 (Jonathan Drouin) to the Montreal Canadiens for defenceman Mikhail Sergachev — and adding heart and soul types like Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow in other deals.
No, the Coyotes aren’t close to knocking on the door of competing for the Stanley Cup.
They’re trying to find out what they have in house, while also looking to secure additional lottery tickets, both in the form of stockpiling draft picks, trading for college players now in the pro ranks, like Jack McBain and Nathan Smith, and hitting up the waiver wire for guys like defenceman Juuso Valimaki (a Calgary Flames first-rounder in 2017) and goalie Connor Ingram.
“It’s a process for us and it moves slow,” said Armstrong. “When you’re in the rebuild, everybody wants it right now and sometimes you get really excited. There’s some highs and some lows. Our next step is to let our young players play that we drafted and make small little steps and move forward and see if we can make some trades before the end of the year and pick up some new pieces. We’re still in that mode and it’s going to take some time.
“But you can see in the lineup right now, slowly but surely those young players are filtering in and they’ve had an impact for us early on.”
Which brings us to the players currently on the Coyotes roster. How do they view things?
“You don’t want to go into the season thinking it’s a rebuild, because when I think of a rebuild, I think people don’t care if you lose,” said Coyotes winger Zack Kassian. “As an athlete, you don’t like to lose and you want to compete every night and you want to try and win hockey games. That’s what our coaching staff is trying to implement as a group and as a culture.”
Coyotes head coach André Tourigny recognizes the best way to move forward with this group is to instill a work ethic that serves as the baseline. He knows he doesn’t have the highest skill level, but there’s one thing he demands of this group and if that standard is not met, the ice time suffers.
In short, accountability is critical when allowing those young players to get some on-the-job training while asking his veterans to set the proper example.
“You need the talent, yes, but you need the right guys surrounding our young guys to show them the right way,” said Tourigny. “At our level, we reward the effort. If you work really hard, you will have an extra mulligan or two and if you’re not, you don’t have a mulligan. That’s the way I’ve always coached. I reward the hard work and that’s the first spot for me. If you work hard, I can work with you and try to help you.”
Tourignay’s message seems to be resonating.
“There’s a lot of teaching and a positive environment is important. We’re trying to grow as a group every day,” said Coyotes forward Nick Bjugstad. “Good things come from there. We’re not the most skilled group compared to some of these other teams, but we can bring it every night. That’s what we’re stressing.”
An important part of that growing process is likely to include trading Jakob Chychryn for more pieces that will eventually pay dividends, but Armstrong said Thursday that the top-pairing defenceman suffered a setback in his recovery from a wrist injury he had off-season surgery to repair and is considered to be out week-to-week.
“He’ll rejoin the team as soon as he gets cleared and be in practice,” said Armstrong. “We’re excited to get him back in the lineup because he’s a big piece for us.”
So that situation is going to drag on a bit longer, since the Coyotes are looking for a substantial package in return.
One of the interesting things about the early season results rolling in is that two of the other teams expected to be in the midst of the chase for last place, the Chicago Blackhawks and Montreal Canadiens, are off to strong starts, with the Blackhawks sitting at 4-3-1 and the Canadiens at 5-4-0 after a 7-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.
That’s not to suggest those results are sustainable over the course of 82 games, just to remind folks that it can be both an incredibly hard league to win in — and sometimes a hard league to lose in when you ask a team to put forth its best effort each and every night.
Many players won’t be able to enjoy the rewards of those high draft picks and they’re constantly auditioning both for the Coyotes and 31 other teams as they look to extend their careers.
“It’s hard going through the rebuild because your players are on the ice fighting for their lives,” said Armstrong. “They may not be here in three years. We try to focus, not on the Connor Bedard sweepstakes, but on our process behind the scenes, our coaching and our improvement, and that’s the way you have to dive into it because there is a lot of negativity that the losses can incur. It wears down the team, but our coaching staff has done a remarkable job at ignoring the noise and focusing in on getting better every single day. And when we do that as an organization, we keep our spirit alive and we keep fighting.”
With a strong background in scouting, Armstrong also realizes that securing another high pick in the draft lottery could be a game changer.
“The draft is exciting to watch, that’s been my bread and butter since being an executive in the NHL,” said Armstrong. “We get excited about the young players. There could be a really talented young player on the ice for us that could have a huge impact for us. We always keep our eyes on that.”
WHAT ABOUT THOSE GOALIE CONCERNS?
Going into the new season, there was a lot of ink spilled over how the Vegas Golden Knights goaltending situation would hold up after the loss of Robin Lehner for the entire campaign after he underwent hip surgery.
While it’s important to recognize the sample size remains small and it’s incredibly early, not only have the Golden Knights’ netminders not been an Achilles heel, they’ve been a strength.
Logan Thompson, who carried the load down the stretch last season, is off to a fantastic start, going 4-2 while sitting fourth in the NHL in goals-against average (1.67), fifth in save percentage (.943), and leading the NHL with two shutouts.
Not only has Thompson been making the routine saves, but he’s currently sitting seventh in Goals Saved Above Expected (5.1), according to the folks at Money Puck.
Adin Hill, who was acquired from the San Jose Sharks in late August for a fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, has proven to be a valuable insurance policy as he’s won all three of his starts to date while posting a 2.00 goals-against average and .935 save percentage.
The Golden Knights are flourishing early under new head coach Bruce Cassidy, winning three games in a row to improve to 7-2 while leading the NHL in goals-against per game (1.78).
Offensively, the Golden Knights have featured a balanced attack, with nine players recording five points or more, with the trio of Jack Eichel, Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson tied for the team scoring lead with eight points.
THE NEW IRON MAN
On Tuesday against the Sharks, Golden Knights winger Phil Kessel surpassed Keith Yandle for consecutive games played at 990.
Among the tribute messages that rolled in to praise Kessel was one from Baltimore Orioles legend and baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, who knows a thing or two about a streak of this nature.
Tourignay coached Kessel last season and joined the chorus earlier this week.
“It couldn’t happen to a better human being,” said Tourignay. “Everybody who has been around Phil likes the guy. He’s smiling every day, he’s fun to be around and he always has something to say. Good for him. I’m happy for him and I’m hoping that he’s enjoying his time over there.”
Kessel will now continue the push toward 1,000 and beyond.
UPS AND DOWNS
There’s no more mystifying start to this season than the one the St. Louis Blues have endured.
With only three games spread out over 11 days to open the campaign, the Blues jumped out to an impressive 3-0 start, outscoring opponents 11-5 (including a 2-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers).
But they dropped four consecutive games over a six-game span this past week and were outscored 20-7, with two of those losses coming within the Central Division (4-0 to the Winnipeg Jets and 6-2 to the Nashville Predators).
That’s a stark contrast for a team that’s known to play a certain way and is so often committed to playing a sound defensive structure.
According to Jim Thomas of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, this is the first time since Craig Berube took over as head coach from Mike Yeo in November of 2019 that the Blues have lost four consecutive games in regulation time.
THE WAITING GAME
It’s that time of the season when many rookies on entry-level deals are approaching the 10-game mark that will trigger the first season of the contract.
And while it’s still possible for a player to be returned to junior hockey after the 10-game mark, it’s not all that common.
It can be an uneasy time for some of those young guys who are trying to secure a more permanent spot on the roster, but Coyotes 2021 first-rounder Dylan Guenther seems to have a good handle on the proper approach to take for players in that situation.
“I know it’s there, but it’s not something that I think about,” said Guenther, who has two goals and three points in six games after helping the Edmonton Oil Kings capture the Western Hockey League championship last season. “My mentality is just earn my next shift, earn the next game and just do whatever I can to help the team out there.”
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