Coyotes monthly mailbag: You asked, we tried to answer

Oct 5, 2019; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes right wing Phil Kessel (81) carries the puck as Boston Bruins center Par Lindholm (26) pursues during the second period at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
By Craig Morgan
Oct 7, 2019

Hey! It’s time for the monthly Coyotes mailbag! What could we possibly have to talk about?

Before we begin, a big thanks to @campaul for this month’s illustration shown here. Keep them coming, folks.

Let’s get to your questions about scoring, the power play and whatever else it is you want to talk about — even bratwurst.

This feel like the Coyotes version of: What is the meaning of life?

I don’t know. I do think this unit will take some time to incorporate Phil Housley’s concepts, Phil Kessel’s tendencies and really, Nick Schmaltz, whose 17-game cameo with the Coyotes last season did not imprint on the unit’s muscle memory.

Advertisement

That said, the five parts of this unit have to be more competent than we have seen in the three-plus opportunities so far where there has been virtually no offensive zone time and sloppiness with the puck. This unit could really help the team’s scoring woes and I think most of the pieces are there for a competent power play. I want to see more assertiveness from Oliver Ekman-Larsson on this unit and I want to see Schmaltz exhibit the puck poise he did last season.

There is supposed to be movement all over. When it stagnates is when this unit stagnates. The 1-3-1 is going to lend itself to a lot of play above the goal line, but no, the Coyotes do not have a Sidney Crosby to make plays from that area and I don’t think they have a great net-front guy, either.

Sure. There is a lot of good goalies in the NHL. You can’t use that excuse every night but Jaroslav Halák’s performance on Saturday was out of the ordinary. It was extraordinary.

Maybe we should create a jar for hot dog jokes, similar to the jar for NHL officials, who get charged $1 every time they say “Phoenix” for a penalty instead of “Arizona.” How much should we charge? The average dog goes for $2 and change.

I’m going to let you vent without venting about you venting about people needing to vent. I saw a decent performance in Anaheim. I saw a very good performance against Boston.

I don’t know that there is a magic number. Every player is different and the injury is one of many factors in that variance. I agree, however, that Schmaltz is still shaking off rust. He admitted it to me on Sunday (more on that later this week) and Rick Tocchet has also seen it.

Raanta was rusty enough that they sent him to Tucson for a conditioning stint. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how long that rust lingers but I would be surprised if he did not play the next game.

Maybe. There are often changes after a loss. They know Hayton needs to get enough game experience to warrant keeping him here instead of sending him back to Sault Ste. Marie.

I would not take the following fact to the bank because it occurred in the first of three practices during a four-day stretch without a game, but Hayton was skating with Nick Schmaltz and Christian Dvorak on Sunday.

Let me answer your question with a question. How long will it take Nick Schmaltz to get up to speed and warrant top-six minutes? That is most definitely a role they want him to assume, but he has to earn it through play. As noted above, he still looks a bit rusty.

Find a good friend who doesn’t mind your frequent visits, find a good sports bar or come to Gila River Arena. I do hope it all works out, though.

A classic. What a cast.

I still want to see The Mission Line of Christian Dvorak, Nick Schmaltz and Vinnie Hinostroza.

A team source said Sunday they were hopeful he would join the team on Monday.

I thought they had pretty good offensive zone time. I also thought they were sloppy with the puck.

How about voodoo? Short of that, scoring the first goal in a game would certainly help ease tensions; maybe even open the faucet.

Notice I did not use “floodgates.” Baby steps.

If they fall too far off the pace it won’t be acceptable. Two games is too short to conduct any substantive analysis.  If they are 5-7, or 4-8, and six to eight points off the playoff pace after a month, yeah, I’d be concerned.

Some coaches divide the season into 10-game segments and set goals. It depends on the staff, but yes, I think it is silly to place too much emphasis on one or two performances. Everything we know about data-based analysis says that is too small of a sample size.

Individual player sample sizes offer more evidence over the course of their careers and recent careers, so we may have a better idea of what to expect on that front, but even that is hard to judge when some players may still be climbing their arc, while others may be declining.

Single-game analysis, I think, can be useful for spotting problems or successes, and either correcting or building on them.

That’s a pretty big assumption on your part that a 22-year-old is not an NHL player. Forgive me, Matt, but I’ll lean toward the trained abilities and assessments of NHL scouts, the Coyotes development staff, its coaching staff and its management staff when making those determinations.

They certainly want more from Fischer, but for the time being, they seem willing to work with him and they have seen some good things from him recently.

I like Half Acre (I’m a big Lincoln Park fan) and Off Color’s Mousetrap tap room in River North. By the way, the latter is located at the corner of Kingsbury and, ahem, Blackhawk Street.

I think it is simply a matter of getting crisper through reps, focus and poise, but I agree, the puck handling was sloppy.

Scorers cost money. Also, teams don’t give them away too often. They cost even more in free agency. Normally, too much.

No, it is not scheme. Rick Tocchet would like to see even more of that, but I do think they are doing a better job of getting to the net and playing inside the dots than they did last year.

I haven’t noticed that this season. I think Clayton Keller has been one of their best players.

Is there a specific example you are citing?

That’s a question for 910 AM. I’m not sure if it was an accident, if it was automated or if they just wanted to shut Luke up.

I agree, we need more Luke. The Coyotes agree, too. He is doing four podcasts for them. I think his podcast total is a Guinness world record and brings his list of jobs to seven (he says only six, but one is off the books in Guam).

I bought Luke a book recently. It’s called “Sleep While Walking.” Tibetan monks swear by it (actually, this has not been confirmed because they have not returned my calls, even though I name-dropped The Athletic in a snobby, George Plimpton voice).

I also like memes. And pizza.

You do you, @TCaprise. Think of me as your hockey therapist. I’m here for you. Help me help you.

Agree on all of that, Chris. Greasy goals are still good goals, although they really aren’t greasy. If they were, they’d probably have to find a new puck.

I don’t know. It’s a mystery.

They do practice scoring.  Often, it leads to scoring, but so far, only in practice.

I don’t know. They don’t seem so determined to get rid of Alex Goligoski.

I don’t know, but I think Nick Schmaltz will get better with reps

A team source told me they would reveal that information soon, certainly before the home opener on Oct. 18.

Agreed. I touched on this above. Nick Schmaltz looks rusty after such a long layoff and he admitted as much on Sunday. The Coyotes need to see more speed from him through the neutral zone, more poise with the puck and more dynamic play overall.

It depends on the brats. If I’m sitting on the Memorial Union Terrace at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, by all means, give me a brat. But I am picky about my brats. Many are bland or mealy. If that’s the case, give me a Vienna Beef hot dog instead (a cut above all other dogs).

With either, I will gladly accept a thick, wheaty Hefeweizen. There is a place in Madison (it’s called the Come Back In) that serves superb Hefes.

I don’t sense any desire to trade Goligoski, but if they are out of the playoff race at the trade deadline, that could change simply because he’s 34, he makes a big salary and another team might want a veteran defenseman for a postseason run. I’m not sure what the return would be.

This may shock you, but nobody has asked for my services.

You answered your own question. Kessel, Keller and Stepan have had great chemistry.

They dump and chase when the situation calls for that play. Sometimes, the safer play is better than turning it over at the blue line and getting caught in transition — the most dangerous time for a defense. That said, they want to play with the puck and it is always preferable to gain the offensive zone with possession. It’s all about reads.

I am unqualified to answer such a question. So much analysis goes into those decisions to which I am not privy. It is logical, however, that players with offensive upside such as Vinnie Hinostroza, Jakob Chychrun and Jordan Oesterle should be out there.

Rick Tocchet would not be OK with perimeter play and no net-front, but that has been far less of an issue this season, as the heat maps of shots from the first two games clearly show.

I do wonder if this team has enough bite in the lineup. Part of being hard to play against is simply being relentless, but there is a heavy element that can also work. If you don’t have lots of high-end skill, it may be more of a need.

Phil Kessel has arguably been the best player on the ice in both games so it seems that he is already “going.” I think Barrett Hayton will get an opportunity soon; perhaps even Thursday against Vegas.

They have had three opportunities and a short fourth one. If teams changed that frequently they’d be changing all the time. This unit needs reps for the personnel to adjust to each other. Phil Housley is new. Phil Kessel is new. Nick Schmaltz played only 17 games with the unit. It will take time but, by and large, I think they have the right personnel on that unit, based on what is available on this roster.

Phil Kessel. He has been dynamic and he has been responsible defensively. The first line has created half of the team’s Grade-A chances and Kessel is a big reason.

If you mean wins and losses, each year is its own set of circumstances. This year, they played a pretty good game in Anaheim and a very good game against Boston. They simply have to break the dam and score. Their big players have to produce, but their young guys also need to take another step.

As stated above, I don’t sense any urgency on the team’s part to do so. That said, Alex Goligoski does make a good salary, he is 34, and he is in the second-to-last year of his deal. He’ll have to produce but let’s see what Phil Housley can do for him.

Well, he got pulled after a rough start in Tucson on Sunday. I can’t imagine he’s happy about seeing his path blocked, but I haven’t heard that said explicitly and those are common hurdles in the NHL that players have to battle through. It’s called competition.

I am concerned about your latter statement.

They were practicing together on Sunday. We may see it soon.

I don’t think the Coyotes have seen enough. I don’t think Christian Fischer is going anywhere. Barrett Hayton could play soon. Conor Garland is averaging the third least ice time of any forward. Is he a top-six forward?

I haven’t sensed any anger in Darcy Kuemper. Ever.

No. He has arguably been their best player through two games.

I dunno. Can the Bears have Patrick Mahomes?

Phil Housley coaches the defense and the power play. John MacLean coaches the forwards and the penalty kill. Corey Schwab coaches the goalies. Steve Peters has 100 duties.

Are you basing this on the 20 games he played after returning from a pair of injuries last season or the two he has played this season (heavy sarcasm font)? I haven’t minded Dvorak’s play at all.

As I noted above, I wonder if this team has enough bite. Lawson Crouse and Christian Fischer are two guys who should be able to deliver more of it.

Thanks for your input, Greg. Always appreciated… SECURITY!

I suspect much of that will depend on the performance of the team, but the Coyotes also have a location problem comparable only to the Ottawa Senators and Florida Panthers.

Cat never wears a tie. It’s shocking.

Because Keller, Kessel and Stepan also have chemistry.

And the last word goes to…

(Top photo of Phil Kessel on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2019: Matt Kartozian / USA Today Sports)

Get all-access to exclusive stories.

Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.