Arizona Coyotes 2015-16 Player Grades: Zbynek Michalek

With the Arizona Coyotes 2015-16 season complete, it’s time to dive into each player’s performance and make a final tally on how they fared in the 2015-16 season.

Arizona Coyotes defenseman Zbynek Michalek is entering his 10th season with the franchise.

Michalek rejoined the Coyotes in 2015-16 after being traded to the St. Louis Blues at the trade deadline a season prior.

He was part of a ragtag group of players former General Manager Don Maloney trotted out on the blue-line along with Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Connor Murphy last season.

Some were too young, others, like Michalek, were a bit too old, and ultimately the group failed as a unit to protect Mike Smith and Louis Domingue.

The biggest failing for the Arizona Coyotes blue-line was in shot suppression. They were patently unable to prevent the opposition from getting clean shots on net.

Strangely, however, the 33-year-old Czech defender has seen his strengths shift dramatically in his time with the Arizona Coyotes. Not in the usual “play the game smarter” method that we typically see from veteran players, but in the fact that his defensive play has actually improved as he’s aged.

Above are Michalek’s numbers from the Arizona Coyotes last playoff clinching season in 2011-12 compared to the numbers “Z” put up last season.

Michalek was excellent in shot suppression last season, making him one of the few reliable shutdown defenders in the lineup. As we can see, his offensive skills have declined precipitously however.

Michalek wasn’t great for shot generation either, but his possession numbers are solid for a 33-year-old. Particularly a 33-year-old playing with a defensive corps as volatile and unreliable as the Coyotes’ group last season.

The acquisition of Alex Goligoski should allow a player like “Z” a better quality of life next season.

He will either be placed in a pairing with Alex Goligoski as the defensively responsible part of the duo, or he’ll be in a bottom pairing role that he is more suited for.

With Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Goligoski handling the finer details in the top four, the quality of life for all of the Coyotes’ defenders should drastically improve this season.

Whether these new arrivals take play time from Zbynek Michalek is another matter.

General Manager John Chayka went out and acquired Goligoski, Luke Schenn, Anthony DeAngelo, and Jamie McBain. Not all of the defenders will see extended time in Glendale, but it’s fair to presume most will get a shot.

Next: Can Strome And Dvorak Handle The Pressure?

Michalek is aging, but he can still fill a need if given the chance. He did it last season.

He should be able to do it again in 2016-17.