Arizona Coyotes: Alex Tanguay Already Making His Mark After Trade
Arizona Coyotes forward Alex Tanguay is making his mark after joining the club from Colorado in the Mikkel Boedker trade.
The Arizona Coyotes acquired Alex Tanguay as reverse-rental in the trade deadline deal that sent former first round pick Mikkel Boedker to the Avalanche.
The acquisition was not particularly heralded.
Fans were down on his age and apparent lack of production versus the previous season’s 22-goal, 55-point output.
Much talk centered around the worth of the two prospects the Coyotes had acquired. Kyle Wood and Conner Bleackley were the hot topics of discussion due to their lack of NHL contracts and research into their potential upside.
Tanguay himself had some interesting things to say about joining the Arizona Coyotes.
One of those comments reported could have been construed as Alex Tanguay taking a subtle swipe at the coaching regime in Colorado. “I’m very happy”, Tanguay said. “It’s a great chance to play for a very well-coached team that’s still battling for the playoffs.”
Whether he was unhappy with his situation with the Avs or simply on a run of bad luck, Tanguay had produced just 1 goal and 3 assists in his final fourteen games with the Avalanche.
The 36-year-old was also shooting just 8.2% for the Avs. That’s not an absolutely terrible number for many NHL players, but it’s astonishingly poor for Alex Tanguay. The forward has a career average shooting percentage of 18.7%.
He was due for some regression (or in this case improvement) to the mean. His debut with the Arizona Coyotes saw that come to fruition.
Beginning his first contest for the Yotes on an all French-Canadian line, Tanguay scored 2 goals and had 1 assist in that debut en route to sparking the “French Connection” line to 9 points in total among the three forwards.
Antoine Vermette had the best game of his disappointing 2015-16 season centering Tanguay and Anthony Duclair, netting a goal and tacking on three assists.
It was pretty clear from the first few shifts that Alex Tanguay was affecting the game for the Coyotes in a way that Mikkel Boedker had not in some time.
Including that debut game against the Florida Panthers, the Arizona Coyotes have scored eight goals in three contests with Tanguay in the lineup. The winger has had a point on five of those goals (2 goals and 3 assists).
The power play has gone 2-for-7 with the former Avs winger in the lineup, which is a 28.5% conversion rate.
Beyond the conversion rate, Alex Tanguay looks to be a better and more stable fit on the ice for that unit than Boedker ever was.
The continually failed experiment of Boedker on the point was the source of several shorthanded goals against. Most importantly, Tanguay is simply the better player when it comes to maintaining possession and creating chances.
Next: Coyotes' Acquisition Of Tanguay Might Not Be A Downgrade On Boedker
The Arizona Coyotes gave up speed and youth when they were forced to trade away Mikkel Boedker.
They gained a steady, once productive hand from a 36-year-old who wants to prove he deserves another contract in the NHL.
He’s been convincing thus far.