Arizona Coyotes: Key Players Remain From 2012 Playoff Run
The Arizona Coyotes have undergone many changes since their last playoff appearance, but some familiar faces remain.
When the Arizona Coyotes (then Phoenix Coyotes) reached the Western Conference Finals in 2012, fans likely thought it was the start of many deep playoff runs.
Unfortunately, it was not.
Four seasons have passed without a playoff berth, and core players like Keith Yandle, Mikkel Boedker, Antoine Vermette, and Ray Whitney have all moved on.
In fact, only six players remain from the 2012 team, and there’s a good reason why each of them is still a Coyote.
Shane Doan
What more can you say about Captain Coyote?
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Puck Prose
Despite his age, Shane Doan is still the face of this franchise. That will be true until the day he chooses to hang up his skates for good, and hopefully that will be a while considering he scored 28 goals last season.
Last year Doan spent the majority of his time on the third line, but he is still a reliable scorer and an excellent mentor to future leaders like Max Domi and Dylan Strome.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson
The youngest player remaining from the 2012 team, Oliver Ekman-Larsson is in the prime of his career.
Easily a top-10 defenseman, perhaps even top-5, OEL is easily the Coyotes best player. With back-to-back 20-goal seasons, he is part of the foundation of the Coyotes’ future.
Not only that, he could even be the Coyotes’ next captain.
Mike Smith
While opinions of Mike Smith are mixed, everyone can agree that he was the Coyotes’ best player in 2011-12.
With a .930 save percentage in the regular season and an absurd .944 save percentage in the playoffs, Smitty put the team on his back many nights.
Since then, he has struggled with injuries and inconsistency. There’s also that pesky $5.67M contract which still has three years remaining.
Smith’s contract means he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and that means there will be some goaltending questions heading into next season.
Martin Hanzal
When healthy, Martin Hanzal is the Coyotes’ best option at center. He is big, strong, and plays a defensive style of game that matches up well against other big, Pacific-Division centers like Anze Kopitar and Joe Thornton.
He is also a leader, having served as an alternate captain since 2011.
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It will be interesting to see how Hanzal’s role evolves in the next few seasons. Much of that will be determined by the growth of Dylan Strome and Christian Dvorak.
Radim Vrbata
Who says you can’t go home again? And again?
That’s the case for Vrbata, who is set to start his third stint as a Coyote. This time, however, he won’t be expected to carry the brunt of the offense.
Radim Vrbata‘s ideal role this year is to be a secondary scorer who takes the pressure off young right-wing prospects such as Christian Fisher and the recently acquired Lawson Crouse.
Zbynek Michalek
Once a steady, second-pairing defenseman who could even play first-pairing in a pinch, Zbynek Michalek has yielded that role to players like Connor Murphy and Michael Stone.
However, Z is still an excellent third-pair, shutdown defenseman, not to mention another strong mentor for the youth.
The Big Picture
What these players mean to the Arizona Coyotes can be summed up in three words: Leadership, experience, and heart.
Next: Expectations For Strome And Dvorak In 2016-17
You can’t measure any of those characteristics, but they are all vital to winning a championship.
Combine that with the speed and skill of the youth, and Arizona Coyotes fans won’t have to wait much longer for a Stanley Cup to come to the desert.