Arizona Coyotes looking to bolster roster for next season
Following another disappointing season for the Arizona Coyotes, the team has made a point to make some changes during the off-season to bolster their roster.
The hope is to advance the teams rebuild, and make the Arizona Coyotes competitive again — something they have not been seen they made the playoffs in 2011-12.
As far as defensive depth and goaltending go, the Coyotes are fairly strong in these aspects. A large problem last season for the Coyotes was being able to find offensive stability — something that Coyotes GM John Chayka and Coyotes head coach Rich Tocchet feels that he has addressed during the offseason.
The first big splash that the Coyotes made this offseason in hopes of improving their offense, was dealing streaky forward Max Domi to the Montreal Canadians in exchange for a consistent scorer in left winger Alex Galchenyuk.
(Video courtesy of the Montreal Canadiens / Youtube)
Tallying 51 points in 82 games played last season, Galchenyuk only trailed fellow forward Brendan Gallagher for most points on the team.
Another large addition to the Coyotes forward depth was acquiring speedy forward Michael Grabner, who signed to a three-year deal.
“Everyone knows my game is based on speed and skating,” Grabner said. “I would say I’m a shoot-first kind of guy. They have a lot of good playmakers on the roster. I’m just going to try to use my speed and open up some space for them”.
After being drafted by the Vancouver Canucks with the 14th overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Grabner has spent most of his professional career with the New York Islanders (2010-2014). Following his time with the Islanders, he has become a bit of a journeyman by spending time with the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and the New Jersey Devils.
After splitting last season between the Rangers and the Devils, Grabner tallied 36 points in 80 games played. Joining a young and talented Coyotes team, Grabner has the opportunity to reignite his career, and help a struggling team to become a playoff contender once again.
Wrapping it up
One of the largest areas of concern surrounding the Arizona Coyotes last season was their inability to find consistent goal scoring throughout the season, only scoring 206 goals in the season — the second lowest amount of goals scored only trailing the Buffalo Sabres with 198 goals scored throughout the season.
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If there is one thing to take away for how Arizona Coyotes GM John Chayka is approaching this offseason, it is to follow the common scheme of substituting brute strength with youth and speed. With talented forwards such as Derek Stepan, Clayton Keller, Grabner, and Galchenyuk the Coyotes offense are looking to be poised to be a threat for the upcoming season.