Nashville Predators Foes 2015: Arizona Coyotes

We are looking at the Nashville Predators foes for this year and how they did last year against the Preds. Today we travel out to the desert of Arizona:

Today we look at: Arizona Coyotes

2014-15 record: 24-50-8, 7th in the Pacific, Didn’t make the playoffs

How the Preds did: 3 games, 3-0-0

Schedule this year against the Preds: Tue, 12/1 Home, Sat 1/9 at Arizona, Thur, 4/7 Home

Notable additions: C Antoine Vermette, RW Steve Downie, G Anders Lindback, D Zbynek Michalek, D Nicklas Grossmann, C Boyd Gordon, RW Brad Richardson, LW John Scott

Notable subtractions: RW Martin Erat, C Sam Gagner, LW Lauri Korpikoski, RW David Moss

Coached by: Dave Tippett (7th season)

Who’s in Net: Mike Smith but which one will show up, the good Mike or the bad Mike? Last year was his worst season and former Predator Anders Lindback is their fourth backup in as many years. (They traded away backup Devan Dubnyk last year, how did that work out?)

Quick thoughts about the Coyotes:

They were counting on getting Jack Eichel as they were the second worst team but Edmonton jumped ahead in the lottery and they got pushed back to third. 2013 first round draft pick Max Domi might be good in the near future but he’s not ready to carry this team.
Home ice advantage wasn’t so good last year as they finished 11-25-5 with three home losing streaks of at least eight games. At least they have a home for the next two years after going back and forth with the city of Glendale, AZ.
You have to worry a little about your offense when your leading scorer is 24-year old defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Their prospects were recently rated by ESPN as the fourth best in the league. The future should be bright.

Why the Coyotes will win the Stanley Cup: They have a ton of young talent. Maybe, in an alternate universe the stars align and they all mature in their first year.

Why the Coyotes won’t win the Stanley Cup: Last year they traded almost everyone away for prospects and draft picks. It will take a while for those youngsters to come to fruition.

Three Things We Like About You:

We feel for the back and forth with the city of Glendale and never knowing just where everything stands. We went through a little of that way back when and it isn’t pleasant.
You’ve got to like a guy that stays with a team through thick and thin for 20 years and this year is Shane Doan’s 20^th with the franchise. He actually was drafted a year and a half BEFORE Connor McDavid was born!
We like the fact that it looks like you are going to hang around until you get a natural rival in Las Vegas.

Three Things We Don’t Like About You:

If we have to hear that loud Coyote Howl after goals one more time it will drive us absolutely crazy.
There is a bar somewhere in Scottsdale that was frequented by a couple of players during the playoffs back in 2012….don’t get me started.
I still have nightmares about those uniforms back in the late 90’s and into the 2000’s. You know, the Christmas colors with the Picasso Coyote.

Prediction: It’s going to be another long year for the Coyotes. They should be content to watch their young talent progress and hope for another year of drafting top prospects. They need to practice that lottery thing too.

Quick Take from Howlin’ Hockey:

It was a real bummer to NOT get McDavid or Eichel, when the odds should have been in the Coyotes favor. I made the comment that if it weren’t for bad luck, the Coyotes would have no luck at all.
Having Max Domi play this season will be a huge lift to a stagnant offense, who as you noted, was led by Oliver Ekman-Larsson, a defenseman. I’d like Larsson to play more defense myself, but his offensive skills are awesome.
Home ice was NOT an advantage, and after they decided to go with the “retool” (as Maloney called it) their season imploded. Poor offense, defense, goaltending. Not good..
The young talent will be great, and with the potential of Domi, Duclair, Dvorak, Perlini (who I really like, a good two-way player) the sky is the limit. I’d give them two-three years and they will be competitive again.
The Glendale fiasco was just another blow to a team fighting for existence and respectability.
Shane Doan is a COYOTE institution, and will be missed when he retires. Look for him to slip down to a third line role with Rieder, and Richardson as linemates.
We LOVE our Coyotes HOWL, it symbolizes the team effort to play like a pack, watching out for each other. No superstars, just hard-working players.
I hated those uniforms too… the logo was really ugly, but now they are a classic item. Go figure?
My prediction for this season: 7th again in the West, due to the Oilers improving, and hopefully the Coyotes will get local Auston Matthews as the #1 pick.

Click on the team below to see more previews:

Next: Antti Raanta Rooted for the Preds in Playoffs

We are looking at the Nashville Predators foes for this year and how they did last year against the Preds. Today we travel out to the desert of Arizona:

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