Coyotes fans have grown so accustomed to disappointment at the NHL Draft Lottery that Monday’s events felt like a relief. Ottawa remained at the No. 12 draft position instead of jumping into the top five and robbing Arizona of the Senators’ 2023 pick. On top of that, the Coyotes held at their own No. 6 position in a lottery that…
Many of you have mildly chastised me for the tenor of my Coyotes NHL Draft Lottery previews this week, noting that they were awash in negativity while also dwelling too much in the past. Some of you even threatened not to read them. I get it, but as the great writer Saul Bellow noted, “The truth comes in blows.” I…
Coyotes captain Connor Bedard. It has a nice ring to it, in an alliteration kind of way. Just don’t hold your breath on ever being able to utter that phrase, unless you run a certain Twitter account. https://twitter.com/BillArmstrongGM/status/1653952135896104960 We all know that the Coyotes’ lottery luck has not been good. We all know that Mullett magic ruined the probabilities of…
There have been existential threats to the Coyotes before. There was a May 26, 2000 down payment that Steve Ellman made to purchase the club four hours ahead of a midnight deadline — a sale that was aided in great part by Wayne Gretzky’s decision to join the club as a partner. Had Ellman missed that deadline, the well-founded speculation…
When the 2022-23 season began, NHL analysts were not kind to the Coyotes. Most expected them to finish at the bottom of the standings. Some even termed this the worst roster ever assembled in the salary-cap era. It didn’t pan out that way. Until the Coyotes lost 11 of their final 12 games (1-7-4) to close the season, Arizona was…
Two weeks ago, I wrote a column that asked and attempted to answer seven Coyotes-related questions in the wake of the NHL trade deadline. I liked the format so much that I decided to make it a recurring theme. Introducing the 7 wonders of Craig, a column in which I stare out a window with a cup of coffee nearby,…
It would be a painful piece of irony if 4,600-seat Mullett Arena cost the Coyotes the opportunity to draft Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli or Leo Carlsson. When Arizona rallied from a two-goal, third-period deficit on Sunday to force overtime against the Cup contending New Jersey Devils, it improved the Coyotes’ record at home to 14-11-3. Compare that to the other…...
Draft prospect Connor Bedard — or even Adam Fantilli and Leo Carlsson — clearly have not been on the minds of the Coyotes coaches and players since mid-January. Arizona has points in its past six games and six of its past seven. Over the past 10 games, the Coyotes are 4-3-3. They now lead the NHL’s last-place team, the Columbus…
Up until the past seven games, the Coyotes had exceeded most external expectations. They were as close to a playoff spot as they were to the NHL basement. Their middle core was showing further signs of progress. Goaltender Karel Vejmelka was among the league leaders in goals saved above expected. They were beating elite teams and they were winning with…
I’m making a New Year’s resolution for 2023. I’m not going to freak you out over the possibility of the Coyotes not landing Conor Bedard, Adam Fantilli or Leo Carlsson in the upcoming NHL Draft. The odds of the Blackhawks (18.5 percent), Blue Jackets (13.5 percent), Ducks (11.5 percent) or Canadiens (11 percent because they own Florida’s pick as well…
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