ARIZONA, USA — As the 2022-2023 NHL season began, almost every analyst predicted the Arizona Coyotes would finish dead last in the league standings. The initial assumption wasn’t awfully far-fetched, but the men on the Arizona roster proved otherwise throughout 82 games.
"Everyone thought we were just going to roll over and lose every single game the rest of the year,” Coyotes forward Clayton Keller said. “And then we went on a 9-game point streak and I think we did a good job working super hard."
There’s a reason the players play the game and the fans watch the rest unfold.
That’s because Lawson Crouse set another career-high in goals and points, Matias Maccellii made a name for himself vying for the Calder Trophy while Keller tied Keith Tkachuk’s single-season Arizona franchise points record in the final game of the season.
"I was super proud how I was able to bounce back from my leg injury and have the best year of my career,” Keller said. “I think I surprised myself a little bit but I always knew I could do it."
And did he ever. Keller helped lead a team that wasn’t expected to do much but instead, happened to build confidence throughout the year after a trade deadline that sent away several core pieces.
“Some of the young guys have become veterans themselves,” Bill Armstrong, Coyotes GM, said. “They’ve matured and taken a step and there are some really good pieces to move forward with. I felt we did take a positive step forward, I liked our group and the fight this team had was really good. That’s a credit to our coaching staff and culture for not rolling over.”
Yet the hope moving forward is to continue to expand on the progress made in 2022, with patience in mind.
“You’ve got to let the team itself drive you where you’re going to go,” Armstrong said. “If that’s in the playoffs then we’ve got lots of options to go acquire players and make us even better. But we’ve got to let that happen naturally and not force it. We have to let our players dictate where we’re going.”
The next date to circle on your calendar is the NHL Draft Lottery on Monday, May 8, where the hope is the Coyotes can land a top 2 draft pick. As it stands currently, they only have about an 8 percent chance to do so.
Fingers crossed.
Sports
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