NHL Utah general manager Bill Armstrong is among those getting a fresh start from Smith Entertainment Group’s purchase of the Coyotes’ hockey operations assets. He’ll have a comparatively endless cash supply this summer, with the ability to spend up to the salary cap and roughly $43.25MM in offseason space, among the most in the league.
Armed with a gigantic supply of second and third-round draft picks over the next few seasons as well, many have speculated that Armstrong will be one of the most aggressive GMs in the coming months. That seems to be the case, with The Fourth Period reporting NHL Utah will scour both the free-agent and trade market for a second-line center, a top-six winger and a top-four defenseman to add to an already promising core of ex-Coyotes talent.
The Coyotes still fell far short of a playoff spot this year, but their 36-41-5 record was their best since the COVID-shortened 2021 season. Their success was mainly influenced by their best depth scoring in years. They ranked 16th in the NHL in scoring with 256 goals after finishing with 207 and 228 in each of the last two campaigns.
Team defense was still an issue, failing to control the majority of shot attempts and scoring chances at 5-on-5. Goaltending took a step forward in the form of Connor Ingram’s strong .907 SV% and six shutouts, but backup Karel Vejmelka’s poor season over his 38 appearances dragged their overall puck-stopping just below league average.
Still, the players who needed to improve did. 19-year-old Logan Cooley had a strong rookie season, finishing the year with 20 goals and 44 points while averaging 15:49 per game after a middling start to the season that saw him demoted to fourth-line usage at times. Offseason trade acquisition Sean Durzi was passable as their number one defenseman, putting up 41 points in 76 games with a 52.2 CF% at even strength to lead Arizona blue-liners.
The roster wasn’t built for playoff contention yet, especially after one-year UFA pickups Mathew Dumba and Jason Zucker both flamed out and were traded for scraps at the deadline. But with another step forward from Cooley and full seasons from youngsters Josh Doan and Dylan Guenther, both of whom put up great per-game numbers in more limited action, they should be expected to stay in the conversation for a longer period of time next season.
And that’s before adding any external pieces into the equation. Adding in a second-line center leaves Nick Bjugstad and
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