Dobber’s offseason fantasy hockey grades – Arizona Coyotes

For the last 17 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 18th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the ~~summer~~…er, winter. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

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Gone – Derek Stepan, Carl Soderberg, Brad Richardson, Taylor Hall, Vinnie Hinostroza, Michael Grabner

Incoming – Derick Brassard, Drake Caggiula, Johan Larsson, Dryden Hunt, John Hayden, Tyler Pitlick, GM Bill Armstrong

Impact of changes – After going all-in last offseason and throughout the campaign, the Coyotes did an about-face this year. Unable to hold onto Hall, they changed things up and went back to focusing on their rebuild. Last year's attempt at going for it I guess was just putting the rebuild on pause and put some bums in the seats as they brought in big-name players. Now the rebuild resumes, and they have fewer assets – prospects and draft picks – to show for it.

Moving out those key bodies mean there is plenty of room for the youth. All six players 'gone' are forwards who were regulars in the lineup last season. Brassard, Caggiula and Larsson are regulars who replace three of those spots. The other three spots are wide open. Hunt, Hayden and Pitlick will likely win one or two of those spots. The rest will be up to the prospects.

Ready for full-time – Hayton actually got into 20 games last year (one goal, four points), usually more as a depth player. This time around he should see a substantial increase in ice time, plus some PP time to boot. As soon as the Coyotes moved on from Stepan, you knew that Hayton was penciled in as the No.3 center. And at the rate Nick Schmaltz is injured, Hayton could be moved up to the second line by the 20-game mark. He had nothing left to prove at the junior level, and now that he's 20 he's eligible to play in the AHL. But at this point he would have to play his way off the team, rather than on it. A potential scoring-line center in the long term, perhaps even a first liner. What he does this season could indicate where things are going with his fantasy upside. (Read up on Hayton here)

Kyle Capobianco has long dominated at the AHL level, posting 69 points in his last 82 games as a defenseman. This season he will have to clear waivers in order to be sent down, so chances are the team keeps him up. Judging by how he was used in nine games with the big club last year, it is likely he will be on the bottom pairing as a rookie so keep expectations low. (Read up on Capobianco here)

Victor Soderstrom nearly made the team last year, and once back in the SHL he was tremendous. And then he put an exclamation point on things with an excellent WJC last year. There are many who believe he is ready for the NHL right away, though it's best to figure in some AHL time this first North American season. He has a full toolbox – is reliable at both ends of the ice, and is a potential top-pairing defenseman.

Arizona Coyotes prospect depth chart and fantasy upsides can be found here

Fantasy Outlook – The Coyotes finished 23^rd in league scoring last year. They acquired Phil Kessel just in time for him to suck, and they acquired Taylor Hall just in time for him to try to figure out how he won a Hart Trophy three years ago. Not a single player earned 46 points in 2019-20 while wearing a Coyotes' uniform, although Clayton Keller had a fantastic postseason and hinted that this could be his year. The lone bright spot was the emergence of Conor Garland, who scored 22 goals despite averaging just 14 minutes of ice time per game. If this team doesn't see Keller, Garland, Schmaltz and Christian Dvorak hit their breakout seasons (and a couple of them are actually due, so stranger things have happened), then Arizona could very well be a bottom three team in terms of offense.

On defense, that's probably their strength. Although Oliver Ekman-Larsson has been underachieving of late, if Jakob Chychrun can ever stay healthy he is primed to be a stud. And Soderstrom is very close to becoming a regular and when he gets into his mid-20s he could well be better than the other two. Goaltending is solid with Darcy Kuemper and Antti Raanta, and they will put up fantastic numbers because the coaching system is all about defense and team play. The prospect pipeline was okay a year ago, but trading away Nick Merkley and Nate Schnarr, plus their top draft picks from this past summer (and they lost one as a penalty for breaking league rules, but that's another article), has taken a toll. Once Hayton, Capobianco and Soderstrom graduate, possibly this season, they will have zero prospects in my Top 100 defense fantasy prospects, and only Jan Jenik in my Top 175 fantasy prospect forwards. Ouch.

Fantasy Grade: D (last year was D+)

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2020 Offseason Fantasy Hockey Grades

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UPCOMING GAMES

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