For the last 18 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 19th 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 – Darcy Kuemper, Antti Raanta, Adin Hill, Conor Garland, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Alex Goligoski, Michael Bunting, John Hayden, Jordan Oesterle, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Rick Tocchet (coach)

Incoming – Travis Boyd, Carter Hutton, Ryan Dzingel, Dmitrij Jaskin, Conor Timmins, Anton Stralman, Loui Eriksson, Antoine Roussel, Jay Beagle, Shayne Gostisbehere, Andrew Ladd, Josef Korenar, Andre Tourigny (coach)

Impact of changes – The Coyotes are cleaning house and going full-on rebuild. In fact, the two teams with the best odds of winning the 2022 Draft Lottery appear to be Arizona and Buffalo, at least at the moment. They have traded some of their best players for spare parts and draft picks in order to focus on a rebuild. The top three goalies from last season (Kuemper, Raanta, Hill) have been moved, as has captain OEL and points-per-game leader Garland. Plain and simple, they are going to be dreadful in the short-term.

It's probably better to discuss what's left as opposed to what's coming in, but there are a few names who may receive a new lease on life in the desert. Jaskin will take another crack at the NHL after two point-per-game seasons in the KHL. Timmins should have an easier time cracking the Arizona lineup than he did in Colorado. Gostisbehere will try to get his career back on track after being frequently healthy scratched during his last two seasons in Philly.

Ready for Full Time – Barrett Hayton made the Coyotes out of camp, but he was sent down to the AHL for more seasoning after scoring just three points in 14 games. He didn't perform a whole lot better in Tuscon, recording just 10 points (including six goals) in 26 games to go with a minus-18 (the Roadrunners weren't a very good team). He may need more time than the Coyotes originally projected to blossom into a productive top-6 forward. Because he still doesn't have to go through waivers, Hayton may spend time in both the NHL and AHL again this season.

The organization's top prospect on defense, Victor Soderstrom was recalled late in the season and even scored his first NHL goal. Like Hayton, his AHL season could have been better with 10 points in 32 games. With veterans Ekman-Larsson, Goligoski, Oesterle, and Hjalmarsson all departed, the door appears to be open for Soderstrom to earn a spot out of camp, even if he isn't quite ready for the NHL full-time.

Like Soderstrom, Kyle Capobianco spent most of the 2020-21 season in the AHL. He was a little more productive there, scoring 13 points in 20 games. He's now 24 and on a one-way contract, so this might be the year that he has to stick in the NHL. But he could also be closer to being a full-time NHLer than Soderstrom is.

Fantasy Outlook: Arizona is going to be as dry as the desert when it comes to fantasy value, but we'll try to squeeze as much as we can out of this team. If there's one Coyote to own, it's Jakob Chychrun, who led all defensemen in goals and finished tied for third in power-play goals (with Gostisbehere, of all people!) So maybe those are your two d-men who earn the bulk of the power-play time, although prospects Soderstrom and Capobianco might be in the mix as well.

Now for everything else, which isn't much. Phil Kessel was able to bounce back to what would have been a 63-point pace, including 25 points in his last 26 games. Yet with the lack of top-end play drivers on his team and his perceived lack of motivation, fantasy owners won't be tripping over themselves to land Phil the Thrill. Clayton Keller might lead this team in scoring, although the fact he is a perimeter player might limit his upside. Christian Dvorak and Nick Schmaltz will form the 1-2 punch up the middle. Dvorak is only 25, but he could also be a trade chip that many teams would be interested in. Since Jaskin is receiving $3.2 million (on a one-year contract), he should receive a long look on a scoring line.   

As for the goaltending, the Hutton/Korenar/Ivan Prosvetov combination does not appear to be what the Coyotes will need to be competitive. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Coyotes acquire another goalie.

Fantasy Grade: D- (last year was D)

2021 Offseason Fantasy Grades

Anaheim