Tag: Arizona Coyotes

Red alert: the NHL trade deadline is two days away! Take a look at this week’s games that likely shaped every GM’s “buyer or seller” debate.

As usual, there was more than a few exciting games this week that were certainly worthy of our attention.

The Blackhawks and Red Wings squared off in the Motor City Wednesday night, while three rivalries were contested yesterday (the Battle of the Hudson River, Montréal at Toronto and the Battle of Pennsylvania, played outdoors at Lincoln Financial Field in Philly). Of course, there’s one more derby going down this afternoon when the Rangers and Capitals square off at Capital One Arena.

As for playoff rematches, there were three on this week’s schedule. Winnipeg visited Vegas Friday night and replicated their 2018 Western Finals success against the Golden Knights, while both Colorado and Philadelphia exacted revenge against the teams that eliminated them in the First Round almost a year ago.

Finally, in the “homecoming” section, there was none bigger than F Matt Duchene‘s return to Ottawa in which he never departed Ottawa. Just like last season when he was shipped to Ontario from the Avs, Duchene’s first game with his new club, the Columbus Blue Jackets, was against his former employer and teammates.

For what it’s worth, Columbus easily dispatched the Sens with a three-goal shutout.

But instead of focusing on any of those tilts, we’re instead going to shift our attention to the desert where yet another legendary player is seeing his name receive one of, if not the highest honor any sporting organization can bestow when a particular No. 19 gets raised to the Gila River Arena rafters.

WShane Doan‘s career is one of devotion and loyalty that is hard to fathom in the current North American sporting environment.

Doan was selected seventh-overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft by the Winnipeg Jets, but despite the organization quitting on the Manitoban market and departing for the sandier pastures of Phoenix, he never quit on the franchise and played each and every one of his 1595 regular and playoff games for the same team
before hanging up his skates after the 2016-17 season.

There was no reason to question Doan’s loyalty in the beginning of his career, as he earned his first playoff experience in his rookie season – his only year in Winnipeg. The Jets won only two games before being eliminated by Detroit.

That was just about the only highlight of Doan’s rookie campaign. With 7-10-17 totals in 74 regular season games played, he didn’t even earn a single vote for the Calder Trophy. However, it did start a run of five-straight playoff appearances and six postseason berths in his first seven campaigns.

Despite the Coyotes maintaining that success and consistently finishing fourth or better in their division, Doan’s breakout season did not occur until his 1999-00 campaign that saw him register then career-highs in goals, assists and points when he posted 26-25-51 totals.

That success sparked a run of nine-consecutive seasons over 10-years’ time (that darned 2004-05 lockout strikes again) in which Doan scored at least 20 goals each campaign, as well as a streak of 12-straight seasons scoring at least 50 points.

Doan assumed captaincy of the Coyotes in 2003 (he ended up being the NHL’s longest-serving captain until his retirement), which surely played a large role in his loyalty to to the organization. That love put itself on full display on Valentine’s Day, 2007 when the pending UFA signed a five-year, $22.75 million extension to remain in Phoenix instead of risk being traded away at the impending deadline.

Doan signed the extension despite the Desert Dogs missing the last three Stanley Cup Playoffs, and he would not return to the postseason until 2010.

However, Doan did not let that lack of team success hold him back, as his greatest individual campaign occurred the season after signing his new contract. During the 2007-08 campaign, the captain posted 31-42-73 marks (career-highs in assists and points) despite playing for a club that finished fourth-to-last in the Western Conference.

Doan posted another 70-point season in 2008-09 (including a career-high 31 goals), but he didn’t get any national recognition until the 2009-10 campaign when he won his only league award: the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, awarded for the player that best exemplifies leadership.

Doan certainly deserved the award, as it was around this time that the now annual rumors about the Coyotes’ relocation started to begin due to the team declaring bankruptcy and being taken over by the league. Despite all of that, Doan captained his team to a franchise-best 107 points in the standings, finishing second in the Pacific Division to San Jose’s 113.

The Coyotes fought valiantly, but fell in Game 7 of the Western Quarterfinals to the Red Wings.

Phoenix qualified for the postseason for the next two seasons, but it is their run through the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs that is most memorable. Behind Doan’s 5-4-9 marks, the Yotes soared all the way to the Western Conference Finals, knocking off perennial favorites Chicago and the surging Predators.

What made this postseason even more significant is that Doan was once again entering free agency that summer. The captain would have been well within his rights to seek a team that was on more solid financial footing than the Coyotes, but he once again elected to remain with the organization that drafted him and signed a four-year, $21.2 million contract.

It was a decision that signaled the end of Doan’s playoff career. The Coyotes have not qualified for the postseason since 2012 (despite falling only two points short in 2013-14), but have a chance to change that fate this season in the lackluster Western Conference.

Doan signed his final contract – a one-year, $4.8 million deal with a no-movement clause – with the Coyotes on July 12, 2016. He finished his career with 402-570-972 totals in 1540 regular season games played, plus his 15-13-28 marks in 55 playoff appearances. Doan leads the Jets/Coyotes franchise in career points, goals, assists, games played, game-winners (69), power play goals (125) and shots on goal (3801), making him one of the best to ever wear the Coyotes or original Jets sweater.

Once the No. 19 has found its rightful place above the ice, there will still be a Coyotes game to be played against the current Jets franchise. Arizona enters tonight’s tilt with a 28-28-5 record that is good enough for 10th place in the Western Conference, trailing Colorado by four points for the second wild card.

Arizona has been playing well of late, posting a 5-2-0 record in its past seven games (including wins against the Stars, Golden Knights and Maple Leafs) due in large part to the outstanding play by 16-14-5 G Darcy Kuemper.

When 5-6-0 G Antti Raanta went down with a season-ending lower body injury in late November, it was expected that the Coyotes would immediately begin their drop to the bottom of the Western Conference. However, Kuemper has done fairly well after being thrust into the starting role, as his .915 season save percentage and 2.63 GAA are both top-eight in the league among goalies with at least 30 starts.

However, Kuemper has been even better of late, as he’s managed a dominant .938 save percentage and 1.96 GAA in his past six starts to take credit for all of the Coyotes’ past five wins.

Speaking of wins, Kuemper has a perfect 3-0-0 record against the Jets for his career, though this will be his first game going against Winnipeg as a member of the Coyotes. During his terms with the Kings and Wild, he’s taken on Winnipeg five times and owns a career .876 save percentage and 4.15 GAA against the franchise. He’ll obviously need to show improvement on those statistics if he wants to maintain his unblemished record against the Jets, but he’s been playing so well lately that I don’t think that’ll be a problem.

Paying a visit to the desert this evening are the 37-20-4 Winnipeg Jets, the West’s third-best team and the Central Division’s top dog.

Winnipeg got off the schneid in its last outing by beating the Golden Knights 6-3 on Friday, ending a three-game losing streak that saw the Jets earn only one point in the standings (an overtime loss against the lowly Senators).

The biggest reason for this momentary slide is easily the Jets’ lousy effort on the defensive end. On the season, Winnipeg allows 33.6 shots against per game. Admittedly, that’s the fifth-worst mark in the NHL on the year, but that number has climbed to 38.5 shots against in the Jets’ last four outings – the worst in the NHL since Valentine’s Day.

There are rumblings that both D Dustin Byfuglien (lower-body injury) and D Joseph Morrow (lower-body injury) could be ready to resume action in early March, but until then players like D Ben Chiarot (4.3 hits per game since February 14), F Adam Lowry (four blocks per game in his last four outings) and D Jacob Trouba (team-leading three takeaways in his last four games) will need to continue to lead by example to try and save this defense.

Other than Head Coach Paul Maurice, no one would be more appreciative of some improved defense than 27-17-2 G Connor Hellebuyck, who’s seen his season stats fall to a .909 save percentage and 2.98 GAA during this four-game run. Considering the quantity of shots faced, it’s hard to blame him for the .876 save percentage and 4.7 GAA he’s managed over his last three starts, but the fact that he was runner-up for the Vezina last season implies that he should be at least a little better than this.

The winner of this game is tough to pick, because neither side has shown consistent offense during their respective runs. That being said, the Jets’ outstanding six goals scored against Vegas shows some pent up frustration that might carry over into tonight’s tilt. Kuemper will surely perform valiantly, but he’s going to need help from his attack if he’s to earn his fourth win against the Jets tonight.

I’ll take the Jets to win 3-1.