Five players the Coyotes can learn from in the Stanley Cup Final
Jun 1, 2016, 9:00 AM
FILE - In this March 20, 2016 file photo, Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) lines up to take a face-off during an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals in Pittsburgh. After dispatching the New York Rangers in five games, Pittsburgh faces top-seed Washington in the second round, their ninth postseason clash but the first since 2009. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
The Stanley Cup Final is underway between the San Jose Sharks and the Pittsburgh Penguins, while the Arizona Coyotes — and their fans — watch from home.
The Coyotes just finished their fourth straight season without a playoff appearance. After losing to the Kings in the 2012 Western Conference Finals, the ‘Yotes have since failed to finish better than fourth place in their division.
With Dave Tippett at the helm and a brand new GM in John Chayka, the Coyotes are still a far cry from the Sharks or Pens. Here are five players on the Stanley Cup teams who could tell us something about the Coyotes:
Martin Jones – G, San Jose Sharks
Just like the Arizona Cardinals will soon need to find Carson Palmer’s successor, the Coyotes will eventually need to figure out who will take over for 34-year-old goaltender Mike Smith. Louis Domingue, a 24-year-old who saw playing time while Smith was injured last year, seems to be a promising long-term option.
The San Jose Sharks successfully nabbed former Kings backup Martin Jones after their starter of five years, Antti Niemi, headed to Dallas. Jones went 37-23 for the Sharks this year, and holds a 2.17 GAA in the playoffs.
The Coyotes started last year with Anders Lindback as their backup to Smith, but Domingue bested Lindback in several statistical categories. Those two, along with other goaltenders in the Coyotes minor league system, provide Tippett and Chayka with some options.
Kris Letang – D, Pittsburgh Penguins
Letang is a frequent goal-scorer for a powerhouse franchise, and he’s doing it with some defensive proficiency as well.
Arizona has an elite offensive D-man of their own in Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and many agree that only the Ottawa Senators’ Erik Karlsson is a better offensive producer as a defenseman from year to year.
Ekman-Larsson was tied for second in goals among NHL defensemen last year with 21, and one of Letang’s counterparts — the Sharks’ Brent Burns — was the only one with more. In the 2014-15 season, Ekman-Larsson had 23 goals to lead NHL defensemen, with Karlsson sitting just behind him with 21.
Letang and Burns both show that having a goal-scorer on the blue line can go a long way, so the Coyotes might want to hang on to that Ekman-Larsson guy.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – D, San Jose Sharks
Ekman-Larsson is a great player, but his defensive play is good, not elite. Vlasic, meanwhile, has a plus-minus above 10 in all but two of his NHL seasons, and one of those was the lockout year. With a +15 and 48 penalty minutes in 2015-16, Vlasic is a big reason why the Sharks are in the Final.
Connor Murphy led Coyotes defenseman in plus-minus last year with +5, and Arizona hasn’t had a defenseman with a plus-minus at 10 or better since Adrian Aucoin in 2011-12. In other words, they’ve yet to find a shutdown defenseman like Vlasic.
Tomas Hertl – LW, San Jose Sharks
Max Domi is perhaps the Coyotes’ most promising young player, and the Sharks’ Tomas Hertl shows why a top-line winger can mean so much for a franchise’s nucleus.
Both Domi and Hertl are very strong skaters and valuable point producers. They both have quick hands, and Domi’s aggressive offensive style and willingness to make plays on his own – to a fault, at times – allow the young forward to get a lot of pucks to the net.
Domi’s 52 points last year were the second most on the Coyotes and even beat Hertl’s 46, and his 34 assists say a lot about hit ability to set up plays for more than just himself.
The Coyotes can watch the Stanley Cup in envy, but their 21-year-old forward should bring them hope – just like Hertl once did for the Sharks.
Sidney Crosby – C, Pittsburgh Penguins
Love him or hate him, Crosby’s hockey abilities are the envy of a lot of teams, and a perennial All-Star is something the Coyotes really lack.
Of course, players like Crosby don’t grow on trees, and every draft pick is a gamble. But as the Coyotes scuffle to gain better attendance, its fan base can point to the lack of a superstar as one reason why the team plays neither in a full arena nor in a Stanley Cup series.
