‘Yotes GM John Chayka more worried about the process than the standings

The Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres are off to tough starts in the 2017-18 season.

Each team has just 14 points at the midway point of November, which is 16 points behind the team with the league’s best record, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

But neither the Panthers nor the Sabres own the league’s worst point total. That dubious distinction is all property of the Arizona Coyotes, who have earned just seven points through 20 games. The young Coyotes, who have only two wins, have yet to experience a regulation victory this year, becoming the first NHL team in history not to get one in the first 20 games.

The architect of the roster isn’t all that worried about it.

“Standings are one thing. You know, I’m not a huge results guy — I know it’s pro sports and results are the main thing and that’s certainly the end goal, but for us, we’re kind of just focused on our process here,” general manager John Chayka told Doug & Wolf Thursday on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

“We started the season with some goaltending issues and that maybe colored things the wrong way early on. I think our team played much better than the results.”

Many of those goaltending issues have been improved with Antti Raanta returning from injury. In six games since missing nearly three weeks, Raanta has stopped 159 of 176 shots he’s faced (.903 save percentage), but the Coyotes have gone just 1-4-1 in that stretch. Raanta was replaced by backup Scott Wedgewood after allowing three goals on 13 shots in 25 minutes of ice time Tuesday night in a 4-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

Even though some pundits regularly point out that the Coyotes are off to a historically bad start, Chayka seems determined to stay the course.

“There’s 75 percent of the season left here. We feel like we’re an ever-evolving team — our team is much different today than it was two or three weeks ago,” Chayka said.

The GM also points to the impending returns of defensemen Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jakob Chychrun from injuries as events that can help point the team in the right direction. Hjalmarsson, acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks in June, hasn’t played since Oct. 30 due to an upper body injury. Chychrun had knee surgery in August and began skating Oct. 21, but there is no timetable for his return just yet.

“We’re expecting to continue turning the corner here and continue to grow,” Chayka said. “That’s what we’re about, we’re trying to create some progress here and some growth and we think it’s going to be a bit of journey, of course, and that was the expectation.

“But at the end of it, it will all be worth it.”

Follow @Vincemarotta