Off the Ice: 2013 Phoenix Coyotes were anything but predictable

Apr 29, 2013, 7:14 PM | Updated: 7:16 pm

Arizona Sports

Well, that’s done.

The Phoenix Coyotes wrapped up their season Saturday with a win in Anaheim, finishing with 51 points in 48 games. Not their worst season, but not their best.

Because I’m a sick person, I decided to take a look back at my original season predictions for the Coyotes. In retrospect, I didn’t do horribly, but I know you fine people would love to tell me just how wrong I was.

For those of you in too big of a hurry to finish reading and want to get to the comments, here are my original predictions. Have fun.

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Season outcome: Another year of May hockey in the desertOops. The Coyotes fell short of the playoffs for the first time under the tenure of head coach Dave Tippett because of a menagerie of problems, mainly injuries to key players. The team couldn't get the wins it needed and fell four points short of the final spot in the playoffs.(AP Photo)

Bold prediction: Steve Sullivan outplays the WizardDead wrong on this one. I was riding high at the beginning of the season, once again believing that Don Maloney worked his magic and got a replacement for Ray Whitney on the cheap. Nope. Sully went 5-7-12 in 33 games for Phoenix before being dealt to New Jersey. The search to replace the Wizard continues.(AP Photo)

Best Rehashed Nickname: The Bash BrothersThis prediction was stupid. There. I said it. The physical play of Paul Bissonnette and Raffi Torres was a big part of the team's sandpaper this season, but Torres was dealt to the Sharks and Biz decided to be a scorer (career-high five points this season). Maybe I just missed the Mighty Ducks.(AP Photo)

Storyline to follow: Can Mike Smith do it again?Yes and no. Smitty logged 1,956 minutes in 34 games this season, during which he posted a 15-12-5 record. He had a 2.58 goals against average and a .910 save percentage. Those numbers are worse than a year prior, when he went 38-18-10 with a 2.21 GAA and .930 save percentage. However, he was tied for the NHL lead in shutouts this season. New storyline to follow: Are the Coyotes willing to pay Smitty the rumored $6 million per season he desires? I don't think so.(AP Photo)

Scoring leader: Radim VrbataI missed the boat on this one by two measly points. The Czech forward put up 12-16-28 this season, but in my defense, he did miss 14 games with an injury. I'm calling this one a moral victory.(AP Photo)

Top trade bait: Keith YandleOK, this was an easy one. Yandle is always drawing attention from numerous NHL teams and this season was no different. Some rumored (but not confirmed) offers would have seen two NHL-ready forwards -- including a top six guy -- and some prospects. No matter how long Yandle is a Coyote, he'll attract trade interest. It's the nature of the beast. Plus, when a D-man leads the team in scoring (10-20-30 this season), he's going to garner interest.(AP Photo)

Player to watch: Mikkel BoedkerI was pretty accurate with this one. Boeds put together a fairly decent season, posting 7-19-26 in 48 games. Considering he had 24 points in 82 games in the season prior, I'd say it was a decent call to keep an eye on the young Dane, who is only going to increase his productivity.(AP Photo)

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