Handing out the Coyotes season awards

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Coyotes won’t be winning any of the NHL’s major awards when they are announced in June in Las Vegas. There are seasons worth noting, however.

As the Coyotes enter the final four games of their season, we’re handing out the annual team awards.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Clayton Keller: This was the easiest of the awards. Keller is 31 points ahead of fellow rookie Christian Fischer. He has already set the Coyotes rookie records for goals (23), assists (39) and points (62), as well as some other lesser rookie records. After a sluggish middle of the season in which he produced eight goals and 21 assists in a four-month span, Keller has recaptured the touch that led nine goals and 15 points in October. In 16 March games, he has six goals and 18 points, his most productive month of the season.
Other notables: Christian Fischer, 13 goals, 31 points.

BEST DEFENSEMAN
Oliver Ekman-Larsson: This is a tight battle with Alex Goligoski, who was more productive and more consistent over the first half of the season. Ekman-Larsson has more goals (13), more assists (27), more points (40) and slightly more average ice time per game (23:37) than Goligoski, who has 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) and averages 23:14 of ice time. It should be noted — and it was by Goligoski himself at the start of the season — that Goligoski had an easier time adapting to the shift in playing style that coach Rick Tocchet wanted because he had played a similar style in Dallas. Ekman-Larsson took some time to adapt. By his own admission, he underperformed earlier this season, but he has played at an elite level for the past two and half months.
Other notables: Goligoski.

BEST FORWARD
Derek Stepan: Stepan has been pretty much as advertised: a strong, two-way forward who brings communication skills and a calming presence to the locker room. Stepan has already tied his career high with 40 assists. With four more points, he can match his career high (57) in that category. Not having to play against other teams’ top talent for much of the second half of the season has allowed Stepan the freedom to be more offensive, but he is still the defensive engine that drives his linemates, Keller and Richard Panik.
Other notables: Keller.

BEST DEFENSIVE FORWARD
Brad Richardson: Richardson doesn’t put up offensive numbers, but when Rick Tocchet handed him the challenge of facing other teams’ top talent on a nightly basis, Richardson and regular linemates Jordan Martinook and Nick Cousins responded. Remarkably, Richardson is only a minus-5 since the new year began in that important role. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent after the season. The Coyotes should re-sign him.
Other notables: Stepan.

BEST DEFENSIVE DEFENSEMAN
Niklas Hjalmarsson: When Hjalmarsson got healthy in the second half of the season, he looked like the same defensive force that helped Chicago win three Stanley Cups. Mileage was the concern when he arrived and that concern will linger through the offseason because he only played 48 games (he missed 13 combined the five previous seasons). When he’s right, Hjalmarsson is so good positionally, so smart in his decisions, so fearless in his approach and mobile enough that he adds a critical dimension to the Coyotes’ blue line.
Other notables: Jason Demers.

MVP
Antti Raanta: There are arguments to be made for Stepan and Keller, but no player’s presence more directly correlates to wins and losses than Raanta’s. He owns 19 of the team’s 27 wins (66 percent). Among goalies who have played at least 20 games since the new year began, Raanta owns the league’s best goals against average (1.94) and the league’s best save percentage (.938). If Raanta had played 10 more games, he’d be in the conversation for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie.

Injuries are the one knock on Raanta, especially for those who would prefer Stepan or Keller for this award. Both forwards have played 78 games to Raanta’s 44. If Stepan had put up a few more points he might have won this award, but if time on ice is your beef, consider that Raanta has still played nearly 1,000 more minutes (2,422) than either Stepan (1,503) or Keller (1,406).

The Coyotes went 1-11-1 in October, Keller’s most productive month until March. As noted above, he slumped badly in the middle four months but has caught fire late in the season. Stepan has said himself that by doing the dirty work and the defensive work, he has allowed Keller to play offense and get in his spots. This is not meant to diminish Keller’s wondrous season, but only to put it in perspective. Playing with Stepan has helped him immensely (and vice versa).

Wings rarely impact the game as much as centers or goalies do. It would take a superhuman effort for Keller to wrest this award away from Raanta, but those four unproductive months are hard to ignore and they balance Raanta’s injuries. What it comes down to is this: Had Raanta been healthy the first half of the season, the Coyotes might be looking at an entirely different result. He was clearly the most valuable player to his team.
Other notables: Stepan, Keller.

ALL INTERVIEW TEAM
Derek Stepan: Best game analysis.
Brendan Perlini: Deep thinker offers more esoteric thoughts.
Brad Richardson: Unfailing candor, insight and underrated humor.
Christian Fischer: Fischer will play along, good-naturedly, with any angle.
Zac Rinaldo: When you need the blunt, undiplomatic assessment, Rinaldo is your guy.
Luke Schenn: Mr. Nice Guy.
Jason Demers: Wacky and unpredictable.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson: Dry wit accompanied by a perfect deadpan.
Antti Raanta: Always has a smile on his face and lots of time to talk.

 

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