Tocchet: Coyotes expect to get healthier in second part of season
Jan 30, 2019, 6:35 PM | Updated: Jan 31, 2019, 8:07 am
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
Injuries have been a key part of the Arizona Coyotes’ season, but the team has received good news regarding the potential return of several key players.
Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet joined Burns and Gambo on Wednesday and said some of his team’s injured players have progressed well and could return to the lineup quickly following the All-Star break.
Tocchet added others who were expected out for the remainder of the season, like Jason Demers and Christian Dvorak, could return this season.
The Coyotes have seven regulars who are on injured reserve but are just two points out of a playoff spot with 32 regular season games left.
“Brad Richardson is on the horizon. Jason Demers is actually ahead of schedule. Christian Dvorak is actually going to start practicing with us regularly,” Tocchet told 98.7 Arizona’s Sports Station. “It’s week to week now, not month to month, and we definitely want our healthy guys back.”
Richardson has been on injured reserve with an upper body injury since early January and seems the most likely IR player to return first.
The continued progression of Dvorak and Demers is promising, even if neither is able to return this season.
Dvorak underwent surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle in October and Coyotes GM John Chayka said at the time it was possible it could cost him the season.
The 22-year-old scored 15 goals and added 22 assists in 2017, his second in the NHL.
Demers has been one of the Coyotes’ best defensemen since joining the team last season and would help solidify a back line that hasn’t had much consistency because of injuries.
98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro reported in November, though, that Demers would miss the remainder of the season after suffering a knee injury in a game against the Nashville Predators.
Coyotes captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson is still listed as day-to-day with a knee injury he suffered last week but would skate with the team out of the All-Star break.
The Coyotes, 6-2-2 in their past 10 games, return to action Saturday against the San Jose Sharks.
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