Arizona Coyotes aren’t panicked after 1st-round playoff exit

If people in and around the Arizona Coyotes organization would have been told before the season that the team would make the playoffs, most probably would’ve been pretty pleased with that result.

But the nuance around how the Coyotes got to the playoffs — and how they exited the playoffs — clouds the post-playoff analysis of Arizona and where it’s at. The postseason might not have included the Coyotes if not for the COVID pandemic causing the format to be restructured. Arizona lost its GM right before the playoffs started. And in the series against Colorado, the Coyotes were blown out 7-1 in consecutive games to end the season.

“I think the last two games has a sour taste in everybody’s mouth,” head coach Rick Tocchet said on Friday. “There are some reasons for it, and sometimes I have no answers for it.

“We got invited to the bubble, we beat Nashville, we were underdogs. And then we run into a buzzsaw in Colorado. … Playing Colorado with injuries at the center position, you’re playing against the best player in the world [forward Nathan MacKinnon], you’ve got [Avalanche forward Nazem] Kadri who’s unreal, they controlled the pace of the game. You can’t just blow up everything because of that, those two games.”

Indeed, the Coyotes must be careful not to overreact. They made the playoffs. They beat Nashville in the postseason. They got their “young core” — many of whom are secured under contract for years to come — to experience playoff hockey. They are, though, a cap-ceiling team that was just eliminated badly in the first round. So, something must change or improve.

“If we didn’t play in this, who knows, we’re two or three points out of a playoff spot, maybe [the players] think, ‘Oh, we’re that close,'” Tocchet said. “Obviously playing in this is going to make them better hockey players, better development for them. Like I said, Colorado, I think after Game 3, went up another notch and we obviously went down a notch. So those two notches right there and everything kind of hit at once.

“The expectations, that’s for you guys to write about. For the most part, I thought the guys worked hard and tried hard.”

Captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson focused on the long-term construction of a winning hockey team and culture.

“I think we have been doing the right thing here for a while now,” Ekman-Larsson said. “It takes a while to build a winning culture and we haven’t had that in a long time, but we’re finally on the right track, and I’m feeling that we’re doing the right things and we’re bringing in guys that want to be here and want to get better as a team. So we just have to keep doing that.”

And now, the Coyotes enter a critical offseason and do so without a general manager. Steve Sullivan is the interim (more on him below), but it remains to be seen whether he’ll stay at the helm or will be tasked with making big decisions. Tocchet just wants continuity.

“The philosophy, the game plan, you can’t keep switching game plans mid-stream,” Tocchet said. “So I think we made a lot of traction the past couple years, we’ve started to play more important games, that’s No. 1. We know we have to get stronger. We have to get stronger mentally and physically. You saw that, especially those last two games, and just keep moving ahead. Whenever the new GM comes, what the game plan is, the philosophy, all that stuff, just keep going forward.”

CLAYTON KELLER IMPROVING

One of the most important pieces of the Coyotes’ core to get playoff experience was Clayton Keller. Keller just finished his third full NHL season and is about to begin an eight-year contract with a cap hit of $7.15 million per season that Chayka gave to him. Barring a major offseason transaction — like re-signing Taylor Hall — Keller will be the Coyotes’ highest-paid forward next season and second-highest paid player overall behind Ekman-Larsson.

It’s important, then, for obvious reasons, that Keller become the player the Coyotes saw when they drafted him seventh overall in 2016. Four goals and three assists for seven points in nine playoff games were a good sign.

“I think during the time off, I was really focused and tried to stay in the best shape as I could and almost treat it like an offseason and do everything I can to be in the best shape that I could for the playoffs,” Keller said. “So I thought I was OK, I still have a long way to go, and like I said, I want to be my best player when I’m in the playoffs. And I think that was a great experience for me, hopefully we make the playoffs next year and I do the same thing, and make a deeper run.”

From his head coach:

“This is a big thing for him to be in, that’s why I’m so happy we got in this thing to experience playing those … games of this style,” Tocchet said. “I thought there was moments he was really good, he did a nice job, he’s got a ways to go, he knows it.

“He’s got to get stronger. He’s got to be more consistent, play on the inside. But he scored some goals for us, and the next three months is big for him to get stronger to see where he’s at to get to the next level. It’s a great experience for him.”

QUICK HITS

— Tocchet mentioned several injuries to Coyotes players that he revealed after the conclusion of the season. Christian Dvorak was playing through a shoulder injury after Game 1 of the Nashville series. Nick Schmaltz, who missed the entire postseason, had a head injury, although that was implied by his absence and the fact that he took a hit to the head/neck from Vegas’ Ryan Reaves in an exhibition game. Brad Richardson (thumb) is going to have surgery. Conor Garland had a head injury and missed the last two games because of it.

Other than Garland, those other three players are all centers.

“Our center position took a real hit, and that’s something that if you really want to go far in the playoffs, you’ve really got to be strong in,” Tocchet said.

— Sullivan was the subject of Elliotte Friedman’s on-air report on Sportsnet on Saturday, wherein Friedman said Sullivan may have a few options on where to work next season.

“First of all, they’re going to open up their GM search,” Friedman said of the Coyotes. “Steve Sullivan is the interim and I’ve heard that there are other teams interested in Sullivan to join their front offices if he’s not going to be the long-term solution or if he’d prefer to go elsewhere. He’s got options, from what I understand. But Arizona is going to open up the search and they’re going to interview some people there and see what they want to do.”

— In that same TV segment, Friedman hinted quite vaguely at something brewing between the Coyotes and Ekman-Larsson:

“I don’t have 100% clarity on this right now,” Friedman said. “But I think one of the interesting storylines to watch there during the offseason is the future of Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He’s their captain. He’s signed to a long-term deal. He’s got seven years left. He’s got a no-move clause. It could come down to what ownership wants to do, too, what the new GM thinks, too. I’ve just been told it’s a story to keep an eye on, on Ekman-Larsson and his future in Arizona.”

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