Coyotes monthly mailbag: You asked, I tried to answer

Spoiler alert: Before I get to your Coyotes and ASU related questions, a warning. If you don’t want to know what happened at the end of “House of the Dragon” and “The Rings of Power,” skip to the mailbag questions below this lede.

An admission. I’m a big “Game of Thrones” and “Lord of the Rings” fan. So yes, I have been watching “House of the Dragon” and “The Rings of Power.”

I have some gripes. Much of the writing and too many of the episodes were dull. There were times when I thought about bailing on both series. I didn’t develop any level of commitment to the characters other than Galadriel, the storylines dragged, I still don’t care at all about those pre-Hobbit, whatever-they-ares and the hops forward in time on “House of the Dragon” made it nearly impossible to keep the lesser characters straight.

And then came the final episodes. Both were terrific.

On “The Rings of Power” we found out that the man who fell from space was actually an Istari (a wizard) and likely Gandalf, not Sauron. He is never called Gandalf in the finale, but when he drops the same quote that he later did in Khazad-dûm — “always follow your nose” — it becomes rather obvious, even if it doesn’t fit with the timeline in the books.

We also discover that Halbrand, the man that Galadriel may have been falling in love with, is actually Sauron. Big reveal.

The only beef I had with this final episode is that Sauron’s education on the crafting of the rings of power was underplayed. Hopefully, the 17 rings of power that he’s about to help create will get more attention in Season 2.

In the final two episodes of “House of the Dragon” (really just the end of the second-to-last episode and then the finale), King Viserys died and Aegon was crowned king. In staccato succession, Rhaenyra lost her father, her crown, her baby, and at the end of the episode, her son Lucerys when his a-hole uncle, Aemond Targaryen, couldn’t control his dragon.

After this episode, I was all in for the coming war and I’m rooting heavily for Rhaenyra’s side.

It goes without saying that season finales have to be good. They have to hook you so that you’ll come back for the next season. My challenge to the writers on both of these shows is this: bring something close to that level of creativity and drama to Season 2. I’m all for character building, but the truth is, neither of these series’ first seasons was all that good until the end. Here’s hoping that they are just getting warmed up.

Let’s get to your questions; all 55 of them.

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From Discord

I really don’t know yet. They appear to be using the entire nine-game trial to evaluate Dylan Guenther before making that decision. He has played well in spots, but he has also played sheltered minutes. He can shoot and he can help their power play and he makes smart plays. We’ll see.

As for Keller, I don’t know how to answer that. It’s tough to evaluate him without a true No. 1 center. When it comes to fantasy rankings, he is 30th on the DraftKings list of NHL right wings and 22nd on Daily Faceoff’s rankings, but those rankings are clearly a partial reflection of the skill around him and the projected point total because of it. Let’s see if he can sustain the level of production he had last season before worrying about that.

It is a question that I have never asked. I think that the Coyotes would be open to having other teams play there. Coyotes President and CEO Xavier Gutierrez has even suggested it, but I don’t think that they have gone very far down that road because they need to get the arena approved and built before exploring that possibility.

Chychrun’s no-trade list could eliminate some of the teams with the best prospect pools or potential draft picks; teams near the bottom of the standings. I do think that will be a consideration in their trade timeline but they also don’t have to trade him if they don’t get the right offer. My gut tells me that he will be traded this season, even if it takes until the trade deadline or the summer.

As for JJ Moser, the sample is too small, but he is already looking like a top-4 defenseman. I thought he, like many others, had an off day in Ottawa, but he makes so many good and smart plays. A couple of people inside the organization told me that they think he is the team’s best defenseman already. That may be hyperbole, but he is really trending upward.

It’s dicey. I think Chychrun, Shayne Gostisbehere and JJ Moser can all play top-four minutes. Troy Stecher and Juuso Välimäki look like third-pair guys right now, and Välimäki will have to prove that over a longer sample. Josh Brown looks like a 7/8 guy, Patrick Nemeth was honestly a cap dump and Dysin Mayo looks better suited to top minutes in the AHL right now. Conor Timmins is really hard to evaluate because he just hasn’t stayed healthy.

I have thought a lot about this. There are no defensemen in the system right now whom you can call top-pair guys. I like JJ Moser’s potential and we’ll see about Conor Timmins and prospects such as Maveric Lamoureux and Artem Duda, but they are going to need top-end guys at some point.

Maybe that comes via the draft with a high pick who can play sooner like Owen Power. Maybe it comes via a trade of some of the assets that they have and still will acquire. Whatever means they use, they are definitely going to need to shore up this area of their system.

There are people in this organization who agree with you. That judgment may be a bit hasty, but he is definitely trending upward.

It is definitely a combination. There have been some brutal turnovers that have led to quick scoring chances or odd-man rushes. There has been poor net-front coverage at times, but the goalies have also failed to make key saves. It was the case in each of the past two games when the Coyotes tried to claw back in the games. Connor Ingram is already minus-2.18 goals saved above average after one start and Karel Vejmelka is minus-3.92 after four.

I would take the Canucks’ situation because there is still hope of playoffs there. There is a lot of talent on that team. A coaching change may solve it. It’s hard covering a team that you know has no chance of competing for a playoff spot, and one whose roster is likely to experience massive turnover each season.

From Twitter

As I said above, JJ Moser’s sample is too small, but he is already looking like a top-4 defenseman. I thought he, like many others, had an off day in Ottawa, but he makes so many good and smart plays. A couple of people inside the organization told me that they think he is the team’s best defenseman already. That may be hyperbole, but he is really trending upward.

There’s always a chance. Some teams like to get the jump on the trade deadline once they have determined their needs and, as you noted, several teams have suffered injuries to their blue line.

Gostisbehere’s skill set is well known throughout the league. Again, he’ll have to maintain this level of play but he has shown no signs of slowing, particularly with his ability to quarterback a power play.

Two things to keep in mind. If there is significant demand for Gostisbehere, Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong could wait to try to drive up the price. Second, Gostisbehere’s cap hit is $4.5 million, but his actual salary is only $3.25 million in this, the final year of his contract. Moreover, $2.25 million of that has already been paid in the form of a signing bonus.

His agent, Kevin Epp, told me that three factors were at play. He loves the game, playing for his hometown team fills him with pride and he’s probably a little bored.

Hjalmarsson has earned the right to do whatever he wants. He is the most underrated reason why the Blackhawks won three Stanley Cups in the 2010s. He is a pro’s pro.

Over the past 18 months, the Roadrunners and the Tucson Convention Center have unveiled numerous upgrades and additions to the TCC’s campus (some of which had been under construction since 2020).

Among those:

• Full replacement of the arena ice floor and ice plant
• A new dasher board system to enhance player safety
• The addition of LED digital ring boards
• The addition of new hospitality areas including a 100-person party suite with catering and a private bar
• The addition of four-seat loge boxes
• Two new parking garages (one with 300 stalls and one with 500 stalls)
• The addition of the Doubletree-Tucson Convention Center as a part of the campus
• The addition of 18,000 square feet of meeting room additions along with $7.6 million in renovations of current spaces
• More than $8 million in landscape improvements to the entire campus
• Arena lighting replacement and upgrades

Coming Soon:

• Infrastructure: High-speed technology enhancements including forward-facing WiFi and data currently underway 
• Computer system/DAK upgrades to the arena presentation capabilities and features
• More digital signage for wayfinding, information and advertisement
• Additional hospitality areas in the arena

I do not think that tunnels leading directly to the team benches are a priority. I actually like that the players walk past the crowd. It has a minor-league charm to it.

If you’re talking about a new arena for the Roadrunners, I wouldn’t hold your breath on that. I don’t think there is any push to get that done.

However, there is a three-sheet facility planned southeast of town that could house the University of Arizona’s club team and bring a much-needed facility to Tucson, which has no permanent ice sheets despite its burgeoning youth hockey movement.

As I suggested at the beginning of the season, the scouting report is out on Vejmelka now. Teams know his weaknesses and they pick on those areas.

Obviously, there have been rampant breakdowns in front of him, but he hasn’t played well either. It’s up to him to adjust to how teams are playing him, and it would also help if he had another goalie pushing him in practice and giving him some breaks the way that Scott Wedgewood did last season.

As I told Vigoda in the Discord section above:

There are no defensemen in the system right now whom you can call top-pair guys. I like JJ Moser’s potential and we’ll see about Conor Timmins and prospects such as Maveric Lamoureux and Artem Duda, but they are going to need top-end guys at some point.

Maybe that comes via the draft with a high pick who can play sooner like Owen Power. Maybe it comes via a trade of some of the assets that they have and still will acquire. Whatever means they use, they are definitely going to need to shore up this area of their system.

lol. That’s a big step up from where he is right now, but I really like JJ Moser’s progress for the most part. That was a good pick.

I find that highly unlikely, especially because he is out six to eight weeks with an upper-body injury sustained in the season opener at Pittsburgh. That contract is already a tough one for teams to absorb. Without proof that he can build on last season’s performance, it might be tough to move.

Todd & Matt: Your questions are basically the same so I will answer them together and get to Matt’s second question afterward.

If they land one of the top three picks, I could see them start to inject some prospects into the lineup. That doesn’t mean that the results will necessarily follow right away. There is a learning curve for younger players and the team will probably still struggle in 2023-24, but the presence of young talent would at least offer Coyotes fans some hope.

The threat of lawsuits — from the airport, from the City of Phoenix, from citizens groups or even from the Goldwater Institute — is something that I have wondered about on multiple shows. It is certainly a concern for the team. Even if the suits have no merit, they could still delay the process beyond its current timeline of three to four years.

I’m almost certain that they had Logan Cooley second. I had written about the possibility of them drafting Šimon Nemec, but I honestly think that was a bit of a ruse. I think they wanted Cooley all along.

You are correct that John Chayka had Victor Söderström ranked very high. I was also told that even if Ottawa had not selected Brady Tkachuk one pick earlier in 2018 (No. 4 overall), Chayka was still going to select Barrett Hayton.

Finally, neither Dave Tippett nor GM Don Maloney wanted to draft Dylan Strome at No. 3 in 2015. Maloney wanted defenseman Ivan Provorov, who went at No. 7 to Philadelphia. Tippett wanted to trade the pick to get defenseman Dougie Hamilton. They just relied on their scouts’ opinion, and the overwhelming opinion of the scouting community that Strome was the third-best prospect in that draft.

I don’t know right now, Robert. I don’t see any defensemen in the system whom you can label as top-pair guys. It’s a concern that they are going to have to address, either through the draft, via trades or free agency down the road. The plus is that they are acquiring a lot of assets which can be used in trades to fill needs.

All of them are short term. Harvard coach Ted Donato said that John Farinacci should be back soon. Julian Lutz’s injury is short term and Ilya Fedotov is just sick.

I won’t know until they play, but if the stands are full as I assume they will be, that place is electric. It has a low ceiling, good acoustics and a raucous student section. I think it will be a blast for the players, at least in the short term.

Youth hockey in Arizona has taken a giant leap forward thanks in great part to the presence of the Coyotes and the dedication of former high-level players (NHL and otherwise) who are running the programs and coaching the kids. Every year when you read USA Hockey’s statistics, you see that Arizona is one of the fastest growing states in the nation.

That said, Arizona also has the greatest need for more ice sheets of any state in the nation. It’s players-per-rink ratio is the highest in the country. If the Coyotes really want to grow the game, they are going to need to invest in this area, but let’s be honest: The Coyotes have a lot of other things on their financial plate right now so this may have to take a backseat for a bit.

I think the organization is happy with Brooks so far, but it’s far too early to evaluate any of his work. Time will tell.

Hayton has to prove that he belongs in the top six before he can earn a shot at the No. 1 center slot alongside Keller. Hayton has not carried over his strong preseason play into the regular season. Coach André Tourigny had him on the fourth line on Saturday in Ottawa. Message sent.

No. I won’t go again until they actually vote.

Hoo-boy, Matt. Where do I start?

First off, I want to make it clear that a lot of national media pieces on the Coyotes get it right, but there have obviously been a host of inaccuracies or sensational pieces printed about the Coyotes, whether it’s about their logo at center ice, the morals clause in their contract with ASU, the size of their fan base, their ability to sell out Mullett Arena, or the entire story of why their relationship with Glendale reached a breaking point.

Here’s the thing with national media: They will break a lot of big stories because they have the sources and, quite bluntly, executives, coaches, agents and players like to feel important by talking to national folks.

On the flip side, if you’re looking for detailed, in-depth, accurate information on teams, I would suggest that you go first to the beat writers. They are the boots on the ground; the reporters that are around the team all the time. They can give you the nuance. National reporters cannot. They simply don’t have the time to delve that deeply into every team. It’s the nature of their jobs.

I know that there are executives, agents and former players who do not like the fact that the Coyotes are losing so much money and taking advantage of revenue sharing. I get that perspective, but there is a lot of nuance to that discussion that I have discussed previously, but isn’t appropriate right here.

I guess what bugs me most about the media inaccuracies is this: So many of these national outlets never put boots on the ground. They make a few calls and think that they have the full story. They rarely do and the breakup with Glendale is a classic example. The narrative out there is that Glendale kicked the Coyotes out for not paying their bills. That’s partially true, but if the Coyotes had been willing to sign a long-term lease, Glendale never would have made the Coyotes’ financial missteps public. Make no mistake: Glendale wanted to keep the Coyotes. They just couldn’t do it on their terms and the Coyotes’ silly financial mistakes gave Glendale cover for cutting the cord.

The narrative that paints Glendale as nothing but a victim is laughable. I have covered this story for the past 12 years. I have been in those city council meetings. I know how much Glendale did to fracture the relationship, including ripping up a business deal two years after signing it by using another bogus cover story (sorry, Julie Frisoni. You did not deserve to be dragged through that absurd fiction).

In other instances, a simple call to ASU would have revealed that they have a morals clause with every contract of this nature. How do I know? Because I made that one phone call and found out. It is, in fact, standard practice in these sorts of business deals. Not calling ASU is quite bluntly lazy journalism.

The same goes for the logo. I reported that both logos would be represented at center ice long before this alternative narrative surfaced that ASU would not allow the Coyotes’ logo at center ice. Again, the facts were out there so not getting it right was lazy and irresponsible reporting.

I even wonder why some of the bigger reports haven’t considered the agenda of their sources. Something I learned from a great mentor long ago is this: Every source has an agenda. EVERY ONE OF THEM. If a source is guiding you to other sources to support a certain narrative, you should probably question the motives and make every effort to find out if there is an alternative view of the situation.

With that, I realize that I have rambled on long enough to make this a separate post. Obviously, I have given it a lot of thought.

You can ask my GM, Saul Bookman, if he wants to pay for Mrs. Rita’s. She’s not cheap, but I’m game. I had a blast writing that story.

I’m going to have to find out about soccer fandom. I know that there are fans in that room, but I’m not sure if any player approaches the level of Perlini’s fandom for Manchester United and soccer in general.

Barrett Hayton. I thought he was ready for a major breakout. He still may have one. We’re only five games into the season; too early for overreactions.

Probably because they have won three Cups in the past 12 years, they don’t lose $20-30 million a year and they don’t play in a 5,000-seat arena.

Definitely. I understand why the NHL implemented the shootout. You can’t exhaust players by playing endless overtimes until somebody scores, but I think extending the OT to 10 minutes could have a dramatic effect on results. I still want the game decided by something that remotely resembles hockey; not a skills contest. And I’m a shootout fan.

As I told John in the Discord section of this mailbag, I really don’t know yet. It appears that the Coyotes will be using the entire nine-game trial to evaluate Dylan Guenther before making that decision. He has played well in spots. He can shoot, he can help their power play and he makes smart plays.

On the other hand, he needs to do a lot of off-ice work to turn his body into an NHL body. I don’t see why the Coyotes would burn the first year of his ELC in what is going to be a very difficult season of losing. Sure, he could learn the pro game and be better equipped for the future, but that will mean one less season of team control in a league where finances are tight.

On another note, the Edmonton Oil Kings are 1-9-1 without him. I wonder if Edmonton’s situation has the Coyotes reconsidering whether sending him back to the WHL makes sense.

Finally, a quote from GM Bill Armstrong sticks with me.

“He’s got skill,” Armstrong said. “You watch him out there. He thinks like an NHL player. His biggest thing will be dealing a little bit with the speed, but also the strength of the NHL. And just because you score in the first 10 games doesn’t mean you’re scoring in the next 10. The NHL gets better all the time, all season.”

Buddy, have I got a podcast for you to check out. My travel rant basically begins at the opening bell.

Around the NHL: week 1

The reason that Chychrun hasn’t been traded is simple. The Coyotes haven’t received an offer that they feel brings requisite value. I also wonder if GMs want to see him play before committing such valuable assets in a trade.

I will be paying attention to the scouts in attendance at Mullett Arena this week. As for talks heating up, be wary of those national narratives and the source(s) that is driving them.

Absolutely, There is always risk with these sorts of situations. Some analysts felt they should have traded him right after the 18-goal season but that sounded crazy at the time. You just never know what’s coming down the pike.

I reported that his timeline was six to eight weeks after he exited the season opener in Pittsburgh, so I would say it’s a moderate-level injury.

It all depends on what he does with this opportunity. He has only played one game. It’s way too early to speculate on that.

He is injured and it does not look like he will be back any time soon. That is obviously a shame and a detriment to his development, but the development staff will do whatever it can to work on his body off the ice. It won’t be a total loss of development time.

It’s a fair question. The coaching staff will do whatever it can by instilling a work ethic and a culture of professionalism, but losing is hard on players and it can take root if it happens for too long. It did in Edmonton all those years when the Oilers had high picks but never found a winning formula.

That’s why it’s so important to have veterans around to light the way, offer positive encouragement and keep the core on the right path, which includes focusing on team goals rather than individual stats.

That will depend on his development but I don’t foresee Doan leaving ASU before his junior season is complete and it’s quite possible that he will play all four years. He loves the college experience and the additional time will only help his development.

Bogus. There is no merit to them.

Freshman defenseman Blake Dangos has a high-ankle sprain. Coach Greg Powers told me before the Colorado College series that he would likely miss three more weeks.

After Friday’s win against CC, Powers was asked why he thought Niedermayer was a fit on defense.

“I don’t know, maybe just realizing that his dad’s (Scott) a Hall of Fame defenseman. We needed some guys back there that can move pucks out with their feet and just add a little bit from the back end. He’s still learning. He made a few mistakes tonight, but he did a lot of good things and he can shoot a puck and get up in the play and he’s such a gifted skater with great edges and power. He’s just gonna get better and better and better.”

I would guess that they would call one up regardless. Because Tucson is so close, they can easily shuttle players back and forth. Had they suffered another injury up front on this trip, they would have recalled somebody, but the travel makes that more of a logistical issue.

He did play well in the preseason. He has just been victim of the Roadrunners’ depth thus far. He has been a healthy scratch. That’s a tough situation for a prospect but I’m sure he will get an opportunity soon. Late in the NHL preseason, he told me that he was still feeling some pain in the surgically repaired knee (ACL) so a little extra time could help him.

I’m not sure what your question means. You can bet on ASU hockey on DraftKings.

As I noted above, Barrett Hayton has to prove that he belongs in the top six before he can earn a shot at the No. 1 center slot alongside Keller. Hayton has not carried over his strong preseason play into the regular season. Coach André Tourigny had him on the fourth line on Saturday in Ottawa.

Christian Fischer’s minutes have been uneven. I was surprised by how little he played in Montréal and Ottawa after a strong game in Toronto.

As for Jan Jeník, it will depend on the situation with the big club. They don’t want to call him up to have him sit. It would be better to have him develop, but he is definitely on the list of first call-ups from Tucson along with Michael Carcone, Nathan Smith, Laurent Dauphin and Miloś Kelemen.

Yes, they are up in the awesome club that is located behind and above those seats. The club was mobbed on Friday night. I find it interesting that people would rather hang out there than watch the games from their seats. ASU may have to rethink how it tickets those seats because optically, it’s not great, but in reality, the people are there.

He is trending in that direction.

I think most of the major storylines are being discussed appropriately but here is one that isn’t on the front burner right now because it’s probably still a ways off. I am beyond excited about the possibility of the Coyotes playing a game in Mexico, whether it’s in Mexico City or Xavier Gutierrez’s hometown of Guadalajara.

Gutierrez even sent me this story. The Latino market is a largely untapped market with immense potential, but I’ll be honest, I also love to travel. The opportunity to cover a game in our neighboring nation, rather than hopping all the way across the Atlantic, is something that I will be monitoring very closely.

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