-23 The plus-minus rating of defenseman Keith Yandle, who also led the Coyotes with 53 points. Projected Roster HEAD COACH: DAVE TIPPETT LW C RW 1st Line: Mikkel Boedker Martin Hanzal Shane Doan 2nd Line: Lauri Korpikoski Sam Gagner Martin Erat 3rd Line: Max Domi Antoine Vermette Brandon McMillan 4th Line: Kyle Chipchura Joe Vitale B.J. Crombeen D D #1 Oliver Ekman-Larsson Zbynek Michalek #2 Keith Yandle Connor Murphy #3 David Schlemko Michael Stone G Starter Mike Smith Backup Devan Dubnyk Scoreboard 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 PLAYOFF FINISH DNQ DNQ Conf Finals Conf QF Conf QF REGULAR SEASON 37-30-15 21-18-9 42-27-13 43-26-13 50-25-7 POINT TOTAL 89 51 97 99 107 SHOOTOUT RECORD 6-7 4-6 6-10 5-6 14-6 GOALS SCORED 216 125 216 231 225 GOALS ALLOWED 231 131 204 226 202 POWER-PLAY % 19.9 14.8 13.6 15.9 14.6 PENALTY KILL % 79.0 79.9 85.5 78.4 84.5 be expected to turn the offense around on his own. The Coyotes will also look to 19-year-old Max Domi, the son of former star player Tie Domi and the 12th overall pick in last year’s draft. It probably won’t be enough to give Arizona an above-average offense, but it should be enough to at least have a respectable scoring rate. Defense Ekman-Larsson and Yandle represent one of the strongest pairs of scoring defenseman in the league. Yandle’s statistics are somewhat perplexing; even though he was Arizona’s top scorer last year, he finished with a dismal -23 rating. That indicates that Yandle can’t quite be called a two-way defenseman, but his skill at setting up teammates makes him an asset in the opponent’s zone and on the power play. Ekman-Larsson is closer to being a strong two-way defenseman, but scoring is definitely his top skill at this point. One thing this team is lacking is a top lock-down defenseman. Zbynek Michalek is probably the closest thing the Coyotes have to one as he earned a +6 rating despite the team’s scoring struggles. Other candidates include David Schlemko and Connor Murphy, who both played capable defense in partial seasons last year. Michael Stone is a decent two-way option, but it’s clear the Coyotes lack the proven shutdown defensemen needed to contain opponents like Anaheim and San Jose. It doesn’t help that the Coyotes let longtime defenseman Derek Morris go. Morris was never a star but always provided steady defense. At 36 years old, Arizona decided it was time to move on, and Morris remains unsigned at the time of this writing. Top teams usually have a good mixture of scoring defensemen and lock-down defenders. With Ekman-Larsson and Yandle, the Coyotes have the scorers but they’re lacking the top defensive defensemen needed to succeed at a high level. Unless Michalek, Schlemko, Murphy, or
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