Arizona Coyotes Mid-Term Report Card: Def/Goal/PP/PK

Arizona Coyotes grades for the defence, goaltenders and special teams –  

As usual in any hockey season, any given NHL roster is going to have its surprises and it’s disappointments.  The Arizona Coyotes are no exception.  

After a shaky start, Oliver Ekman-Larsson has rebounded and had a good second quarter while the Coyotes other “top defenceman” Keith Yandle has continued to put up points but has been very poor in the defensive zone.  The Coyotes blue-line as a whole is very soft and don’t do a very good job of controlling the area around their goaltenders.  Brandon Gormley and Connor Murphy are still young and are learning the game at the NHL level.     

It’s hard to tell if the Arizona Coyotes goaltending has been good or bad as the team in front of them has hung them out to dry every second game.  There is no doubt the goaltending needs to be better but being the worst penalty killing team in ALL of the NHL doesn’t help.

I assign two grades; first (hockey grade) is just strictly what you see is what you get and the second (ROI) is weighed against salary or “bang for your buck”.

At the time of this “Report Card”, the Arizona Coyotes record was 16-20-4 and I feel these grades reflect their play.

Please feel free to add your grades or opinions on any player/players you feel I have over-rated or short-changed.  

Please feel free to comment below.  

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