All-Time Teams: Coyotes

Today we'll look at the first of seven franchises that originated in another city. Here's the All-Time roster for the Arizona Coyotes:

Arizona has often struggled to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs. Their high point was a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2012, in which they lost to the eventual champion Los Angeles Kings.

 

 1st Line

Left Wing - Keith Tkachuk A borderline Hall of Famer and member of the 500-goal club, Tkachuk is third in Jets/Coyotes history with 323 goals and fourth with 623 points. The American power forward is the franchise leader in career penalty minutes and owns two of the team's four 50-goal seasons.

Center - Dale Hawerchuk The first overall pick in the 1981 draft, Hawerchuk won Rookie of the Year honors in 1982. The Hall of Famer is second in franchise history with 379 goals and 929 points in just 713 games as a Jet. His career total of 1,409 points is 20th in NHL history.

Right Wing - Paul MacLean A three-time 40-goal scorer, MacLean ranks sixth among Jets/Coyotes in career assists and points. His 248 career goals for the franchise are good for fifth all-time.

2nd Line

Left Wing - Morris Lukowich A member of the original Jets following their merger from the WHA, Lukowich scored 65 goals in the franchise's final WHA season. He's seventh on the team's all-time list with 168 markers in 431 NHL games for Winnipeg.

Center - Thomas Steen Stellar two-way center played 14 seasons in the NHL, all with Winnipeg. Ranks third in franchise history in games played and points. Steen's 553 assists are second in team annals, just below the next player on this line. His son Alex is a member of another All-Time Team.

Right Wing - Shane Doan Franchise lifer was the Jets' first round pick in 1995. Played one season in Winnipeg and two decades in the desert. Sits atop the team's leader board in a dozen offensive categories, most notably goals and points. Second cousin of Canadiens goalie Carey Price.

3rd Line

Left Wing - Ladislav Nagy Slovak forward scored 249 points in 321 games with Phoenix, posting four straight 50-point seasons in his brief tenure with the team.

Center - Alexei Zhamnov This was a tough call. Zhamnov played eight seasons with Chicago (compared to the minimum four years for this franchise) but had no chance at making the Blackhawks' roster. While he wasn't a natural fit here, I'd take his 267 points in 235 games over Ron Wilson's 209 points in 535 games with Winnipeg.

Right Wing - Radim Vrbata Czech winger is eighth in franchise history with 157 goals, including a league-high total of 12 game winners in 2011-12. His 49 power play goals are tied with Teemu Selanne for seventh on the Jets/Coyotes career list.

4th Line

Left Wing - Doug Smail The franchise standard-bearer in short-handed goals, Smail is sixth in Jets/Coyotes history with 189 goals and 691 games played. He ranks seventh in team annals with 397 total points.

Center - Martin Hanzal Recently retired from the NHL, Hanzal was a dependable defensive forward over his ten seasons with the franchise. Only three players have played more games in a Coyotes uniform.

Right Wing - Brian Mullen Two of the Jets/Coyotes' top 20 scorers are on other All-Time Teams, and seven are defensemen. Mullen (brother of Hall of Famer Joe) is #20, and he slides into a top-12 spot with 296 points in just five seasons for Winnipeg.

Spares - Laurie Boschman, Mikkel Boedker

Boschman ranks ahead of Hanzal, Zhamnov, and all but seven players on the franchise's career point-scoring list. He wasn't afraid to drop the gloves, either. However his -103 rating for a perennial playoff team dropped him out of a starting spot. Boedker, the 8th overall pick in the 2008 draft, squeaks onto this roster over Ron Wilson and Darrin Shannon. The Danish-born speedster was rarely penalized, serving just 86 PIMs over eight seasons with Arizona.

Defense Pair 1

Teppo Numminen - Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Numminen played two decades in the NHL, including 15 seasons for this franchise. He ranks second on the Jets/Coyotes' all-time list for games played, represented Phoenix in three All-Star games, and represented his native Finland in four Olympics. Ekman-Larsson, the Coyotes' current captain, is tenth in team history with 239 assists and 364 total points.

Defense Pair 2

Fredrik Olausson - Randy Carlyle

The Jets boasted a plethora of puck-moving defensemen including Olausson, who sits seventh on the team's all-time list with 249 assists. Carlyle (the first player/coach you'll see on these rosters) won a Norris trophy with Pittsburgh in 1981. I considered him for the Penguins - who are surprisingly thin on defense - but his ten years with Winnipeg won out.

Defense Pair 3

Keith Yandle - Zbynek Michalek

Yandle is yet another offensive-minded defenseman, perhaps the best of the Arizona era. His 246 assists are ninth in team history - seven ahead of Ekman-Larsson and two behind Dave Babych, who didn't make this team. Michalek, the NHL's top shot-blocker in 2008-09, gives this roster a much-needed stay-at-home rearguard.

Spare - Derek Morris

Dave Ellett was considered here, but again there are plenty of puck movers in the top six. Morris ranks just below Ellett in Defensive Point Shares and they both rank behind Tim Watters. Basically, I'm going with Morris because of his decade of dependable (if unspectacular) defensive play for the franchise.

Goalies

Starter - Sean Burke

Backup - Ilya Bryzgalov

Burke played more games for the Hartford Whalers but he was a much more effective goalie in Phoenix. The Coyotes' career leader in goals saved above average and co-leader in goals against average was a Vezina finalist in 2001-02. 

 

 

Mike Smith was initially my choice to back up Burke, but Bryzgalov won more games (in 58 fewer starts), had a slightly better save percentage, and earned just one fewer shutout than the man who succeeded him in Arizona's net.

Head Coach: Dave Tippett  Captain: Shane Doan

Tippett's .520 winning percentage with the Coyotes doesn't seem impressive, but it's just .007 short of the career record. The current Oilers bench boss is first in Winnipeg/Arizona history in games coached, wins, and playoff victories.

Guess who has the third-most wins of any coach in Coyotes history?

 

 

Yep, it's the Great One.

I hope you'll join us tomorrow for our next All-Time Team, the Boston Bruins.

Thanks for reading!

 

 

 

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