Phoenix Coyotes looking to lock playoff spot

pezzz writes "Alright. The last 8 articles were talking about either McCabe, Sundin, the Leafs or the Habs and I was getting tired. But did nothing. So here's a short article about the Phoenix Coyotes to change the atmosphere a bit. Am I gonna get 80 comments lol? Let's see.

I think Don Maloney did a wonderful job the last 2 years with the Yotes. 1rst, he flushed away the Country Club atmosphere and the players enjoying it. Second, he reminded Gretzky that although he's one of the owners, he's also the Head Coach and must be there at the practices, and act like a Coach. Third, he put in place a very good scouts team, and drafted as well as he could. 4th, he pulled the trigger on a few trades that greatly helped the team, and will continue to help in the near and distant future. I'm thinking of the Vrbata trade (he stole him from Chicago), claming Bryzgalov off waivers (that was a HUGE turnover), and of course, the Jokinen trade (Ballard is a great d-man, but they needed Jokinen badly.).

So far, here's the Yotes' roster

Mueller - Jokinen - Doan
Hanzal - Turris - Lisin
Fedoruk - Reinprecht - Winnik
Carcillo - Zigomanis - Murray
McGrattan

Jovanovski - Morris
Michalek - Yandle
Sauer - Jones
Hale

Bryzgalov
Tellqvist

Cap Hit : 39 millions

they have 17 millions left to spend.

In goal, they're set. Bryzgalov proved he was a legit #1 goaltender, + we already saw him play strong in the playoffs (2 straight shootouts if I'm right). Tellqvist is a fair backup.

On D, they're average. Jovo is a good #1 d-man, can put up 50 points/year and play good in his own end. Derek Morris is a lot like Brad Stuart. Fast skater, tall, strong, when he was drafted he was considered a top offensive d-man, now he's more a stay-at-home. But he can still put up 30 points and play on the PP (2nd wave preferably). Michalek is also a stay-at-home, he plays great defensively but has limited offensive upside. He's still a good top 4 guy. Yandle is a great youngster, with huge upside, but I'm not sure he can handle top 4 minutes yet. He will probably become a top-pairing guy some day, but for now, I'd put him on the 3rd pairing. Sauer, Hale and Jones are nothing more than 5th and 6th d-men, although Jones is still young and has good upside.

Up front, it's thin. They got a few plumbers playing top 9 roles (even top 6) when their real roles are on the 3rd and 4th line. Hanzal, Lisin, Fedoruk and Winnik come to mind. Mueller, Jokinen and Doan are a very good 1rst line, but they could use a lot more secondary scoring. Turris will probably have a good year and be in contention for the Calder, but he needs help. Lisin is arguably the fastest skater on the Earth, but he's no 2nd liner yet. Hanzel fits better on a 3rd line. Reinprecht is a good 3rd line center. Fedoruk, Carcillo and Winnik are great agitators, but they're more suited for 4th line duties. Winnik maybe can handle 3rd line spot. McGrattan, Zigomanis and Murray (Garth) will split between them the remaining spots.

To resume, the Yotes need a top 4 d-man who can handle playing the PP and put up at least 30 points, + 1 top 6 winger, 2 if they can. And they got 17 millions to do so.

Let's take a look at who we know is available, and who they could maybe get if they put a great package on the table.

top 4 d-man with offensive upside :

Mathieu Schneider
Adrian Aucoin
Brent Sopel
Cam Barker
Mike Van Ryn
Jay Bouwmeester
Andrej Meszaros
Ryan Whitney
Pavel Kubina
Tomas Kaberle
Brian McCabe
Kevin Bieksa
Brian Pothier
Tom Poti

Schneider, Van Ryn, McCabe and Bieksa are on the trade block. One of Sopel and Barker will probably leave Chicago, as well as Pothier and Poti for Washington. The others are unlikely, but their names still popped up in trade rumours recently.

top 6 fowards :

I'm not including Selanne, Sakic and Shanahan, as they will probably play with the same team or retire.

Ladislav Nagy
Mark Parrish
Glen Murray
Vyacheslav Kozlov
Afinogenov
Connolly
Kotalik
Tuomo Ruutu
Lang
Havlat
Handzus
Sullivan
Zubrus
Gionta
Guerin
Comrie
Knuble
Milan Michalek
Kariya
Tkachuk
McDonald
Jussi Jokinen
Jason Blake
Antropov
Nylander
Viktor Kozlov

Make your choice lol. Parrish, Nagy and Murray are UFA, so they could add good depth without costing anything. Slava Kozlov, Afinogenov, Ruutu, Handzus, Zubrus, Jokinen and Nylander are on the trade block. Some say the Sharks are quietly shopping Michalek around, same thing with the Preds and Sullivan. But Sullivan will be tough to move, as he's constantly injured. St Louis and NYI, if they can get something fairly good, will move without a doubt Comrie, Guerin, Kariya, Tkachuk and McDonald.

The Yotes, I repeat, have 17 millions left to spend.

Let say they pick up Schneider. I know it's unlikely because they're in the same division, but don't forget Burke put Bryzgalov on waivers KNOWING Phoenix would reclaim him. So he'd may be willing to trade with them. Let say Anaheim trade Mathieu to Phoenix for a 2nd round pick in 2010. Anaheim are clear with cap problems, and Phoenix get a legit top 4 d-man who's putting up 50 points/year. I'm saying a 2nd round pick only here, because if they can't move Schneider, Anaheim are in deep trouble. So Phoenix are helping them as much as Ahaneim helps Phoenix.

After this, let say they throw 2.5 to Mark Parrish. He's a 20 goal scorer, with nice grit and leadership, so he could help this young team.

After, let say they trade for Nikolai Antropov. Some say he's on the trade block, some say he will spend his life in Toronto. I say Maloney should make an offer Fletcher can't refuse. Viktor Tikhonov (Phoenix' 1rst round pick in 08 (after Boeddker), center, 6'2, 187.), Jonas Anhelov (Phoenix' 3rd round pick in 06, d-man, 6'3, 205), and a 3rd round pick in 09. That should do it.

The Yotes' roster now looks like this

Mueller - Jokinen - Doan
Antropov - Turris - Parrish
Hanzal - Reinprecht - Lisin
Fedoruk - Winnik - Carcillo
McGrattan
Boeddker will also challenge for a top 9 spot, otherwise he'll spend some time in the minors.

Jovanovski - Morris
Michalek - Schneider
Sauer - Yandle
Jones
Hale

Bryzgalov
Tellqvist (with Montoya challenging for the spot)

With this roster, Phoenix have still 7 millions left in cap space, enough for trades, call-ups, and to give a big raise to Antropov, Morris and Yandle in the off-season.

To me, this is a playoff team, who will maybe not compete directly for the Cup, but who's good enough to lock the 7th or 8th seed. Also, Doan is a great Captain, looking to taste his 1rst playoff experience as the C, so he'll shake his guys' out to achieve his goal.

What do you think?"