It’s nothing new for the Arizona Coyotes who had just one playoff appearance in the last 11 seasons coming into 2023-24, but for the fourth consecutive season, they have officially been eliminated from playoff contention.
The season from the Coyotes standpoint has had its ups and downs. Talks continue regarding a new arena in Arizona, while the Coyotes are filling the seats at Mullet Arena at Arizona State University.
That said, like the previous four teams eliminated from playoff contention, the Coyotes’ season has had some bumps in the road which is why they find themselves — once again — on the outside looking in.
With that in mind, here’s a look at what went wrong for the team, what could’ve changed if anything and where the Coyotes and their fans should look ahead to when it comes to this franchise.
Where the Coyotes Season Went Wrong
Through the first two months of the season, the Coyotes basically traded wins and losses. Their longest losing streak through to that point was three games late in November, leaving them at 8-9-2 through 19 games.
But December came around and their fortunes changed, winning five in a row to close out November and start the new month, following that up with another four-game win streak after losing four consecutive games. On December 21, the Coyotes were 17-13-2 and playoffs didn’t seem like a farfetched idea.
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The new year brought new challenges for the Coyotes and they won just four games though the first 24 games to kick off the 2024 calendar year. That included a season-worst 14-game losing streak driving the team to a 23-31-5 record and essentially killing any hopes of making the playoffs for the 2023-24 season.
Now, aside from the obvious of winning more games, what else could the Coyotes have done differently this season to change their outcome?
Coyotes Missing Offence, Road Wins
All in all it’s been a tough season for the Coyotes. Offensively, they are 22nd in the NHL in goals per game at 2.93 and 24th with a minus-23 goal differential. Outside of Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz, no player on the Coyotes has more than 50 points this season and while they have had some bright spots throughout the season, it hasn’t come with consistency.
On top of that, an up-and-comer they featured last season in Dylan Guenther spent some of the season in the American Hockey League and it took some time for another young gun — Logan Cooley — to fully find his footing at the NHL level.
The Coyotes also had an issue in getting the job done on the road this season. Away from Mullet Arena the team is 11-20-5 this season and are tied with the Ottawa Senators for the fourth-fewest road wins this season. That alone would be a problem even if they did qualify for the playoffs.
All that considered, the Coyotes do have a lot to look forward to beyond this season.
The Coyotes’ Future is Bright
Personnel-wise the future is bright for the Coyotes. Cooley, Keller and Guenther already have what it takes to light it up in the NHL and they have players like Victor Söderström and Josh Doan on the verge of making the jump.
Related: Anaheim Ducks 2023-24 Obituary – Playoffs No Fly Zone
Their roster for next season is essentially set with only three potential unrestricted free agents and five potential restricted free agents — the biggest of which might be Barrett Hayton (RFA), Sean Durzi (RFA) and Juuso Valimaki (RFA).
As for the draft, they have 13 potential picks in the upcoming 2024 NHL Draft which should retool and restock an already impressive pipeline for the Coyotes.
Call it a sacrifice, missing the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season, but the Coyotes do have a bright future. For now, however, rest in peace to this season’s edition of the Arizona Coyotes.
