The Arizona Coyotes saw an abundance of success towards the latter half of the 2022-23 campaign, and put together a winning record at Mullett Arena. From the production of Clayton Keller to the breakout season of rookie sensation Matias Maccelli, the Coyotes are in store for an exciting 2023-24 season. In addition, they added veterans in Jason Zucker, Alex Kerfoot, and Nick Bjugstad. Now, let’s take a look at three players who will be under the microscope to repeat or increase their performance from last season.
Nick Schmaltz
The 2022-23 season was yet another consistent showing of what Nick Schmaltz has been able to do throughout his career. Schmaltz found most of his success this past year playing with teammates Clayton Keller and Barrett Hayton, excelling with them. During this past season, he had one of his most productive years, notching 22 goals and 58 points in 63 games. That was almost identical to his 2021-22 campaign, where he notched 23 goals and 59 points in 63 games.
As mentioned above, Schmaltz thrived with Keller and Hayton, where all three of them helped each other produce at career rates. Although, the leading facet in Schmaltz’s game is his ability to never remain completely healthy. During his time with the Coyotes, he has never played a full 82-game season, which could raise eyebrows. Yet his production with the team is top-notch, as he’s always contributing on the ice.
The Wisconsin native is also heading into the portion of his contract where he’ll have a no-move clause. Due to this, there was plenty of speculation that Schmaltz could be moved at the 2023 NHL Draft or even before. That didn’t happen, and he looks to be a core piece of the team moving forward; having great chemistry with Keller, it makes sense. While he has been great with the team, seeing a step in production and staying healthy will be key to Schmaltz’s success this upcoming season. Without a doubt, he will be under the microscope throughout 2023-24.
Clayton Keller
The first superstar the Coyotes have had since the likes of Shane Doan and Keith Tkachuk is none other than Clayton Keller. He had a dominating season this past year, recording 37 goals and 86 points in 82 games. Keller stunned many with this spectacular season after he returned from breaking his femur, an injury that could change a player’s career. Despite the odds not being in his favor, he had the best season of his young career and tied Keith Tkachuk in points for a single season.
Keller seemed to grow more as a player after the All-Star Game, where he was up there with the likes of Connor McDavid and David Pastrňák in production. “He’s really good at creating space for himself and creating space for other people,” Boyd said. “He’s so good at holding onto the puck and working around people that he ends up drawing multiple people to him at certain points. It’s really easy for opposing teams to overplay him. Ultimately, that’s going to lead to other people being open and benefitting.”
The St. Louis native now has some pressure on him that wasn’t previously there; can he repeat his masterclass season? It’s hard to tell if he will do exactly what he did this past season, but he’s likely to be the team’s top scorer. He led the Coyotes in almost every category this past season, and it’s fair to assume he will again this year. With much-added talent during free agency, Keller looks to take another step forward, looking to help the team in any way he can.
Sean Durzi
General manager (GM) Bill Armstrong was active mere days before the 2023 NHL Draft as he acquired defenseman Sean Durzi for a 2024 second-round pick. While the team does have a plethora of draft selections, they aren’t just handing out draft capital. With that, Durzi adds youth and playoff experience to this young Coyotes roster as they look to have him grow with the team. Given he is just 24 years old, he can do exactly that and play a bigger role in the desert as compared to the Los Angeles Kings.
Durzi showed his offensive instincts during the 2022-23 season, where he notched nine goals and 38 points in 72 games. It was a career year for the Ontario native as he played some of his best hockey, where he placed second in points among defensemen, behind only Drew Doughty. “He really is a no-nonsense forward puck mover where, boom, it just flies off his stick, but I think he can be our guy back there on the power play, too,” Armstrong said. “He’s got a great shot from the point. We think he can have some impact and the other thing about him is he kills penalties. We think he can grow into that top-four range and play over 20 minutes and have good value for us.”
However, there is some pressure for him to replicate the season he had last year with the Coyotes this season. Playing more minutes and being in tighter situations will surely help the young defenseman round out his game, having more opportunities in the desert. With the team trending to become more competitive and taking that next step in the rebuild, Durzi will likely be under the microscope throughout the 2023-24 season.
Related: Coyotes Clayton Keller: First-Round Pick to NHL Star
Each of the listed players could perform extremely well for the Coyotes this coming season and contribute to significant roles in the overall success throughout the season. However, each of these players could also cause the team to experience substantial troubles. While that is unlikely, these three will have some added pressure to perform as they have in previous seasons.
