They promoted Dylan Strome on November 28th, after he forced them to recall him by tearing up the AHL and leading that league in points-per-game and making it clear that he will absolutely dust the competition for that league's scoring title if given enough games there.
As a reward for insane level of play, Strome was promoted to the NHL and given 11 minute of ice time with Brad Richardson in his first game.
As a reward for being acquired in a trade last week, Josh Archibald skated over 16 minutes. That is more ice-time than Dylan Strome ever received in a single game.
It is bizarre, but it's par for the course for Rick Tocchet, whose coaching decisions almost never make any sense. In 30 + years watching hockey, he is the worst coach I've ever seen. Earlier this year, with the Coyotes down by a goal and a minute left, who was on the ice? Cousins and Rinaldo.
He doesn't think Duclair can play, but he plays Rinaldo and Cousins. He plays Tobias Rieder on the top line sometimes. he doesn't appear to like Dylan Strome, Anthony Duclair or Branden Perlini. There have been times when Goligoski finishes a game with more ice-time than Ekman-Larsson. He still uses phrases like "top six/ bottom six" even though it's 2017. He dresses enforcers. It's like he didn't watch a single game since the last time he was a coach.
But his most egregious error must be playing Zac Rinaldo.
Despite playing like a dangerous idiot and being terrible at hockey, despite mountains of evidence that enforcers are no longer needed, and despite there being about 27 teams that don't feel the need to dress one, the Coyotes have played Rinaldo in 31 of their 38 games this season.
He has a 47% CF and three points. He is absolutely useless.
Rinaldo has been suspended four times before, and once got suspended from the AHL while serving an NHL suspension.
On Saturday he sucker punched Samuel Girard of the Avs and will surely get suspended again. After a dirty hit on MacKinnon, Rinaldo turned and punched Girard in the face before getting his ass handed to him by actual NHL player Erik Johnson. (Though, to be fair, Erik Johnson is probably a half foot and forty pounds bigger than Rinaldo).
This will be the fifth suspension of Rinaldo's career.
Who cares how long he gets suspended? The Coyotes don't need him. It's disgraceful that they continue to give him regular minutes.
I get the argument that the sucker punch is worse than it appears. Rinaldo just smoked MacKinnon and is expecting to fight, so as soon as someone was there, he went on the offensive. I get it. Doesn't make it right.
But why play him in the first place? What reason is there to have him there to hit MacKinnon in the first place?
The Coyotes should take release Rinaldo from his contract. But not before they fire Tocchet, which they should definitely also do.
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