When the Coyotes acquired Niklas Hjalmarsson earlier this summer, it was a massive upgrade to their blue-line. So much so that calling it a 'massive upgrade' hardly does it justice.
In their final game of last season , a 3-1 loss to the Wild, the Coyotes dressed the following defense:
Oliver Ekman Larsson and Anthony DeAngelo were not in the lineup.
Of those eight players, Michalek retired, and Murphy and DeAngleo were traded. Goligoski will return, as he just signed as a UFA last season and 31. Chychrun, a potential star, will also return, as will Oliver Ekman Larsson. Schenn and Connauton remain but are not quality NHL regulars.
The final lineup might have looked weak, but add in OEL, add in Hjalmarsson, and you have a credible top four (OEL, Hjalmarrson, Chychrun and Goligoski). Only problem is that it's all left-handed.
Currently, the rest of the lineup is filled out by Schenn, Connauton and Adam Clendenning.
For a team that recently made some upgrades to be better right now, this isn't good enough.
Luke Schenn was a 44.5% possession player last year and he probably shouldn't be on an NHL team looking to make the playoffs.
In limited minutes, Connauton had the same CF%.
Adam Clendenning could be a real find. He's only 24 and shoots right. He played 30 games for the Rangers last season and was a 56% possession player with a higher p/60 than OEL. The year before, he played in Edmonton and was a + 50% player whenever away from the brutal Darnell Nurse.
He could be a true playa.
If you check out each player's respective Hero Chart (ownthepuck.blogspot.ca) you can see that Clendenning looks a lot like Goligoski, just with less ice time. Schenn and Connauton both are bad at suppressing shots - and unneeded in offensive roles - that they should be replaced prior to the season.
Here is the list of acceptable Coyotes defenseman on their current roster:
That actually isn't half bad. Larsson is one of the best in the game - ranked by Game Score as the 15th best in the NHL (and if you look at those ahead of him, he's on the worst team and has the had the worst help).
Going from Connor Murphy to Hjalmarsson as his primary partner is going to be like doubling his value. Speaking of Hjalmarsson, he's one of the best defensive defenseman in the world, he just doesn't score.
If you factor only his defense, he's among the best, and when you look at the other four members of the current five-man group, I don't think it will matter if one guy isn't offensive.
Goligoski meanwhile put up 36 points after a slow start and is still reasonably effective.
As mentioned, Clendenning looks like a bit of a diamond-in-the-rough and Chychrun hopefully turns out well. But maybe that's just an overly optimistic way of looking at it.
All in all, when you look at the six players dressed for the final game last season, the Coyotes defense for this year looks pretty great in comparison. Schenn and Connauton are decent #7s but before the season starts the Coyotes should have at least one more quality NHL defenseman.
Cody Franson would be a good option and is still available.
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