You have two former first round picks, both of whom have salivating potential they have failed to live up to.
Both are big, right-shooting and can skate.
You've invested in them for years and the organizational depth below them borders on pathetic.
What do you do? Well, not much choice, I guess.
While I thought perhaps some bold moves were in order, the Coyotes saw no point on selling low on two guys who are still young enough to turn it around.
And that makes sense.
But I've got reservations.
In a vacuum, I can get behind either the smart long-term bet on Murphy, or the Show Me contract of Stone.
I can also appreciate the shot-suppressing contributions of Michalek.
I understand and agree that, as depth pieces, it made sense, for the price, to retain Connauton, Tinordi and Klas "Have you Seen My Boots?" Dahlbek.
Obviously I am down with OEL.
But here's where I get concerned:
Last years defense group - even though it had one of the NHL's best players - was among the worst in the NHL. Maybe Vancouver was worse, maybe Detroit, but likely the worst was the Coyotes.
So while I like most of their moves individually, they seem to be returning with 3/3 of their right-side defensemem, and 6/7 of their total, league worst, group.
Don't get me wrong: by drafting Chychrun, trading for Deangelo, signing Goligoski and Luke Schenn, and McBain adds a lot of depth and potential to the group. It means that there will be job competition and that instead of getting a regular role, terrible players like Dahlbeck will be kept behind a pane of glass reading 'Emergency Only.'
However, they still retained 6 of 7 pieces of the league's worst defense.
And the chances of Chychrun or Deangelo making the team now seem non-existent. (Probably smart, but also boring).
I see all the positives of keeping Murphy and Stone, but counting on Goligoski and the internal improvement of two such players makes it seem like an absolute lot would have to go right for this team to be good enough to compete for anything other than last place.
Ultimately, I like the risk/reward profile on both recent RFA signings, but the Coyotes now have 11 defensemen competing for six jobs, and none of them are good candidates to patrol the top pairing with OEL.
They do, however, have to be given credit for adding depth and making smart moves.
In the end, I do like both signings, despite the risk. I would like them a lot more if a player from outside the organization was acquired to play with OEL.
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