The Coyotes have won two in a row since shipping Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini to their AHL affiliate in exchange for Nick Schmaltz.
The Coyotes didn't just win two in a row, they beat two of the best teams in the NHL, including shutting out the Nashville Predators. Not too shabby! The back-to-back wins also somewhat salvaged the month of November with a 5- 6 -2 record.
If the Coyotes were to win their two games in hand, they'd only be one point behind the Sharks. The Sharks are too good, and their record is unlucky, but the Ducks are catchable. So are Dallas, Vegas, Edmonton and Vancouver.
The Coyotes should be happy today - it's the first day of December and this is the first time in six years that they haven't already been eliminated from playoff contention by the end of November.
Nice!
So anyways, here is what the Coyotes should do:
Since they are only five points out of last place, and since their is a potentially game-changing player available this summer in Jack Hughes, the Coyotes should leverage this into their own lottery win.
Maybe there is nothing they can do to become favorites, but the NHL is funny and sometimes all you have to do to win is make the playoffs and get lucky. Last year's Final featured two teams with no business considering themselves 'contenders.'
On the flip side, the Coyotes are an extremely good 5v5 team and have an elite goalie, but they don't score enough. The stats and the roster suggest that the Coyotes could be a playoff team.
If they trade their #1 overall draft pick, they can send it to a team that can reasonably expect to have a chance at a franchise altering player. The Coyotes, if they believe in themselves, can leverage this into their own lottery win.
The actually odds of winning the lottery are low, as the Coyotes can attest. Instead of waiting for something that probably will never happen, they should make their own luck.
The Senators thought this way last year when they did the same thing and acquired Matt Duchene. It didn't work out for them, but the idea was sound. The main problem was the Senators thought they were good and weren't. The Coyotes have the stats to back up a belief that with an actual scorer they could be really, really good.
The Blues are an older team (but one with promising prospects) who is maxed out on the Cap, struggling in the standings, has no goalie and has Vladimir Tarasenko locked in for four more years after this one for $7.5.
They also have no draft pick next year and Tarasenko gets a full no movement clause after this year.
It's almost a perfect match. The Coyotes need exactly what Tarasenko brings, the Blues need a draft pick.
What about a non-lotto protected pick the Blues for Valadimir Tarasenko and the rest of his contract? It seems like it would solve a lot of problems for everyone.