Last year, playing on the first line with Domi and Hanzal, Anthony Duclair was one of the bright spots in a season that saw the Coyotes finish near the bottom of the standings, fire their GM and miss out on Auston Matthews.
Not only did Duclair score 20 goals and 44 points, but he was a possession driver on a line with the defensively wonky Max Domi. His 20 goals were inflated by a high shooting percentage, but he was an effective player even when he didn't score.
The Coyotes had signed 35 year old Radem Vbrata in the off-season and the obvious move for the rebuilding team was to give the aging stop-gap the position and minutes of their young star.
Now, maybe Duclair didn't have a good training camp - but who cares? It's a rebuilding season, and he's a core part of the team's future.
If Tippett entered this season thinking that Vbrata taking Duclair's spot was the best thing for the team, he should be fired. No sane person could have seen the Coyotes making the playoffs this year. The entire mandate should have been to put players into positions where they'd succeed.
Obviously with Duclair this didn't happen.
Seven minutes in the first game of the season.
His job given to Jarimor Jagr's step-father.
Put on a line with a rookie and a guy who missed training camp.
Why is Duclair having a bad season?
Gee, I don't know. Maybe you broke him? Ruined his confidence?
Combining old and new school ideas seems like a good idea in practice. But you know what's a lot more revolutionary and outside the box than using analytics to measure performance? Making the coach the general manager's boss.
This was never going to work. It's not working. And as far as I can see, the Coyotes have turned one of their best assets into a reclamation project.
That isn't how you rebuild.