Follow @james_tanner123 After a spirited and somewhat violent game against the Flyers, the Coyotes are in Calgary to take on the Flames.
It was your typical Coyotes victory in that they were badly outplayed and somehow managed a win despite being outshot 35-17 and allowing 62 shot attempts against.
One could argue that the Coyotes - who are tied for 3rd last in the NHL with a team possession rating of 47% - are the luckiest team in hockey because their stats suggest their record should be way worse than it is. However, if you consider that all that luck did was lower their draft position and decrease the likelihood of getting a shot at Austin Matthews, you could also then argue that their good luck was really a Trojan Horse of bad luck.
Either way, no playoffs and if we're lucky, no more Maloney.
Though a long shot to reach the postseason, the Coyotes' strong recent play would make them a tough out if they somehow get there. They've won six of eight overall and the first three of this four-game homestand after edging contending Philadelphia 2-1 on Saturday.
What in the blazing Hell?
For those of us who actually watch this team, that is a ridiculous statement.
As noted above, the Coyotes were DESTROYED by a desperate Philadelphia team but came away with the lucky win. In their previous game, they did manage to out-possess the Stars, but they still allowed a ridiculous 70 shot attempts. In the game before that, they beat the Oilers in a coin-flip where neither team felt the urge to play any defense in a game where the Coyotes held the slight edge in shot-attempts 65-64.
So, as you can see, the "recent strong play" amounts to one of the thinest three-game winning streaks in recent memory. I don't want to make too strong a point here, but if you think a team that a three-game winning streak where you average almost 70 shot-attempts against is an indication of a team that would be tough to beat in the Playoffs, you've never seen Playoff hockey.
Anyways, I am not trying to rip TSN as much as I am attempting to show that results are tricky and not a great way to judge a hockey team on a game-per-game basis.
Six of Eight and still ten points out. -------------------
#Coyotes' Michael Stone out for season with knee injury https://t.co/HkzyjSTjBx via @azcentral
— Sarah McLellan (@azc_mclellan) March 28, 2016
Dang!
The Team called up Alex Grant to replace him. He has 40 points in 60-odd AHL games, but he's 27 and drafted in 2007, so his recall is more of an indictment of the Coyotes farm-system than anything else.
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On the weekend, both Coyotes GM Don "My Moves Indicate I'm Trying to Get Fired on Purpose" Maloney and Coyotes Owner Anthony "Does Anyone Have Tanner's Number?" LeBlanc said that they will not consider trading OEL for the #1 pick in the draft, Austin Mattews.
"That will never Happen," is what Maloney said.
And good. It shouldn't.
Because how many defenseman are better than OEL? Erik Karlsson and who else? Probably no one. Maybe T.J Brodie. Maybe Hedman, Letang, Subban, Doughty or Muzzin, depending on what one values. Either way, it's a very short list.
And while you might trade OEL for a sure-thing like Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews is a tier below. He might be a Stamkos, a Tavares or a Malkin. That isn't anything to sneeze at, but he could also be a Yakupov or Johnson.
Plus, maybe the home-town thing is overblown. Nazem Kadri was born less than an hour away from Toronto and no one seems to care. Even if people did care, the pressure might be a bit much anyways.
THE BOTTOM LINE (Cause it's 3/16) is that the Coyotes have no depth whatsoever at defense, so OEL is about the least likely player in the NHL to be traded.
Thanks for Reading