Follow @james_tanner123 I know this won't be a popular opinion among Coyotes fans, but bringing back Antoine Vermette was one of the worst moves possible. Not only does he potentially block young players from making the team, and not only is he in severe decline, but since he is a Tippett favorite, he's bound to take prime ice-time (top six, PP) from better players.
As you can see from the chart, Vermette is a terrible possession player who doesn't score enough to warrant his ice time. Some timely goals in the Playoffs for the Blackhawks covered up the fact that he was generally ineffective after the trade.
Vermette, despite always getting lots of ice-time and PP time, hasn't scored a 50 point season in six years. If the Coyotes brought him back for his leadership and a fourth line role, that would be fine, but that isn't what they did. It is my opinion that they are leveraging his popularity against his effectiveness and that just isn't a good way to run a team, in my opinion.
Now that I have slayed one sacred cow, allow me to make one more hamburger.
I am talking of course about Shane Doan. He is 38 now and much like Vermette, I wouldn't mind so much if he was going to play a fourth line role. But that won't happen and we'll be lucky if he doesn't get the most ice time for a forward on the team, like he did last year.
We can see by the chart that Doan hasn't been too bad, actually, but that he still isn't effective vs the amount of ice-time he's gotten. I am a fan of the guy, but I really think the Coyotes have made a mistake by entrenching two old, heavily declining players in their top nine (and probably top six).
This team is still not going to be able to score much, barring massive rookie years by Domi and Duclair and a long overdue breakout from Boedker...not to mention that the Playoffs are a massive long shot. This being the case, I would have really liked to see the team have more turnover with their veteran players.
Doan, Michalek and Vermette should all be in other cities this September as camp opens, and the fact that they aren't is very disappointing to those of us who are excited about the team turning over a new leaf.
To be honest with you, I think Maloney and Tippett should join them both on different teams. This team is rebuilding and has a very, very interesting young roster. I say, lets shut down the past and move into the future with new players AND new management.
That being said, I appreciate that it is Maloney who's acquired all of these players that I am so excited about, so I'll give him that. I just feel he's too conservative and stuck in the past to be effective any longer. And what past is there to be beholden to? It's not like Michalek, Doan and Vermette are venerated heroes who brought a Cup to the desert.
Do I dare cheer for the 0-15 start that might make that a possibility?
No, I can't. That is immoral. Let's just hope that the ownership wakes up to the fact that they've got the wrong guys for a rebuild.
Thanks for reading.