2012 Projections: Phoenix

The Phoenix Coyotes were a playoff team in the 2011 season, thanks to some hard work, solid defensive play and a pretty good goalie. Well, the outlook for the 2012 season has much of the same, but that goalie I spoke of split town for some more wins and a whole lot more money. Not much the Coyotes could really do about it, except try to replace him.

The Coyotes are not a high scoring bunch as it is, so they relied on their goaltending to really get them through a lot of tough games and this coming season, the weight of the work will fall on three back-up goalies, trying to weed out a starter.  Yeah, already this has the makings of being a long season in the desert.

The Coyotes tried to add a little bit more depth on their blueline, didn't manage to add too much, but some and there is only a bit more grit added to the forward lines, so they will have to be much harder to play against in front of their trio of keepers.  That is likely the only way they will be competitive this year.

Forwards		Defense		Goalies
Ray Whitney	60	Keith Yandle	45	Mike Smith	35
Shane Doan	60	Adrian Aucoin	20	Curtis McElhinney	25
Daymond Langkow	50	Derek Morris	20	Jason LaBarbera	25
Radim Vrbata	45	Oliver Ekman-Larsson	20
Lauri Korpikoski	35	Michal Rozsival	15
Martin Hanzal	35	Rostislav Klesla	15
Taylor Pyatt	30	David Schlemko	10
Raffi Torres	20
Boyd Gordon	15
Paul Bissonette	5
Mikkel Boedker	35
Andy Miele	30
Brett MacLean	20
Alex Bolduc	5

Pool Worthy Forwards (Inside the top 160, 40 points)
With a deal made on Monday afternoon, the Coyotes may have added a little ray of hope, albeit a veteran ray of hope, to their line-up, which will try and spark the team's top line going into the 2012 season.  The acquisition of Daymond Langkow from the Calgary Flames is being hyped as the move to rejuvenate captain Shane Doan.  As much as the move is designed to help, I'm not convinced that it will be enough to really pop his numbers up, but it could be enough to make him a little more clutch.  By more clutch, I mean, he'll score the same amount, but when he score, it should mean more towards wins when he does so.

Ray Whitney is another veteran on this team that has done well in previous years, playing with growing teams and still being a productive member of his club, so whether he lines up with Langkow and Doan or moves down and evens out the offense, Whitney should be a good player to pick up in the 2012 season.

One player that would definitely benefit from lining up with Whitney on the second line would be Radim Vrbata, who has improved his effectiveness as the years have gone by.  Vrbata, like many others, could always use a veteran leader on his line and if he gets some quality top six minutes with a quality veteran, I think he'll be a valuable player on the team.

Pool Worthy Defensemen (Inside the top 80, 25 points)
The Coyotes have one of the better offensive defensemen from the 2011 season still lining up with them, thanks to a brand new deal in the off-season, as Keith Yandle will be back patrolling the Phoenix blueline again.  With a new deal in tow and a lack of offensive support up front, I can see Yandle's production dip back down to the mid-40s.  Yandle is certainly talented, but I wouldn't consider him in a class where he can carry his team on his shoulders offensively.

Both Adrian Aucoin and Derek Morris should be providing some good veteran presence on the back end for the Coyotes, which could be one of the team's saving graces this year.  Both players should be good to anchor the Coyotes and your fantasy team, if taken in the last couple of picks.

Pool Worthy Goalies (Inside the top 40, 25 points)
The Coyotes are going to be hard team to prognosticate for the goalies, as there are plenty of factors in these decisions and then plenty of unforeseeable circumstances that could definitely affect the overall outcome of the game.  Mike Smith is, technically, the most qualified for the number one job, as he has seen some number one minutes before in his career, but he has been kept on some short leashes and has run into some injury problems.  Even if you wanted to crown him the number one guy, the question still remains, how long will he last?

Both Curtis McElhinney and Jason LaBarbera have been solid back-ups in their NHL careers to date, but when called upon to take an extra start or two, they have been able to make good on them.  This will definitely put some pressure on Smith this year.

No matter which way you turn though, are the Coyotes going to be good enough to make the goalies a worthy investment any way?

Pool Worthy Rookies
There look to be a few open spots on the Coyotes' forwards roster, which could very well be filled by a rookie (or three).  The depth at forward for the youth doesn't look great, but there are a couple names to watch out for, especially mid-season, when you'll likely be swapping players in and out of your roster.  Look for Brett McLean and Andy Miele, if they can work themselves into a good spot, they should get some help into some numbers.


Unsigned Players
Restricted free agent forward Kyle Turris still remains unsigned out of his entry-level deal, but with a lot of time being spent in the minors during that stretch and only 65 games with the big club in 2011, the 3rd overall pick in 2007 will likely have trouble coming to terms with a club that has had trouble finding a regular spot for him.

Key Injuries
None.