Coyotes Set to Kick Off 2023-24 Season, ‘Been a Great Offseason for our Team’

At long last, the Arizona Coyotes’ 2023-24 season has arrived.

The team’s makeup is slightly different than one season ago, but plenty of familiar faces remain. Core skaters such as Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, Lawson Crouse, Barrett Hayton, Matias Maccelli, J.J. Moser, and Juuso Valimaki have been joined by Jason Zucker, Alex Kerfoot, Logan Cooley, Matt Dumba, and Sean Durzi. The goalie tandem of Karel Vejmelka and Connor Ingram remains the same, as well.

In addition, some familiar faces have returned, as both forward Nick Bjugstad and defenseman Troy Stecher re-signed as free agents after being traded from the team at the 2023 Trade Deadline.

The result? A strong mix of old and new faces that is determined to play in meaningful games throughout the regular season.

“I love the energy of the group,” Coyotes General Manager Bill Armstrong said. “It’s a good combination of free agents, and we have some veteran guys on the team. We have some rookies coming in and playing with some energy. It’s really exciting to see this group come together.

“Let’s see what we can do.”

Keller looks to pick up right where he left off last season, where he tied the Coyotes’ single-season mark of 86 points, set by Keith Tkachuk in 1996-97. The 25-year-old played in all 82 games last season and finished as a finalist for the 2023 Masterton Trophy.

Judging by the preseason, he’ll start alongside Hayton and Schmaltz, and the trio combined for 187 points last season. Hayton finished with a career-high 43 points in 2022-23, while Schmaltz finished just one point off his career-best, notching 58 points.

Keller said he wants to be even more of a leader this year, a challenge he’s looking forward to taking on following his career-best season.

“I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that with the leadership group, just making everyone feel comfortable,” Keller said. “I think, when you do that, you get the best out of one another and everyone feels comfortable and has each other’s back. It’s a family here.”

Arizona’s top scoring line isn’t the team’s only offensive threat, though. Forward Matias Maccelli is entering his second full season in Arizona, fresh off a campaign that saw him finish fourth in voting for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year.

The 22-year-old announced his presence to the league by leading all rookies with 38 assists while finishing second with 49 points, and was the first player in Coyotes/Jets history to finish first among newcomers in total assists.

In addition to his impressive playmaking ability, Maccelli has been finding the back of the net more frequently, as well. That prowess carried over into the preseason, in which he notched two goals and one assist in four total games. He has skated with Bjugstad and Crouse throughout camp, reuniting a line that was very productive prior to Bjugstad’s departure at the trade deadline.

“It’s my second (full) year, guys in the league are starting to know what I’m trying to do, that I pass the puck, so I’ve got to start shooting a little more, because they’re not expecting that,” Maccelli said. “It’s four games right away on the road, so we’re going to set the tone here early. We want to get a win early and start the season the right way.”

Head coach André Tourigny is entering his third season as head coach, and the Coyotes have shown marked improvement year-over-year under his guidance. The active offseason Arizona has had, combined with the addition of Cooley, a former No. 3 draft pick, has generated quite a buzz around the team leading up to Friday’s season opener in New Jersey.

Tourigny’s message to the team has never wavered throughout his tenure, as he expects hard work, consistency, and accountability.

“I feel really good about where the team is at right now, and I feel really good about our chemistry,” Tourigny said. “It’s Game 7 every day for me; it doesn’t feel any different. That’s not a negative. I’m excited every day. It’s Game 7, I’m excited, the season will start, and I approach every day with urgency.”

The team had a unique opportunity to bond early in training camp, as the Coyotes faced the Los Angeles Kings in Melbourne, Australia on Sept. 22 and 23.

Crouse, who himself set career-bests in both goals (24) and assists (21), said the trip helped the team become even closer in a very short amount of time.

“It’s been a great offseason for our team, and Australia was a great trip for us,” he said. “We’re looking forward to getting back to it.”

The games alone were entertaining, but Cooley gave fans a highlight-reel goal on the very first night, completing a spin-o-rama goal that showcased his skillset on the global stage.

The 19-year-old followed up a stellar season at the University of Minnesota – where he finished as a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as the NCAA’s best player – by leading the team with four goals and two assists in five preseason games. He finished the preseason with two consecutive penalty shot goals, and centered a line between Zucker and Kerfoot.

From the NCAA to the NHL, Cooley will appear in his first-ever regular season game with the Coyotes on Friday against the Devils.

“I’ve always had high expectations for myself,” he said. “I want to be the best player that I can be every day, and I want to get better every day. I don’t think the expectations bother me. I’ve always had expectations for myself, and it’s going to continue to be like that.

“I still feel like I’m the young kid playing AAA hockey back in Pittsburgh. It’s finally here, but there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

Arizona currently owns the fourth-youngest roster in the entire league, but its extended training camp schedule has allowed for additional practice time and development. Consider this: Prior to last season’s opening game in Pittsburgh, the team had practiced just nine times, but when the puck drops at the Prudential Center on Friday, the Coyotes will have 13 practices under their belts. 

Tourigny said that fact shouldn’t be overlooked.

“Last year when we arrived in Pitt we had a hesitation in our pace and in our execution,” Tourigny said. “I expect this year to be four practices better. If you look at our last preseason game, we were tuned in. I looked at our game, and I see a team that knows what they’re doing.”

With games against the Devils, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, and St. Louis Blues on their first roadtrip of the season, the Coyotes have their work cut out for them right out of the gate.

Tourigny and his staff, though, are laser-focused on Friday’s game.

“Let’s start with the first one and play well, because it’s a hell of an opponent,” he said. “If we work the right way, like we did last year, and we work as hard as we did last year, because we have more talent, things will take care of themselves.”