Three Stars Of The Arizona Coyotes Season
The 2014-15 season came to a merciful close for the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night in a loss to the Ducks. It was a season to forget for the Coyotes as they finished 29th out 30 teams in the standings.
Despite being an awful season overall, there were some bright spots from individual efforts. Below are my three stars of the Coyotes for the 2014-15 season.
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Before we begin, I gotta give an honorable mention to Mark Arcobello. He bounced around to three different teams before Arizona claimed him off of waivers late in the season. He clicked with the team instantly, gave the fans someone new and exciting to watch in a bad year and absolutely made a case to remain in the desert and become part of the rebuild.
Now, let’s get started shall we?
3. Tobias Rieder
Nov 13, 2014; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Arizona Coyotes center Tobias Rieder (8) skates against the Calgary Flames during the third period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary Flames won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
The 2014-15 season was Rieder’s rookie year and it was a solid one. He was a bit of surprise when he made his debut. There were the usual suspects in terms of the team’s prospects that everyone had their eyes on, but Rieder came up and proved to be a solid young player that should be a very good piece in the rebuilding efforts.
He tallied 13 goals and eight assists for 21 points in 71 games. He was exciting to watch and played hard on both sides of the ice.
Rieder was acquired via trade from Edmonton and he made the Oilers regret it. He led all NHL rookies with three short-handed goals. Two of those, came against Edmonton on one power play.
Watch for him to be a mainstay as the Coyotes rebuild pushes forward.
2. Mike Smith
Apr 4, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes goalie Mike Smith (41) makes a save during the first period against the San Jose Sharks at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Now, Smith had a terrible first half of the season. He let in some pretty weak goals and it seemed like the Coyotes were constantly getting blown out. However, the way he rebounded during the second half of the season was masterful.
He looked like a completely different player during the second half of the season. The Coyotes still lost a considerable amount of games, but Smith more than carried his weight and the team was mostly just a victim of an anemic offense.
Smith looked more and more like the goalie that carried the team to the Western Conference Finals in the 2011-12 season. Which is fantastic news for a couple of reasons.
With the rebuild underway, it will benefit the team to know they don’t have to worry about the goalie position while they work on fixing other issues. Not only that, but his level of play should instill confidence in the wave of young guys that are going to be making up the team next season.
This should ease the transition just a bit for the soon to be NHL’ers.
Having him back to his old self is incredibly important to the success of the team and if the second half the season was any sign, he appears primed for more success.
1. Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Dec 16, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (23) celebrates the game winning goal in overtime scored with 0.3 seconds left in the period to beat the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 at Gila River Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Surprised?
To say Ekman-Larsson had a stellar year would be an understatement. He actually began the year with a minus 15 player rating. It wasn’t too deep a hole for the 23-year-old Swedish defenseman to climb out of though.
The 2014-15 season was a bad one for the team, but a great one for Ekman-Larsson. He finished the season leading the team in goals at 23 and points with 43. He tied the franchise record for goals scored by a defenseman in one season and became the fourth defenseman in franchise history to score 20+ in a season.
The accolades don’t stop there though. He also led all NHL defensemen in goals at 23, power play goals with 10 and game-winning goals with seven.
OEL was selected to his first NHL All-Star game and took home the team MVP and team leading scorer awards. This season saw Ekman-Larsson enter the category of the NHL elite and solidified his place as a cornerstone of the franchise as they move forward into the rebuild.