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Josh Archibald Gives Arizona Coyotes a Proven Winner

By Casey Pazzalia

GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 22: Josh Archibald #45 of the Arizona Coyotes skates on the ice during the first period of the NHL game against the Washington Capitals at Gila River Arena on December 22, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 22: Josh Archibald #45 of the Arizona Coyotes skates on the ice during the first period of the NHL game against the Washington Capitals at Gila River Arena on December 22, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Recently-activated forward Josh Archibald is a proven winner that will help the Arizona Coyotes in their quest to the postseason.

Of all the professional sports teams in Arizona, many believe the Arizona Coyotes will be the next team to represent the state in the postseason. Finally, after dropping their first two games, the team scored their first win this past Wednesday against Anaheim. Now, they’ll hope to string some W’s together in the coming weeks.

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Luckily, that task could be made a bit easier with the recent activation of Josh Archibald, a proven winner who was acquired by Arizona last season via trade.

Archibald, who has been nursing an upper-body injury, was recently cleared for contact and could be available as early as Saturday against Buffalo, per Arizona Sports.

“It will probably be a game-time (decision) with him,” Arizona Coyotes head coach Rick Tocchet told reporters on Friday. “But he probably needs a couple more practices.”

Last year, the former Hobey Baker Award finalist joined Arizona for their December 22nd win against Washington. Before he arrived, the Coyotes were just 7-24-5. After, however, the franchise went 22-17-7 with Archibald scoring 11 points in over 12 minutes of ice time per game.

The son of former Minnesota North Stars’ winger Jim Archibald, Josh definitely made a positive impact on the team. Potentially, that’s because he knows what it’s like to reach the pinnacle of NHL glory.

Prior to joining the Coyotes, the sixth-round pick in the 2011 NHL Draft was part of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2017 Stanley Cup team. Though he didn’t score for Pittsburgh during the postseason, he played over 30 minutes across four playoff games including one in the Stanley Cup Finals.

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Having raised the Stanley Cup himself, it’s definitely exciting to have him back in the mix for the Coyotes. After all, that winning ju-ju he brings has to rub off a little bit on everyone around him.

Ironically, Archibald’s first two NHL goals came against Arizona in his first game of 2017.

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