Coyotes Made Changes During Busy Off-Season

GLENDALE -The Coyotes made several eye-catching changes to the team's roster this off-season, and to the hockey operations and business departments since last playing a game in April.

A quick recap:
First and foremost, Arizona signed longtime defenseman and team leader Oliver Ekman-Larsson to an eight-year contract extension. Ekman-Larsson, 27, is convinced the Coyotes are close to making a return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"I think it's important that you show the organization support," Ekman-Larsson said recently. "They showed me that they believed in me and I wanted to show them that I believe in them. I've always said that I wanted to be a part of this and I really believe we can win here and that's why I decided to sign that contract. (General Manager) John Chayka and (Head Coach) Rick Tocchet have been doing a really good job improving this team, so I'm super excited about signing a new contract here and I can't wait for the season to start."

The Coyotes also re-signed defensemen Niklas Hjamarsson and Kevin Connauton, and centers Brad Richardson and Christian Dvorak this summer. Plus, they added three dynamic goal scorers to the mix via trades and free agency in Alex Galchenyuk, Michael Grabner and Vinnie Hinostroza. The trio, which combined to tally 53 goals in 2017-18, is expected to bolster an offense that ranked 30th in the NHL last season with 2.51 goals per game.
"We have better depth up and down the lineup and we think we've got a number of good, young players that can score a lot of goals this season," Chayka said earlier this summer. "We've created a lot of versatility with Galchenyuk and Hinostroza and we enhanced our overall speed with those players and with Grabner. As the game gets faster, it's important to always be mindful of team speed, and we think we have one of the faster winger groups in the league."

Other off-season news:
• The Coyotes acquired several blueliners to compete for the seventh defenseman job in 2018-19. Jordan Oesterle, who played 55 games for Chicago last season, appears to be the front-runner, but he'll be challenged by newcomers Robbie Russo and Ilya Lyubushkin, as well as prospects Kyle Capobianco and Trevor Murphy.

• Arizona drafted center Barrett Hayton fifth overall in June and signed him to an entry-level contract less than month later.
"Whether it's his athleticism, whether it's his underlying data, whether it's our in-person views, whether it's our video views, across the board he just checked all the boxes so there was really no reason not to take him," Chayka said. "Everyone wants that one thing that kind of jumps off the page at you and it's easy to see and grab onto. What makes him special is that he's really good at everything. Being that play-making center through the middle of the ice that is a dedicated 200-foot guy, that's why those centermen that are like that are impossible to acquire."

• Ahron Cohen was named the team's President and CEO, replacing Steve Patterson, and Lindsay Hofford was hired as Assistant General Manager-Director of Scouting. Meanwhile, Jay Varady was hired to coach the team's American Hockey League affiliate in Tucson, Zac Bierk was named Goaltending Development Coach, Jeff Ulmer was named Coordinator, Skill Development-Assistant Director of Special Projects, and Lars Hepso was hired as Skating Coach.
• Arizona announced former captain Shane Doan will make his return to the ice inside Gila River Arena on Feb. 24, 2019, when the team retires his jersey before a game vs. the Winnipeg Jets.
"It's kind of overwhelming," Doan said. "No one ever thinks about getting your jersey retired. You just want to play a game in the NHL. Even when you're playing you don't think about this stuff. For this to come up was pretty special."

• Back by popular demand, the Coyotes announced they will wear their original black Kachina-style sweaters 14 times in 2018-19 as the team's official third jersey.
"That jersey brings back a lot of good memories for me," said Tocchet, who wore it as a member of the Coyotes from 1997-200. "We had some good teams playing in that jersey, and for the fans it's great, it's stylish and it's a different look."

• The Coyotes secured a one-year affiliation agreement with the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL.