Crouse's New Deal Cements His Long-Term Future in Arizona

It's been quite an offseason for Lawson Crouse.
In addition to getting engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Claire, while on vacation in Paris, the 25-year-old winger signed a five-year contract with the Arizona Coyotes prior to his scheduled arbitration hearing on Monday. The deal comes on the heels of a career year for 'The Sheriff,' who logged 20 goals and 14 assists in 65 games last season.
The 2015 first-round pick (11th overall) now has the opportunity to build on that success while continuing to suit up for the Coyotes - the only NHL team he has played for.

"I spent six years in the desert, and to sign for five more, it's truly a dream come true," Crouse said. "I'm super excited, Claire is really excited, so just really looking forward to the future and getting back to work."

The 6-foot-4 forward said he considers himself a natural-born leader, and his younger, more inexperienced teammates would be wise to take note. Just one season after posting 13 points in 51 games, Crouse set career-highs in goals (20), points (34), power-play goals (3), power-play points (7), and game-winning goals (4). His 14 assists also tied his career best, which he set during the 2018-19 season.
Now that he's set to play five more seasons in the desert, he knows the young, rebuilding Coyotes will likely look to him for guidance.
"I try not to overthink too many things, but I definitely realize the situation I'm in, and some of the young guys that we have on this team, I know how much of an impact I can make on them by helping them grow as people and grow as players on and off the ice," Crouse said. "Kind of just putting in the work and showing them how hard it is, and what it truly takes to stay in this league, and then continue to grow, and eventually be a force in this league."
Crouse fits in well with the team that plays a hard-nosed, gritty style of hockey under general manager Bill Armstrong, as well as head coach André Tourigny and his staff. In addition to ranking third on the team in goals and sixth in points last season, his 181 hits led the Coyotes.

"We are very pleased to sign Lawson to a long-term contract," Armstrong said in a release. "He is a big, strong, skilled power forward and we look forward to him being a big part of our future."
The contract adds some stability to the rebuilding Coyotes, who will have a slightly new look after adding Troy Stecher, Nick Bjugstad, Zack Kassian, Josh Brown, and Patrik Nemeth to the roster this past offseason.
Crouse flourished under Tourigny's system last year and hopes to build on that heading into the 2022-23 season. He won't be a free agent again until after the 2026-27 season, signaling a huge vote of confidence from Armstrong, especially considering the only currently rostered player that has a longer term is Clayton Keller.
Keller's contract runs through the 2027-28 season.
"The feeling of being wanted somewhere for that amount of time is huge," Crouse said. "They're putting a lot of faith in me, so I'm going to do everything that I can do to make this team a better team and come out on top."
Though Arizona is in the midst of a rebuild, Crouse said he's excited about the long-term direction of the organization. The Coyotes were one of the highlights of the 2022 NHL Draft after selecting Logan Cooley, Conor Geekie, and Maveric Lamoureux in the first round alone, and 2021 first-round selection Dylan Guenther has produced highlight after highlight in the WHL since Arizona selected him last year.

Crouse may not know exactly what lies ahead, but he's excited to approach it head on.
"We want to be a Stanley Cup team, and I believe we can, we've just got to work through it," he said. "It's not always going to be easy, but nothing good in life does come easy.
"In the end it will all be worth it, and like I said I believe in the core, we have a great coaching staff, great players, so it's just about moving forward and continuing to grow."