Quiet Deadline: Chayka, Tocchet, and Players Confident in Current Roster

Monday's trade deadline passed by rather calmly in Glendale.
"The answer's in the room for what we're trying to do here," head coach Rick Tocchet said shortly after the clock passed 1 p.m. local time. "We've got a good group; if we stick to the plan, we can win some hockey games down the stretch."
The Coyotes' roster remains fully intact as the team faces its final 17 regular season games, holding onto a wild card playoff spot as the campaign's home stretch truly starts to take effect.
"We feel really good, we believe in this group, we've got a good season going and we've played a lot of good hockey, especially lately," said President of Hockey Operations and General Manager John Chayka. "We feel like our game is trending the right way."

A knee-jerk acquisition felt far from necessary as the deadline approached.
"We've got good depth, we've built it up over the last eight months, it wasn't something where we were looking to make a move today in the next eight hours type of thing," added Chayka. "We made moves that we felt all year would put ourselves in the best position to make a push."

One of those moves, of course, was the addition of Taylor Hall, who has put up 25 points (9G, 16A) in 30 games since coming to the Coyotes from the New Jersey Devils on December 16.
Hall noted the feeling in the room as the day approached seemed to be a rather secure one.
"I don't think any of us were really expecting our team to be super active at the deadline, we know that the team that we have is the one we're going to have going forward, and I think everyone's comfortable with that," Hall said. "There's not a lot of gaping holes in our team, it's more so guys needing to perform and guys needing to play to their capabilities and even rise above that, and if that happens, we should be fine."

This year's deadline broke a league record with 32 completed trades, surpassing the previous high of 31 set in February of 2010.
"I've seen a lot of different things, I've seen teams make a bunch of moves and it doesn't work out, I've seen teams make a move where it does work out, and then there's teams that stay pat," Tocchet said. "We're not in those phone calls, I'm sure it's tough to move people, you show up, and whoever's on your team, you coach them, we have a good group here and it's our job to coach these guys."
There are still more additions to come for the Coyotes, not by trade, but through health.
And they may trump many of the moves made across the league on Monday.
"I think we're getting one of the best players in the world back in our lineup, so I think that may be the best move of the day, just getting Darcy back healthy and getting him plugged in," said Conor Garland. "We made our move, we got Hallsy, right? I think once we get our healthy bodies back, we'll be a dangerous club, play our style, and we'll be fine."

There is a belief that the tools are already in place, the recipe is there.
"We've got a lot of depth at all positions," Hall emphasized. "If we can start to score offensively, if our power play can get hot and play the way that it should, not only are we going to be a playoff team, but hopefully a dangerous one, and a team that opponents don't want to play in the first round."
It's all about execution.
"We're a focused group, we know what's at stake, what's at task and what we've got to do to get ourselves back into position to get that playoff seed," stressed Garland. "We're just excited, you fight all year to get to a position like this, we stumbled for a little bit lately, but we're back to feeling ourselves, and just ready get on a run here."
They'd like to start, or rather continue that run on Tuesday night against the Florida Panthers at Gila River Arena, where they've gone 8-1-3 in their past 11 games.
"We've shown that we can play with anybody," added Chayka of his club. "When we play our best game, we can be right up there with anyone."
Confidence exuded from the man in charge of constructing the roster. Before the deadline and after it.
"I think it's a tight group, I think it's a good group, I think they believe in each other. We made our moves earlier, we made them in the summer, we made them early with Taylor, and we just felt strongly that this group can get the job done."

Lead Photo Credit: Len Redkoles - NHLI via Getty Images // Second Photo [Hall, Tocchet] Credit: Norm Hall - NHLI via Getty Images // Third Photo [Garland, MacLean] Credit: Kevin Anggara - Arizona Coyotes // Footer Photo Credit: Norm Hall - NHLI via Getty Images