Making the cut
Dryden Hunt, who has scored 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in 63 NHL games, all with the Florida Panthers, signed a one-year, two-way contract Oct. 10. He's a forward with a fast and physical style, the profile that appears to fit what general manager Bill Armstrong said was a desire "to become more prickly." Hunt will be evaluated for a depth role that could help with a condensed schedule.
Most intriguing addition
Brassard has played in three conference finals and the Stanley Cup Final with the New York Rangers in 2014. He brings postseason experience to a team with only three-time Cup winner Niklas Hjalmarsson and two-time champion Phil Kessel having played beyond the first round.
Biggest potential surprise
Caggiula will start his fifth NHL season with his third team since signing with the Edmonton Oilers as an undrafted free agent May 7, 2016. Last season he scored 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in 40 games with the Chicago Blackhawks, but he's been limited to 95 games the past two seasons with the Blackhawks and Oilers in part because of injuries. In Arizona he'll be reunited with forward Nick Schmaltz, who led the Coyotes with 45 points (11 goals, 34 assists) in 70 games last season. Caggiula and Schmaltz were teammates with the Blackhawks in 2018-19 and at the University of North Dakota from 2014-16. They helped North Dakota win the 2016 NCAA Tournament, with Caggiula named the Most Outstanding Player at the Frozen Four after he scored five points (four goals, one assist) in two games.
Ready to break through
The Coyotes will be thrilled if Hayton can emerge as their first-line center. He had four assists in eight games this season while on loan with Ilves in Liiga, Finland's top professional league, and is healthy after injuring his shoulder while playing for Canada at the 2020 IIHF World Junior Championship.
Fantasy sleeper
Forward Conor Garland (LW/RW; undrafted on average in fantasy) led the Coyotes with 22 goals in 68 games last season and had 158 shots on goal, tied with Stepan for their second-most behind Clayton Keller's 184. Garland is likely to maintain his top-six role and could increase his goal and power-play point totals with a consistent spot on the first unit (10 PPP last season). Garland could return value in deeper leagues or off the fantasy waiver wire playing for Arizona, which is an overlooked team in fantasy. -- Rob Reese
Projected lineup
Nick Schmaltz -- Christian Dvorak -- Conor Garland
Clayton Keller -- Barrett Hayron -- Phil Kessel
Lawson Crouse -- Derick Brassard -- Christian Fischer
Tyler Pitlick -- Johan Larsson -- John Hayden
Oliver Ekman-Larsson -- Jason Demers
Alex Goligoski -- Jakob Chychrun
Niklas Hjalmarsson -- Jordan Oesterle
Darcy Kuemper
Antti Raanta