2023 Fantasy Hockey Team Previews: Arizona Coyotes
The 2023 DailyFaceoff Fantasy Hockey Projections has projected stats for over 650 skaters and goalies.
The Fantasy Hockey Team Previews have all the projections for that team and mini-bios for all the Re-Draft and Dynasty relevant skaters and goalies. We will release the previews from September 5th through September 14th.
Previous Fantasy Hockey Team Previews:
In addition to the Fantasy Hockey Previews, Daily Faceoff is previewing all 32 NHL teams for 2022-23, with a new in-depth breakdown dropping every weekday! Click here to find every preview in one place.
Skaters
Clayton Keller
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 74.7 | 26.7 | 33.7 | 60.3 | -3.3 | 32.1 | 4.9 | 14.9 | 205.8 | 13.0% | 20.2 | 28.4 | 28.7 | 26.1 |
Keller is usually one of the few Coyotes players who, year in and out, gets taken in fantasy drafts. The 24-year-old gifted owners who decided to take a risk on him with a huge year finishing with nearly a point per game (63 pts in 67 games) before having it cut short by injury. His career-high 28 goals proved he could take his scoring to a level we had not seen since his rookie season in 2017-18. Keller projects for another solid year, but with a lack of support around him, it is hard to expect more than 30/30 production as the lowly Coyotes struggle night in and out. He will be a lock for top-line minutes.
Nick Schmaltz
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 74.6 | 21.3 | 36.5 | 57.8 | -1.7 | 21.5 | 4.5 | 11.9 | 148.7 | 14.3% | 18.6 | 195.7 | 36.8 | 21.1 |
Schmaltz was a fantasy saviour last year as a mid-season waiver wire scoop. With 52 pts (22G / 30 A) through his final 46 games of the year, he took fantasy teams to a new level with his addition to the roster. Unfortunately, the forward struggles to get pucks on net (123 SOG), making a duplicate season seem like a far reach as we head into 2022-23. His 18.7 shooting percentage will likely return closer to his 14% career mark. To expect over a point per game this season with the surrounding cast is a stretch, but Schmaltz makes an intriguing option in the later rounds of your Fantasy Draft. Expect Schmaltz to return to earth through an entire season as he projects near the 55-point range with only 150 SOG.
Jakob Chychrun
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 70.4 | 14.7 | 22.7 | 37.5 | -12.6 | 55.1 | 4.3 | 8.8 | 202.3 | 7.3% | 23.1 | 0.0 | 106.1 | 79.8 |
Chychrun drafters last season are probably still going to their dentist, attempting to get the horrible taste of selecting him in the early rounds out of their mouths. One season’s bust can easily lead to the following year’s sleeper. 2021-22 could not have started worse as the young defenseman opened the year with no points through 11 games while amassing a plus/minus of -18. However, the 24-year-old reminded us what made everyone so high on him in the first place in his final 15 games before his season-ending injury, collecting 13 points (5G /8 A) and 45 shots while dominating both sides of the ice with a plus-11.
Chychrun shoots the puck a ton. His 141 SOG (47 GP) had him on pace for 246 SOG across an entire 82-game season, a number which would have placed him second to only Roman Josi for the most among defensemen. The addition of Shayne Gostisbehere last season limited Chychrun’s power-play usage, which will continue to cap his upside in 2022-23. He’s best deployed as a low-end No.3/high-end No.4 fantasy defenseman.
Shayne Gostisbehere
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 75.9 | 13.5 | 29.3 | 42.8 | -14.3 | 24.9 | 4.0 | 16.9 | 151.5 | 8.9% | 22.3 | 0.0 | 100.8 | 51.7 |
Commonly referred to as “The Ghost, ” by the hockey community, Gostisbehere looked like a Ghost of his former 65 Point (2017-18) self for many years before landing in Arizona in 2021-22. The change of scenery proved to be a great career move as the power-play specialist returned to prime form in his first season with the Yotes. Gostisbehere finished 15th amongst defensemen in points (51), eighth in goals (14), and 20th in PP TOI/game (2:50).
Few defensemen can provide the near 15-goal upside (only 12 had 13-plus in 2021-22) Gostisbehere does, making him an intriguing option to fill out one of your defensemen slots. Like all other Coyotes on this list, he will decimate your team plus/minus, but he should see a similarly productive season leading Arizona’s back end due to his heavy PP usage. Gostisbehere projects for another solid season around the 45-point mark.
Barrett Hayton
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 74.7 | 13.9 | 20.8 | 34.7 | -8.0 | 23.2 | 2.4 | 6.3 | 120.9 | 11.5% | 17.6 | 502.1 | 39.9 | 110.0 |
The 2018 No.5 overall pick has been a bit of a letdown through the early part of his Coyotes career. 2021-22 was Hayton’s first full season of his career, and his 24 points has him deservedly off many fantasy radars to begin this year. Hayton has a high ceiling, but without proving it so far (31 points in 94 career GP), it will be hard to get behind him with limited fantasy roster space. If he finds himself on PP1 and in the Coyotes’ top-6, he may be worth keeping an eye on, but for now, he is nothing more than a free agent with potential as we head into the season.
Lawson Crouse
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 73.9 | 18.5 | 16.8 | 35.3 | -9.7 | 57.8 | 2.3 | 5.9 | 145.6 | 12.7% | 17.5 | 24.6 | 43.1 | 227.9 |
Unless you are in a banger league or looking for a nightly positional plug-in, Crouse should not interest you. Capped by the fact he has never amassed more than 14 assists in a season across his six-year career, Crouse is only a good pick-up for a random nightly goal or if you need a few hits). Projected to lead the Coyotes with 200-plus hits, he is a one-category player.
Nathan Smith
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 73.1 | 12.7 | 21.0 | 33.7 | -4.9 | 18.7 | 2.7 | 6.9 | 107.5 | 11.8% | 14.8 | 184.1 | 39.7 | 145.6 |
Nothing more than a free agent to keep an eye on after drafts, Smith falls under the category of “someone has to take up ice time.” The 23-year-old is coming off an impressive 50-point (19G / 31A) season in 38 games with Minnesota State University (Mankato). The 2018 third-round pick turned pro at the end of last season and registered two goals and two assists in 10 games. Keep an eye on Smith as the season unfolds, as he could make for a sneaky nightly scoop if he finds himself in the Coyote’s top-6 at any point this season. Otherwise, he should not be on your radar.
Jack McBain
| GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| 74.7 | 12.9 | 16.3 | 29.2 | -17.5 | 40.7 | 2.2 | 5.5 | 106.9 | 12.0% | 14.6 | 269.0 | 60.6 | 214.2 |
McBain, much like Smith, is nothing more than a player to pay attention to depending on where he lands on the depth chart. His first cup of coffee in the NHL saw him collect three points through the final ten games after an excellent senior season at Boston College (33 points in 24 games). McBain could end up having some value in banger leagues. He averaged 3.3 hits per game during his short stint and doesn’t have a lot of competition for minutes in the desert this year.
Goalies
Karel Vejmelka
| GS | W | L | T/O | SV% | GAA | SO |
| 61.0 | 20.3 | 33.6 | 7.0 | 0.901 | 3.30 | 1.6 |
Vejmelka’s rookie campaign saw the unexpected starter post the third lowest save percentage (among starters with 40+ GP) with an ugly 0.898% while amassing an even more hideous, league-worst 3.68 GAA. Unfortunately for Vejmelka, the Coyotes did not improve in the offseason. As a result, he’ll be nothing more than a desperation spot-start throughout the season.
Remaining Coyotes Projections
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | PTS | (+/-) | PIM | PPG | PPP | SOG | S% | ATOI | FOW | BLK | HIT |
| Travis Boyd | C/RW | 73.3 | 16.2 | 18.8 | 35.0 | -7.8 | 27.5 | 2.0 | 4.2 | 87.1 | 18.6% | 16.6 | 378.2 | 49.7 | 65.2 |
| Nick Ritchie | LW | 72.3 | 15.9 | 15.2 | 31.1 | -10.3 | 61.3 | 3.7 | 7.3 | 131.6 | 12.1% | 14.1 | 0.1 | 25.9 | 162.3 |
| Zack Kassian | RW | 74.0 | 9.3 | 15.3 | 24.6 | -2.6 | 64.1 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 77.5 | 12.0% | 12.3 | 2.4 | 9.3 | 184.9 |
| Nick Bjugstad | C | 64.3 | 8.9 | 10.9 | 19.9 | -1.1 | 22.3 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 110.7 | 8.1% | 12.3 | 187.3 | 24.9 | 104.9 |
| J.J. Moser | D | 69.0 | 5.5 | 13.9 | 19.4 | -16.0 | 25.7 | 1.1 | 3.9 | 64.2 | 8.6% | 18.7 | 0.0 | 88.3 | 51.3 |
| Troy Stecher | D | 73.3 | 5.1 | 13.3 | 18.4 | -11.9 | 34.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 123.6 | 4.1% | 20.2 | 0.0 | 100.7 | 86.9 |
| Andrew Ladd | LW | 59.3 | 7.9 | 9.0 | 16.9 | -6.5 | 34.8 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 71.2 | 11.1% | 13.8 | 5.3 | 31.1 | 69.3 |
| Conor Timmins | D | 59.7 | 2.6 | 13.7 | 16.3 | -15.3 | 17.3 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 74.9 | 3.5% | 18.1 | 0.0 | 64.6 | 54.9 |
| Victor Soderstrom | D | 69.4 | 2.9 | 13.2 | 16.1 | -10.4 | 20.8 | 0.6 | 3.2 | 69.5 | 4.2% | 16.3 | 0.0 | 79.9 | 62.5 |
| Christian Fischer | RW | 72.1 | 6.9 | 8.2 | 15.1 | -12.9 | 17.3 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 96.1 | 7.1% | 13.1 | 69.3 | 32.9 | 162.2 |
| Dysin Mayo | D | 69.3 | 4.1 | 9.1 | 13.2 | -18.8 | 27.9 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 79.9 | 5.1% | 20.5 | 0.0 | 130.3 | 125.9 |
| Patrik Nemeth | D | 72.7 | 2.3 | 7.5 | 9.9 | -7.1 | 30.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 70.0 | 3.3% | 17.6 | 0.0 | 102.4 | 115.5 |
| Josh Brown | D | 53.5 | 0.9 | 5.9 | 6.8 | -5.7 | 47.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 48.2 | 1.8% | 16.6 | 0.0 | 73.9 | 129.0 |