The Arizona Coyotes are primed to make a jump in their rebuild this season, but how far they can climb will depend largely on how their goaltending tandem performs.
Entering the 2022-23 season, the Arizona Coyotes were firm favorites to completely bottom out and many analytical models placed the team’s roster right at the bottom with expectations that this rebuild would continue for the next few years.
Fast forward to this summer, and the perception around the Coyotes has changed quite significantly. Firstly, the team outperformed expectations last season, and they were not the worst team in the NHL, finishing sixth-worst in the league.
During the off-season, the team has worked hard to improve the roster and added several veteran players that bulk out the team’s top and middle six, while also signing top prospect Logan Cooley to his three-year Entry-Level Contract. Now, the outlook of the team is even brighter.
A year later and a lot has changed for the Coyotes, with a stronger roster, an impressive offensive style of play, and new expectations that the team will continue to climb the standings above what many previously expected.
However, one area that does remain a firm question mark for the improved Coyotes is the quality of their goaltending, with Karel Vejmelka and Connor Ingram returning as the team’s NHL tandem for the 2023-24 season.
Vejmelka is expected to stay as the starter after making 49 starts last season, while it may be hoped that Ingram can play a larger percentage of games this year after making 26 starts of his own.
Vejmelka is entering his third year with the team and has had to play behind some truly rough defenses in the desert, with a 3.43 goals against average and a .899 save percentage last year.
Ingram put on some good performances in relief, with a .907 save percentage and a goals-against average of 3.37. Neither player has put up numbers that will carry the team to the playoffs, but with a reworked roster of skaters in front of them, there’s reason to believe that these numbers can improve.
Firstly, Vejmelka improved between his first two seasons in the NHL while being consistent in starts (49) and Quality Starts (22) each year. This should give the team hope, and a belief, that the Czech stopper can continue to improve along with the strengthening of the roster.
Having a stronger defensive group in front of him, including Matt Dumba, Sean Durzi, and returners such as J.J. Moser and Juuso Välimäki, Vejmelka should be able to play with renewed calm and composure that can allow him to be the number one the team need him to be.
For Ingram, last season was the most he has played in the NHL so far in his career. To have a .907 save percentage in his first real taste of the majors should be a positive sign of what he is capable of achieving when given a larger load in the league, and having a stronger group in front of him should do well to give him more stability when he is called to action.
With a better-looking roster already compiled, it should benefit the team’s goaltending tandem, and if they can perform to their potential, that will have a positive impact on the team’s overall chances of pushing themselves closer to the playoff picture.
If the goaltending can’t jump up with the rest of the roster, results are likely to suffer, and changes may need to be made between the pipes to ensure this season lives up to the fans’ renewed expectations and hopes.