Projecting the Arizona Coyotes' Opening Night Roster

We're now less than six weeks from the start of the NHL season. Teams are finalizing their rosters and signing their RFAs, and players are getting ready for training camps to open. The Arizona Coyotes were dealt a blow just a week ago with news that Glendale's Gila River Arena will no longer host the team's home games following the 2021-2022 season. The Coyotes quickly put in a bid for a new arena in Tempe, but that project would take years to complete. This is certainly the Coyotes' last season playing in Glendale and could be their last season in Arizona. That means that this year's opening night lineup could be the Coyotes' last as a team.

At forward, there is some strength on their right side, but as a team clearly going for a full rebuild, that's about where the positives end. The group on opening night should look something like this:

Ryan Dzingel - Clayton Keller - Phil Kessel

Johan Larsson - Nick Schmaltz - Dmitri Jaskin

Lawson Crouse - Travis Boyd - Christian Fischer

Antoine Roussel - Jay Beagle - Hudson Fasching

Loui Eriksson

Andrew Ladd

This is about as good of a forward lineup as you can put together with the current Coyotes roster. The Coyotes have also said they think Ladd will slot into their lineup this year, but that he needs to earn it. If he does, he could bounce either of Crouse or Roussel with a good showing at camp.

On defence, things look a little better:

Jakob Chychrun - Anton Stralman

Shayne Gostisbehere - Ilya Lyubushkin

Kyle Capobianco - Victor Soderstrom

Conor Timmins

That top pair isn't half-bad, with Chychrun showing he's one of the Coyotes top defenders last season. Stralman is a good Dman, not necessarily a top-pair guy, but he's the only one who's played even close to the ice time that spot requires. The second pair should be able to provide some offence, although defending may be an issue for them. The bottom pair lets the kids shine. Soderstrom had a good, if short, showing last season, and this is likely Capobianco's last shot at locking down a roster spot for himself. If either one struggles, expect new acquisition Conor Timmins to jump into the lineup.

Finally, in goal, where things are probably most desperate for the Coyotes, you have:

Carter Hutton

Josef Korenar

Hutton is your starter in Arizona this year because that's simply who they have to work with. Korenar is the backup and will look to build on his 10 starts from last season with San Jose, where he put up 3.17 GAA and a .899sv%.

Update: This post has been updated following the trade of Christian Dvorak to the Montreal Canadiens.

There you have it, the Coyotes' best available lineup for opening night. How does it look, and what would you change? 

Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports