NCAA star and Arizona Coyote pick third overall in the 2022 NHL Draft Logan Cooley announced he would be returning to the University of Minnesota for another year of college hockey.
With Cooley out of the picture for next season, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yamrechuk talk about what roster changes could come out of Arizona this summer and if there may be a potential recruiting challenge to take NHL free agents into the desert due to the Coyotes’ arena fiasco.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Let’s talk about another Western Conference team, namely the Arizona Coyotes. You think back to last week when Logan Cooley, a top three pick, said he was going back to school, and word is there must have been some uncertainty regarding the future of this Coyotes franchise and it’s got him back to school. for one more year. Is it fair to say they may struggle to sign a free agent this offseason with all the drama surrounding their arena deal?
Frank Seravali: Well, I don’t expect them to be super active in the free agent market, but how do you think the overall sixth and 12th picks will feel when they are selected by the Coyotes in a few weeks? Maybe not so great. If you could pick any team not to pick, they’d probably be near the top of the list considering this circus that this franchise has been involved with, I think, for the last 15 years, which is now finally showing up. I think everyone wants to see some sort of clarity now about what’s next for the coyotes, but they’re running out of answers, and they’re scrambling; they are like ducks under water paddling to the shore to save themselves.
The entire future of their franchise is at stake based on their next destination. First, you have to make someone want you. Someone in the municipality, someone to talk to and build arenas and two, you can’t go wrong; You can’t go wrong. Time is of the essence in relation to all of that. When I think of the Coyotes, priority number one is actually having a franchise in Arizona, the next arena. Two; what about the rest? How about building this team, how about checking the additional position boxes to advance? They’ve got a lot of really good work, a collection of draft picks, and I’m wondering about the future of all of them now.
Bill Armstrong had timed this perfectly: “Hey, we’re going to be damn good when we hit the ice in three years in our new home in Tempe.” That’s out the window now, and I think you should be more concerned about having a team that is competitive, generates interest and maybe solves some of your problems. Where did the Coyotes go? The answer is not fast enough.
You can watch the full episode here…
