With players scattered around him, coach Dave Tippett led a refresher course in Coyotes hockey on Monday during the team?s first practice in preparation for Saturday?s opening game.
?It is a short week, but we?ve got some areas ? both special teams ? we?ve got to look at,? Tippett said. ?We got some faceoff stuff we want to look at, but you just want to make sure your team can go out there and play with good structure, make sure the mind-set is in the right place.?
Captain Shane Doan and center Boyd Gordon were the only ones absent from practice.
?They?re both just nursing some minor stuff,? Tippett said. ?They skated early and then got off. We want to make sure they?re going to be fine for the weekend.?
Gordon collided with center Kyle Chipchura last Monday during an informal skate. Without him and Doan on the ice, Tippett slotted Raffi Torres alongside Antoine Vermette and Mikkel Boedker. Chipchura skated with Lauri Korpikoski and David Moss.
The final line featured a rotation of Paul Bissonnette, Alexandre Bolduc, Andy Miele and Nick Johnson.
On defense, Zbynek Michalek paired with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Keith Yandle and Derek Morris were reunited, Rusty Klesla was with David Schlemko, and Michael Stone worked with David Rundblad.
?It?s early for that,? Tippett said about whether these combinations would stick. ?But we?ll see how that goes throughout the week.?
Suspension update
Torres is expected to serve the remaining eight games of his suspension from last season.
?As far as I understand it, his eight games still stay in place,? Tippett said. ?It?s not cut down because of the lockout.?
Torres was suspended 25 games for a hit on the Chicago Blackhawks? Marian Hossa in Game 3 of the first-round playoff series. It was later reduced to 21 games and, after sitting out the remaining playoff games, Torres was left with an eight-game sentence.
He is eligible to return to the lineup Feb. 2 when the Coyotes host the Stars.
Trade talk
If General Manager Don Maloney is able to execute a trade during camp after having one deal already fall through, don?t expect him to pick apart the core of the Coyotes to do it.
?There are a lot of teams looking for defensive help, defensemen,? Maloney said. ?So we have depth there and quality there and quantity, but we like our players. We like our depth. We like the idea of Keith Yandle on our roster and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and I really believe we may lack some skill up front to a degree, but we can make up for it with a mobile, puck-moving defense, and Keith is the lead of the line in that department.?
Yandle?s name has been mentioned in trade rumors since the NHL draft last June. Maloney said a couple of teams approached him at the draft, and he listened, but it would take a major return to complete a deal like that.
?Keith?s an assistant captain. He?s part of our core,? Maloney said. ?He?s been here since I?ve been here, and in order to have success, you have to have your core players.
?He?s no different than any other player we have that, if the deal is right ? but it has to be really, really right for us to think of a guy like Keith, Marty Hanzal, the guys that have been here, our core players. We want to keep our core players.?
?It is a short week, but we?ve got some areas ? both special teams ? we?ve got to look at,? Tippett said. ?We got some faceoff stuff we want to look at, but you just want to make sure your team can go out there and play with good structure, make sure the mind-set is in the right place.?
Captain Shane Doan and center Boyd Gordon were the only ones absent from practice.
?They?re both just nursing some minor stuff,? Tippett said. ?They skated early and then got off. We want to make sure they?re going to be fine for the weekend.?
Gordon collided with center Kyle Chipchura last Monday during an informal skate. Without him and Doan on the ice, Tippett slotted Raffi Torres alongside Antoine Vermette and Mikkel Boedker. Chipchura skated with Lauri Korpikoski and David Moss.
The final line featured a rotation of Paul Bissonnette, Alexandre Bolduc, Andy Miele and Nick Johnson.
On defense, Zbynek Michalek paired with Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Keith Yandle and Derek Morris were reunited, Rusty Klesla was with David Schlemko, and Michael Stone worked with David Rundblad.
?It?s early for that,? Tippett said about whether these combinations would stick. ?But we?ll see how that goes throughout the week.?
Suspension update
Torres is expected to serve the remaining eight games of his suspension from last season.
?As far as I understand it, his eight games still stay in place,? Tippett said. ?It?s not cut down because of the lockout.?
Torres was suspended 25 games for a hit on the Chicago Blackhawks? Marian Hossa in Game 3 of the first-round playoff series. It was later reduced to 21 games and, after sitting out the remaining playoff games, Torres was left with an eight-game sentence.
He is eligible to return to the lineup Feb. 2 when the Coyotes host the Stars.
Trade talk
If General Manager Don Maloney is able to execute a trade during camp after having one deal already fall through, don?t expect him to pick apart the core of the Coyotes to do it.
?There are a lot of teams looking for defensive help, defensemen,? Maloney said. ?So we have depth there and quality there and quantity, but we like our players. We like our depth. We like the idea of Keith Yandle on our roster and Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and I really believe we may lack some skill up front to a degree, but we can make up for it with a mobile, puck-moving defense, and Keith is the lead of the line in that department.?
Yandle?s name has been mentioned in trade rumors since the NHL draft last June. Maloney said a couple of teams approached him at the draft, and he listened, but it would take a major return to complete a deal like that.
?Keith?s an assistant captain. He?s part of our core,? Maloney said. ?He?s been here since I?ve been here, and in order to have success, you have to have your core players.
?He?s no different than any other player we have that, if the deal is right ? but it has to be really, really right for us to think of a guy like Keith, Marty Hanzal, the guys that have been here, our core players. We want to keep our core players.?
