Stat Hockey’s Arizona Coyotes 2023-24 Line Projections

This is a look at the Arizona Coyotes 2023-24 line projections. It will cover all forward lines, defense pairings, goaltenders, and scratches.

Projected Lineup

F

Clayton Keller – Barrett Hayton – Nick Schmaltz

Matias Maccelli – Logan Cooley – Jason Zucker

Lawson Crouse – Nick Bjugstad – Alex Kerfoot

Jack McBain – Travis Boyd – Dylan Guenther

S- Liam O’Brien, Jan Jenik

D

J.J. Moser – Matt Dumba

Juuso Valimaki – Sean Durzi

Troy Stecher – Victor Soderstrom

S- Joshua Brown

G

Karel Vejmelka

Connor Ingram

Forwards

The first line of the Coyotes did very well last season and there’s no reason to believe they’ll be separated. Hayton has a couple of seasons on Cooley and already formed chemistry with Keller and Schmaltz, so it’ll take pressure off the rookie having him line up on the second line. The top line has a few legitimate skilled players who can put up a point-per-game.

Cooley should instead be in between the Coyotes’ skilled rookie from last season, Maccelli, and newcomer Zucker. Maccelli is all about speed and passing, so he’ll be able to set up Zucker and Cooley nicely. Zucker was nearly a 30-goal scorer last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins while Cooley has shown he has the scoring touch.

Crouse gets bumped down here, but I’m not convinced that it will be for the entire season as he put up 24 goals last season and is a big body. Why he fits well here is so the third line has more size and someone who can also put the puck in the back of the net. Kerfoot has played in the top-six as well, but should make this line better and is looking to bounce back. Bjugstad should center these two as another big body who will protect the puck and score around the net.

It was a tougher decision to put rookie Guenther on the fourth line, but the Coyotes just added so many supporting players in the offseason. I don’t like talented young players getting fourth line minutes, which is why I think he’ll rise up at one point in the season. Boyd has been a stable and underrated presence down the middle for the Coyotes. He has some skill and will also keep the fourth line from being irrelevant offensively. McBain is the third member and takes the final spot in the lineup. He adds the physicality, but can also help produce a bit.

Defense

The Coyotes’ defense has been reshaped, so Moser gets a new partner for the top pairing. He proved that he can handle top line minutes and stepped up last season. The 23-year-old will have a veteran partner who is looking to bounce back as his partner for the season in Dumba.

Valimaki took full advantage of an opportunity with the Coyotes last season and proved that he can be part of the future here. He stepped up offensively and led all Coyotes’ defensemen in points. He’ll log more than 18 minutes per game this season and has another talented young defenseman flanking him. Durzi was also acquired in the offseason and should be able to add even more scoring from the back-end. This will be an interesting pairing to say the least.

Related: Stat Hockey’s Anaheim Ducks 2023-24 Line Projections

The third pairing will likely be filled with two right shot defenders. Soderstrom has been slowly playing more games each season, and after 30 in 2022-23, is set for a full time role. It will be out of Stecher, Brown, and Travis Dermott for the final two spots. I think Stecher has one spot locked down, while it will be interesting to see if Dermott can come back and take a spot away from Brown after only playing 11 games last season. The Vancouver Canucks didn’t have an issue sending Dermott to the AHL last season and neither should Arizona.

Goaltending

The Coyotes will see the same goaltending tandem as last season, except I think that Ingram pushes Vejmelka for starts. Vejmelka might be more established in the NHL with two full seasons as the starter under his belt, but Ingram put up better numbers last season. The starts might be close, but since the Coyotes are trying to win, they will go with the hot hand most nights and run with whoever is standing out.