# 1997–98 Phoenix Coyotes season

The 1997–98 Phoenix Coyotes season was the Coyotes' second season in Phoenix, the franchise's 19th season in the NHL, its second season in Phoenix, and its 26th season overall. The Coyotes made the 1998 Stanley Cup playoffs, losing in the first round to the Detroit Red Wings.
This was the team's final season of its original tenure in the Central Division, which it had joined while still based in Winnipeg, before being realigned into the Pacific Division the following season. The Coyotes would return to the Central in 2021.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Central Division :
| No. | CR | | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | 1 | Dallas Stars | 82 | 49 | 22 | 11 | 242 | 167 | 109 |
| 2 | 3 | Detroit Red Wings | 82 | 44 | 23 | 15 | 250 | 196 | 103 |
| 3 | 4 | St. Louis Blues | 82 | 45 | 29 | 8 | 256 | 204 | 98 |
| 4 | 6 | Phoenix Coyotes | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 224 | 227 | 82 |
| 5 | 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 30 | 39 | 13 | 192 | 199 | 73 |
| 6 | 10 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 82 | 30 | 43 | 9 | 194 | 237 | 69 |
Western Conference :
| R | | Div | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| 1 | p – Dallas Stars | CEN | 82 | 49 | 22 | 11 | 242 | 167 | 109 |
| 2 | x – Colorado Avalanche | PAC | 82 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 231 | 205 | 95 |
| 3 | Detroit Red Wings | CEN | 82 | 44 | 23 | 15 | 250 | 196 | 103 |
| 4 | St. Louis Blues | CEN | 82 | 45 | 29 | 8 | 256 | 204 | 98 |
| 5 | Los Angeles Kings | PAC | 82 | 38 | 33 | 11 | 227 | 225 | 87 |
| 6 | Phoenix Coyotes | CEN | 82 | 35 | 35 | 12 | 224 | 227 | 82 |
| 7 | Edmonton Oilers | PAC | 82 | 35 | 37 | 10 | 215 | 224 | 80 |
| 8 | San Jose Sharks | PAC | 82 | 34 | 38 | 10 | 210 | 216 | 78 |
| 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | CEN | 82 | 30 | 39 | 13 | 192 | 199 | 73 |
| 10 | Toronto Maple Leafs | CEN | 82 | 30 | 43 | 9 | 194 | 237 | 69 |
| 11 | Calgary Flames | PAC | 82 | 26 | 41 | 15 | 217 | 252 | 67 |
| 12 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | PAC | 82 | 26 | 43 | 13 | 205 | 261 | 65 |
| 13 | Vancouver Canucks | PAC | 82 | 25 | 43 | 14 | 224 | 273 | 64 |
Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific
bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won Division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

## Playoffs

The series began in Detroit. In Game 1, Detroit won 6–3, but in Game 2, the Coyotes came back and won 7–4. The series then shifted to Phoenix, where the Coyotes were victorious in Game 3, 3–2. However, the Coyotes' 2–1 series lead was short lived, as Detroit won 4–2 in Game 4. For Game 5 back in Detroit, the Red Wings won 3–1. In Game 6, the series went back to Phoenix, where Detroit won the game 5–2 and the series 4–2.

## Schedule and results
### Regular season

1997–98 regular season :
October: 5–5–2 (home: 4–2–1; road: 1–3–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
1WOctober 1, 19976–2Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)1–0–0Recap
2LOctober 3, 19972–7@ St. Louis Blues (1997–98)1–1–0Recap
3WOctober 5, 19972–1@ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)2–1–0Recap
4LOctober 8, 19972–3 OTBoston Bruins (1997–98)2–2–0Recap
5TOctober 11, 19973–3 OT@ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)2–2–1Recap
6WOctober 13, 19972–1Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)3–2–1Recap
7WOctober 19, 19975–3San Jose Sharks (1997–98)4–2–1Recap
8LOctober 21, 19973–4Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)4–3–1Recap
9TOctober 23, 19973–3 OTWashington Capitals (1997–98)4–3–2Recap
10WOctober 26, 19976–1Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)5–3–2Recap
11LOctober 29, 19972–3@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)5–4–2Recap
12LOctober 30, 19972–4@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)5–5–2Recap :
November: 7–6–0 (home: 5–2–0; road: 2–4–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
13WNovember 2, 19973–1Calgary Flames (1997–98)6–5–2Recap
14LNovember 5, 19972–4@ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)6–6–2Recap
15LNovember 6, 19971–4@ Ottawa Senators (1997–98)6–7–2Recap
16WNovember 8, 19973–0@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)7–7–2Recap
17WNovember 11, 19975–2Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)8–7–2Recap
18LNovember 13, 19972–5Montreal Canadiens (1997–98)8–8–2Recap
19WNovember 15, 19973–2@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)9–8–2Recap
20WNovember 17, 19976–3Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)10–8–2Recap
21LNovember 20, 19972–4@ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)10–9–2Recap
22WNovember 22, 19972–0Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)11–9–2Recap
23WNovember 25, 19973–2St. Louis Blues (1997–98)12–9–2Recap
24LNovember 27, 19971–4Dallas Stars (1997–98)12–10–2Recap
25LNovember 29, 19972–5@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)12–11–2Recap :
December: 5–5–5 (home: 0–2–3; road: 5–3–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
26WDecember 1, 19973–2@ Florida Panthers (1997–98)13–11–2Recap
27LDecember 3, 19971–2@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98)13–12–2Recap
28TDecember 5, 19972–2 OT@ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98)13–12–3Recap
29LDecember 6, 19970–4@ New York Islanders (1997–98)13–13–3Recap
30LDecember 8, 19971–3@ New York Rangers (1997–98)13–14–3Recap
31TDecember 10, 19973–3 OT@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)13–14–4Recap
32TDecember 12, 19972–2 OTPittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)13–14–5Recap
33TDecember 14, 19973–3 OTDetroit Red Wings (1997–98)13–14–6Recap
34LDecember 17, 19971–5Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)13–15–6Recap
35WDecember 19, 19976–2@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)14–15–6Recap
36LDecember 20, 19972–3Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)14–16–6Recap
37TDecember 23, 19972–2 OTCalgary Flames (1997–98)14–16–7Recap
38WDecember 26, 19974–0@ San Jose Sharks (1997–98)15–16–7Recap
39WDecember 27, 19974–2@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)16–16–7Recap
40WDecember 29, 19975–3@ Calgary Flames (1997–98)17–16–7Recap :
January: 7–4–3 (home: 4–1–1; road: 3–3–2)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
41WJanuary 1, 19984–0Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)18–16–7Recap
42WJanuary 3, 19982–1New York Islanders (1997–98)19–16–7Recap
43LJanuary 6, 19980–2@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)19–17–7Recap
44LJanuary 8, 19982–5@ Boston Bruins (1997–98)19–18–7Recap
45WJanuary 9, 19984–2@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)20–18–7Recap
46TJanuary 11, 19984–4 OTOttawa Senators (1997–98)20–18–8Recap
47WJanuary 14, 19983–2Florida Panthers (1997–98)21–18–8Recap
48LJanuary 20, 19982–6@ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)21–19–8Recap
49WJanuary 21, 19986–1@ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)22–19–8Recap
50LJanuary 24, 19982–5Edmonton Oilers (1997–98)22–20–8Recap
51WJanuary 26, 19984–2Vancouver Canucks (1997–98)23–20–8Recap
52TJanuary 28, 19984–4 OT@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)23–20–9Recap
53TJanuary 30, 19983–3 OT@ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98)23–20–10Recap
54WJanuary 31, 19985–2@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)24–20–10Recap :
February: 0–5–1 (home: 0–3–1; road: 0–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
55LFebruary 3, 19982–4Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)24–21–10Recap
56LFebruary 5, 19982–6Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98)24–22–10Recap
57TFebruary 7, 19981–1 OTNew York Rangers (1997–98)24–22–11Recap
58LFebruary 25, 19982–4Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)24–23–11Recap
59LFebruary 26, 19980–3@ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)24–24–11Recap
60LFebruary 28, 19980–4@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)24–25–11Recap :
March: 4–7–1 (home: 3–5–0; road: 1–2–1)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
61LMarch 2, 19981–3Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)24–26–11Recap
62LMarch 6, 19984–5 OTCarolina Hurricanes (1997–98)24–27–11Recap
63TMarch 8, 19981–1 OT@ Dallas Stars (1997–98)24–27–12Recap
64LMarch 10, 19983–4Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)24–28–12Recap
65WMarch 12, 19985–4Dallas Stars (1997–98)25–28–12Recap
66WMarch 14, 19982–0@ St. Louis Blues (1997–98)26–28–12Recap
67LMarch 16, 19981–2@ Washington Capitals (1997–98)26–29–12Recap
68LMarch 19, 19983–4Colorado Avalanche (1997–98)26–30–12Recap
69LMarch 21, 19982–3@ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98)26–31–12Recap
70WMarch 22, 19983–1San Jose Sharks (1997–98)27–31–12Recap
71WMarch 24, 19984–2Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98)28–31–12Recap
72LMarch 28, 19980–3New Jersey Devils (1997–98)28–32–12Recap :
April: 7–3–0 (home: 3–1–0; road: 4–2–0)
GameResultDateScoreOpponentRecordRecap
73WApril 1, 19985–1@ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)29–32–12Recap
74WApril 3, 19986–3Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98)30–32–12Recap
75LApril 5, 19982–3@ New Jersey Devils (1997–98)30–33–12Recap
76WApril 7, 19982–1@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98)31–33–12Recap
77LApril 9, 19981–5@ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)31–34–12Recap
78WApril 11, 19984–3@ St. Louis Blues (1997–98)32–34–12Recap
79WApril 12, 19982–1@ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98)33–34–12Recap
80WApril 14, 19982–1Detroit Red Wings (1997–98)34–34–12Recap
81WApril 16, 19983–2Dallas Stars (1997–98)35–34–12Recap
82LApril 18, 19984–5St. Louis Blues (1997–98)35–35–12Recap :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Tie (1 point) :

### Playoffs

1998 Stanley Cup playoffs :
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings – Red Wings win 4–2
GameResultDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1LApril 22, 19983–6@ Detroit Red WingsRed Wings lead 1–0Recap
2WApril 24, 19987–4@ Detroit Red WingsSeries tied 1–1Recap
3WApril 26, 19983–2Detroit Red WingsCoyotes lead 2–1Recap
4LApril 28, 19982–4Detroit Red WingsSeries tied 2–2Recap
5LApril 30, 19981–3@ Detroit Red WingsRed Wings lead 3–2Recap
6LMay 3, 19982–5Detroit Red WingsRed Wings win 4–2Recap :
Legend:
  Win
  Loss :

## Player statistics
### Scoring

* Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
* † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Coyotes only.
* ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Coyotes only.
| No. | Player | Pos | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | +/- | PIM |
| 7 | Keith Tkachuk | LW | 69 | 40 | 26 | 66 | 9 | 147 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −1 | 10 |
| 97 | Jeremy Roenick | C | 79 | 24 | 32 | 56 | 5 | 103 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 8 | −1 | 4 |
| 77 | Cliff Ronning | C | 80 | 11 | 44 | 55 | 5 | 36 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 4 |
| 15 | Craig Janney | C | 68 | 10 | 43 | 53 | 5 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | −2 | 0 |
| 27 | Teppo Numminen | D | 82 | 11 | 40 | 51 | 25 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 92 | Rick Tocchet | RW | 68 | 26 | 19 | 45 | 1 | 157 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 25 |
| 11 | Dallas Drake | RW | 60 | 11 | 29 | 40 | 17 | 71 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 2 |
| 22 | Mike Gartner | RW | 60 | 12 | 15 | 27 | −4 | 24 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 18 |
| 21 | Bob Corkum | C | 76 | 12 | 9 | 21 | −7 | 28 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −3 | 4 |
| 10 | Oleg Tverdovsky | D | 46 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 7 | −2 | 0 |
| 4 | Gerald Diduck | D | 78 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 14 | 118 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | −4 | 20 |
| 16 | Brad Isbister | LW | 66 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 4 | 102 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 2 |
| 26 | John Slaney | D | 55 | 3 | 14 | 17 | −3 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 34 | Darrin Shannon | LW | 58 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 4 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −1 | 4 |
| 36 | Juha Ylonen | C | 55 | 1 | 11 | 12 | −3 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 19 | Shane Doan | RW | 33 | 5 | 6 | 11 | −3 | 35 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 6 |
| 5 | Deron Quint | D | 32 | 4 | 7 | 11 | −6 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | Jay More‡ | D | 41 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 14 | Mike Stapleton | C | 64 | 5 | 5 | 10 | −4 | 36 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 44 | Norm Maciver | D | 41 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −11 | 38 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 33 | Jim McKenzie | LW | 64 | 3 | 4 | 7 | −7 | 146 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | Keith Carney† | D | 20 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 4 |
| 24 | Michel Petit† | D | 32 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 77 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 8 |
| 32 | Jocelyn Lemieux | RW | 30 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | Murray Baron | D | 45 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −10 | 106 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 8 | Jim Johnson | D | 16 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 18 | Mark Janssens† | C | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 35 | Nikolai Khabibulin | G | 70 | 0 | 2 | 2 | | 22 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | 0 |
| 54 | Daniel Briere | C | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 55 | Jason Doig | D | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −4 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 48 | Sean Gagnon | D | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 18 | Chad Kilger‡ | LW | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 72 | Jeff Christian | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 20 | Jim Cummins† | RW | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −7 | 47 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 31 | Scott Langkow | G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 29 | Scott Levins | RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 39 | Brad Tiley | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 28 | Jimmy Waite | G | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 |

### Goaltending

| No. | Player | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| No. | Player | GP | W | L | T | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI | GP | W | L | SA | GA | GAA | SV% | SO | TOI |
| 35 | Nikolai Khabibulin | 70 | 30 | 28 | 10 | 1835 | 184 | 2.74 | .900 | 4 | 4026 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 106 | 13 | 4.21 | .877 | 0 | 185 |
| 28 | Jimmy Waite | 17 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 322 | 28 | 2.12 | .913 | 1 | 793 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 97 | 11 | 3.85 | .887 | 0 | 171 |
| 31 | Scott Langkow | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 60 | 10 | 4.39 | .833 | 0 | 137 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## Awards and records
### Awards

| Type | Award/honor | Recipient |
| League (annual) | NHL Second All-Star Team | Keith Tkachuk (Left Wing) |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Nikolai Khabibulin |
| League (in-season) | NHL All-Star Game selection | Keith Tkachuk |
| Team | Hardest Working Player Award | Dallas Drake |
| Team | Leading Scorer Award | Keith Tkachuk |
| Team | Man of the Year Award | Jim McKenzie |
| Team | Team MVP Award | Keith Tkachuk |
| Team | Three-Star Award | Keith Tkachuk |

### Milestones

| Milestone | Player | Date |
| First game | Brad Isbister | October 1, 1997 |
| First game | Sean Gagnon | November 8, 1997 |
| First game | Brad Tiley | December 5, 1997 |
| First game | Daniel Briere | March 19, 1998 |

## Transactions
### Trades

| March 4, 1998 | To Chicago BlackhawksChad Kilger Jay More | To Phoenix CoyotesKeith Carney Jim Cummins |
| March 24, 1998 | To New York Islanders9th round pick in 1998 (Jason Doyle) | To Phoenix CoyotesMark Janssens |
| June 11, 1998 | To Tampa Bay LightningCraig Janney | To Phoenix CoyotesLouie DeBrusk 5th round pick in 1998 (Jay Leach) |
| June 18, 1998 | To Mighty Ducks of AnaheimJim McKenzie | To Phoenix CoyotesJean-Francois Jomphe |
| June 27, 1998 | To San Jose Sharks5th round pick in 1999 (Marc-Andre Thinel) | To Phoenix Coyotes5th round pick in 1998 (Josh Blackburn) |

### Waivers

| September 28, 1997 | From Chicago BlackhawksJimmy Waite |

### Free agents

| Player | Former Team |
| Ted Crowley | Boston Bruins |
| Rick Tocchet | Washington Capitals |
| Darin Kimble | New Jersey Devils |
| Jeff Christian | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Martin Simard | Colorado Avalanche |
| John Slaney | Los Angeles Kings |
| Brad Tiley | Los Angeles Kings |
| Radoslav Suchy | Undrafted Free Agent |
| Michel Petit | Philadelphia Flyers |
| Player | New Team |
| Kris King | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Jeff Finley | New York Rangers |
| Pat Jablonski | Carolina Hurricanes |
| Brent Thompson | New York Rangers |
| Kevin Dahl | Calgary Flames |
| Igor Korolev | Toronto Maple Leafs |

## Draft picks

Phoenix's draft picks at the 1997 NHL entry draft held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 2 | 43 | Juha Gustafsson | Finland | Kiekko-Espoo (Finland) |
| 4 | 96 | Scott McCallum | Canada | Tri-City Americans (WHL) |
| 5 | 123 | Curtis Suter | Canada | Spokane Chiefs (WHL) |
| 6 | 151 | Robert Francz | Germany | Peterborough Petes (OHL) |
| 8 | 207 | Aleksandrs Andrejevs | Latvia | Weyburn Red Wings (SJHL) |
| 9 | 233 | Wyatt Smith | United States | University of Minnesota (WCHA) |