# 2021–22 Arizona Coyotes season

The 2021–22 Arizona Coyotes season was the 43rd season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on June 22, 1979, the 26th season since the franchise relocated from Winnipeg following the 1995–96 NHL season, and the 50th overall season, including the World Hockey Association years.
The Coyotes returned to the Central Division for the 2021–22 season. The franchise was previously part of this division from the time of its formation in 1993 (when the team was still based in Manitoba) through to the end of its second season in Arizona in 1998. The modern Winnipeg Jets are also in the Central, thus for the first time that city's original NHL franchise will be in the same division as its current team. The league's new expansion team the Seattle Kraken took the Coyotes' place in the Pacific Division.
This was the Coyotes' final season at Gila River Arena, as the city of Glendale decided not to renew the team's operating agreement with the city. Following this season's conclusion, the Coyotes would reach a temporary agreement with Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, where the franchise would agree to play at the newly constructed Mullett Arena until they agreed to find a more permanent new home for themselves going forward. The Coyotes finished with 57 points, the worst record in the whole Western Conference.
They were eliminated from playoff contention following a 6–1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on March 28, 2022. The Coyotes closed Gila River Arena by beating the Predators, 5–4, after trailing 4–0, in the season finale. Coincidentally, the Predators beat the then-Phoenix Coyotes, 3–1, in their first home game at Gila River Arena on December 27, 2003. It was known as Glendale Arena at the time.

## Standings
### Divisional standings

Central Division :
| Pos | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | z – Colorado Avalanche | 82 | 56 | 19 | 7 | 46 | 312 | 234 | +78 | 119 |
| 2 | x – Minnesota Wild | 82 | 53 | 22 | 7 | 37 | 310 | 253 | +57 | 113 |
| 3 | x – St. Louis Blues | 82 | 49 | 22 | 11 | 43 | 311 | 242 | +69 | 109 |
| 4 | x – Dallas Stars | 82 | 46 | 30 | 6 | 31 | 238 | 246 | −8 | 98 |
| 5 | x – Nashville Predators | 82 | 45 | 30 | 7 | 35 | 266 | 252 | +14 | 97 |
| 6 | e – Winnipeg Jets | 82 | 39 | 32 | 11 | 31 | 252 | 257 | −5 | 89 |
| 7 | e – Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 28 | 42 | 12 | 16 | 219 | 291 | −72 | 68 |
| 8 | e – Arizona Coyotes | 82 | 25 | 50 | 7 | 18 | 207 | 313 | −106 | 57 |

### Conference standings

Western Conference Wild Card :
| Pos | Div | Team v t e | GP | W | L | OTL | RW | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 1 | CE | x – Dallas Stars | 82 | 46 | 30 | 6 | 31 | 238 | 246 | −8 | 98 |
| 2 | CE | x – Nashville Predators | 82 | 45 | 30 | 7 | 35 | 266 | 252 | +14 | 97 |
| 3 | PA | e – Vegas Golden Knights | 82 | 43 | 31 | 8 | 34 | 266 | 248 | +18 | 94 |
| 4 | PA | e – Vancouver Canucks | 82 | 40 | 30 | 12 | 32 | 249 | 236 | +13 | 92 |
| 5 | CE | e – Winnipeg Jets | 82 | 39 | 32 | 11 | 32 | 252 | 257 | −5 | 89 |
| 6 | PA | e – San Jose Sharks | 82 | 32 | 37 | 13 | 22 | 214 | 264 | −50 | 77 |
| 7 | PA | e – Anaheim Ducks | 82 | 31 | 37 | 14 | 22 | 232 | 271 | −39 | 76 |
| 8 | CE | e – Chicago Blackhawks | 82 | 28 | 42 | 12 | 16 | 219 | 291 | −72 | 68 |
| 9 | PA | e – Seattle Kraken | 82 | 27 | 49 | 6 | 23 | 216 | 285 | −69 | 60 |
| 10 | CE | e – Arizona Coyotes | 82 | 25 | 50 | 7 | 18 | 207 | 313 | −106 | 57 |

## Schedule and results
### Preseason

The team's preseason schedule was released on August 9, 2021.

### Regular season

The team's regular season schedule was published on July 22, 2021, with only about a handful of games scheduled in February because NHL players are planning to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics.
2021–22 game log :
Legend:
  Win (2 points)
  Loss (0 points)
  Overtime/shootout loss (1 point) :

## Player statistics
### Skaters

Regular season :
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | +/− | PIM |
| Clayton Keller | 67 | 28 | 35 | 63 | +3 | 28 |
| Nick Schmaltz | 63 | 23 | 36 | 59 | +1 | 14 |
| Phil Kessel | 82 | 8 | 44 | 52 | −24 | 40 |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 82 | 14 | 37 | 51 | −23 | 26 |
| Travis Boyd | 74 | 17 | 18 | 35 | −10 | 34 |
| Lawson Crouse | 65 | 20 | 14 | 34 | −9 | 52 |
| Barrett Hayton | 60 | 10 | 14 | 24 | −8 | 20 |
| Anton Stralman | 74 | 8 | 15 | 23 | −16 | 12 |
| Jakob Chychrun | 47 | 7 | 14 | 21 | −20 | 47 |
| Alex Galchenyuk | 60 | 6 | 15 | 21 | −11 | 32 |
| Loui Eriksson | 73 | 3 | 16 | 19 | −18 | 6 |
| Johan Larsson$^‡$ | 29 | 6 | 9 | 15 | −3 | 30 |
| Janis Moser | 43 | 4 | 11 | 15 | −10 | 16 |
| Nick Ritchie$^†$ | 24 | 10 | 4 | 14 | −7 | 20 |
| Andrew Ladd | 51 | 7 | 5 | 12 | −20 | 47 |
| Dysin Mayo | 67 | 4 | 8 | 12 | −22 | 27 |
| Christian Fischer | 53 | 5 | 5 | 10 | −15 | 14 |
| Kyle Capobianco | 45 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −12 | 38 |
| Ilya Lyubushkin$^‡$ | 46 | 0 | 9 | 9 | −6 | 26 |
| Antoine Roussel | 53 | 4 | 4 | 8 | −16 | 59 |
| Ryan Dzingel$^‡$ | 26 | 4 | 3 | 7 | −3 | 35 |
| Cam Dineen | 34 | 0 | 7 | 7 | −16 | 4 |
| Michael Carcone | 21 | 4 | 2 | 6 | −8 | 14 |
| Matias Maccelli | 23 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −10 | 4 |
| Nathan Smith | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −1 | 2 |
| Riley Nash$^{†‡}$ | 24 | 0 | 4 | 4 | −3 | 4 |
| Liam O'Brien | 39 | 2 | 1 | 3 | +1 | 106 |
| Jack McBain | 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −6 | 6 |
| Jan Jenik | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −6 | 11 |
| Vladislav Kolyachonok | 32 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Jay Beagle | 33 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −20 | 27 |
| Bokondji Imama | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −2 | 5 |
| Dmitrij Jaskin | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | −6 | 4 |
| Hudson Fasching | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −3 | 0 |
| Blake Speers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −2 | 2 |
| Conor Timmins | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −6 | 0 |
| Victor Soderstrom | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −7 | 6 |
| Ben McCartney | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |

### Goaltenders

Regular season :
| Player | GP | GS | TOI | W | L | OT | GA | GAA | SA | SV% | SO | G | A | PIM |
| Karel Vejmelka | 52 | 49 | 2,773:14 | 13 | 32 | 3 | 170 | 3.68 | 1,669 | .898 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Wedgewood$^{†‡}$ | 26 | 23 | 1,481:26 | 10 | 12 | 2 | 78 | 3.16 | 878 | .911 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harri Sateri | 6 | 4 | 298:22 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 4.22 | 157 | .866 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josef Korenar | 2 | 0 | 70:18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2.56 | 35 | .914 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ivan Prosvetov | 3 | 3 | 185:00 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 4.22 | 104 | .875 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carter Hutton$^‡$ | 3 | 3 | 115:58 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 7.76 | 58 | .741 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
$^†$Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Coyotes. Stats reflect time with the Coyotes only. $^‡$Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Coyotes only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

## Transactions

The Coyotes have been involved in the following transactions during the 2021–22 season.

### Trades

| Date | Details | Details |
| July 17, 2021 (2021-07-17) | To San Jose SharksAdin Hill 7th-round pick in 2022 | To Arizona CoyotesJosef Korenar 2nd-round pick in 2022 |
| July 17, 2021 (2021-07-17) | To New York IslandersFuture considerations | To Arizona CoyotesAndrew Ladd COL 2nd-round pick in 2021 Conditional$^1$ 2nd-round pick in 2022 Conditional$^2$ 3rd-round pick in 2023 |
| July 22, 2021 (2021-07-22) | To Philadelphia FlyersFuture considerations | To Arizona CoyotesShayne Gostisbehere 2nd-round pick in 2022 STL 7th-round pick in 2022 |
| July 23, 2021 (2021-07-23) | To Vancouver CanucksOliver Ekman-Larsson Conor Garland | To Arizona CoyotesLoui Eriksson Antoine Roussel Jay Beagle 1st-round pick in 2021 2nd-round pick in 2022 7th-round pick in 2023 |
| July 24, 2021 (2021-07-24) | To Los Angeles KingsBrayden Burke Tyler Steenbergen | To Arizona CoyotesCole Hults Bokondji Imama |
| July 26, 2021 (2021-07-26) | To Florida Panthers7th-round pick in 2023 | To Arizona CoyotesAnton Stralman Vladislav Kolyachonok 2nd-round pick in 2024 |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | To San Jose SharksLane Pederson | To Arizona Coyotes4th-round pick in 2024 |
| February 19, 2022 (2022-02-19) | To Toronto Maple LeafsRyan Dzingel Ilya Lyubushkin | To Arizona CoyotesNick Ritchie Conditional 2nd-round pick in 2025 or 3rd-round pick in 2023 |
| February 21, 2022 (2022-02-21) | To Toronto Maple LeafsCarter Hutton | To Arizona CoyotesFuture considerations |
| February 22, 2022 (2022-02-22) | To Boston BruinsMichael Callahan | To Arizona Coyotes7th-round pick in 2024 |
| March 20, 2022 (2022-03-20) | To Dallas StarsScott Wedgewood | To Arizona CoyotesConditional$^3$ 4th-round pick in 2023 |
| March 21, 2022 (2022-03-21) | To Minnesota WildVAN 2nd-round pick in 2022 | To Arizona CoyotesJack McBain |
| March 21, 2022 (2022-03-21) | To Tampa Bay LightningRiley Nash | To Arizona CoyotesFuture considerations |
| March 21, 2022 (2022-03-21) | To Washington CapitalsJohan Larsson | To Arizona Coyotes3rd-round pick in 2023 |
| March 21, 2022 (2022-03-21) | To Winnipeg Jets4th-round pick in 2022 | To Arizona CoyotesBryan Little Nathan Smith |
Notes:
* Arizona will receive the earliest of either the Colorado Avalanche's or the New York Islanders' second-round pick in 2022.
* Arizona will receive a third-round pick in 2023 if Ladd does not play in any professional games in 2022–23 under his current contract and does not retire prior to the conclusion of the 2022–23 regular season; otherwise no pick will be exchanged.
* Arizona will receive a 3rd-round pick in 2023 if the Dallas Stars qualify for the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs.

### Players acquired

| Date | Player | Former team | Term | Via |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Ryan Dzingel | Carolina Hurricanes | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Carter Hutton | Buffalo Sabres | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Dmitrij Jaskin | Dynamo Moscow (KHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Liam O'Brien | Colorado Avalanche | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 29, 2021 (2021-07-29) | Michael Carcone | Nashville Predators | 2-year | Free agency |
| August 3, 2021 (2021-08-03) | Travis Boyd | Vancouver Canucks | 1-year | Free agency |
| October 6, 2021 (2021-10-06) | Alex Galchenyuk | Toronto Maple Leafs | 1-year | Free agency |
| October 13, 2021 (2021-10-13) | Anson Thornton | Sarnia Sting (OHL) | 3-year | Free agency |
| November 4, 2021 (2021-11-04) | Scott Wedgewood | New Jersey Devils | | Waivers |
| January 6, 2022 (2022-01-06) | Riley Nash | Tampa Bay Lightning | | Waivers |
| March 21, 2022 (2022-03-21) | Harri Sateri | Toronto Maple Leafs | | Waivers |
| June 1, 2022 (2022-06-01) | Ronald Knot | Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (KHL) | 1-year | Free agency |

### Players lost

| Date | Player | New team | Term | Via |
| July 21, 2021 (2021-07-21) | Tyler Pitlick | Seattle Kraken | | Expansion draft |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Michael Bunting | Toronto Maple Leafs | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Alex Goligoski | Minnesota Wild | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | John Hayden | Buffalo Sabres | 1-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Dryden Hunt | New York Rangers | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Jordan Oesterle | Detroit Red Wings | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Antti Raanta | Carolina Hurricanes | 2-year | Free agency |
| July 29, 2021 (2021-07-29) | Michael Chaput | Pittsburgh Penguins | 1-year | Free agency |
| August 25, 2021 (2021-08-25) | Derick Brassard | Philadelphia Flyers | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 9, 2021 (2021-09-09) | Nate Sucese | Iowa Wild (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| September 29, 2021 (2021-09-29) | Aaron Ness | Providence Bruins (AHL) | 1-year | Free agency |
| October 8, 2021 (2021-10-08) | Frederik Gauthier | New Jersey Devils | 1-year | Free agency |
| December 19, 2021 (2021-12-19) | Vladislav Provolnev | | | Contract termination |
| December 21, 2021 (2021-12-21) | Vladislav Provolnev | CSKA Moscow (KHL) | 3-year | Free agency |
| June 7, 2021 (2021-06-07) | Josef Korenar | HC Sparta Praha (ELH) | 2-year | Free agency |

### Signings

| Date | Player | Term | Contract type |
| July 28, 2021 (2021-07-28) | Liam Kirk | 3-year | Entry-level |
| July 29, 2021 (2021-07-29) | Hudson Fasching | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 2, 2021 (2021-08-02) | Cam Dineen | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 2, 2021 (2021-08-02) | Dysin Mayo | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 2, 2021 (2021-08-02) | Blake Speers | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 6, 2021 (2021-08-06) | Bokondji Imama | 1-year | Re-signing |
| August 6, 2021 (2021-08-06) | Conor Timmins | 2-year | Re-signing |
| August 14, 2021 (2021-08-14) | Janis Moser | 3-year | Entry-level |
| August 30, 2021 (2021-08-30) | Dylan Guenther | 3-year | Entry-level |
| February 25, 2022 (2022-02-25) | Dysin Mayo | 3-year | Extension |
| March 5, 2022 (2022-03-05) | Travis Boyd | 2-year | Extension |
| March 6, 2022 (2022-03-06) | Liam O'Brien | 2-year | Extension |
| March 21, 2022 (2022-03-21) | Jack McBain | 2-year | Entry-level |
| March 21, 2022 (2022-03-21) | Karel Vejmelka | 3-year | Extension |
| April 11, 2022 (2022-04-11) | Nathan Smith | 2-year | Entry-level |
| May 24, 2022 (2022-05-24) | Ivan Prosvetov | 1-year | Extension |

## Draft picks

Below are the Arizona Coyotes selections at the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, which will be held on July 23 and 24, 2021, virtually via video conference call from the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Round | # | Player | Pos | Nationality | College/Junior/Club team (League) |
| 1 | 9 | Dylan Guenther | RW | Canada | Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) |
| 1 | 11 | Forfeited pick$^1$ | | | |
| 2 | 37 | Josh Doan | RW | USA | Chicago Steel (USHL) |
| 2 | 43 | Ilya Fedotov | LW | Russia | Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod (KHL) |
| 2 | 60 | Janis Moser | D | Switzerland | EHC Biel (NL) |
| 4 | 107 | Emil Martinsen Lilleberg | D | Norway | Sparta Warriors (Eliteserien) |
| 4 | 122 | Rasmus Korhonen | G | Finland | Ässät (U20 SM-sarja) |
| 5 | 139 | Manix Landry | C | Canada | Gatineau Olympiques (QMJHL) |
| 6 | 171 | Cal Thomas | D | USA | Maple Grove Crimson (USHS-MN) |

### Notes

* The Arizona Coyotes' first-round pick will be forfeited as the result of a penalty sanction due to violations of the NHL Combine Testing Policy during the 2019–20 NHL season. The penalty includes the forfeiture of a second-round pick in 2020 and this pick.