The 2017-18 season for the Arizona Coyotes will go down in the history books as having one of the worst starts ever with a record of 9-27-5, and one of the best endings to not make the playoffs at 20-14-7. That is what makes it so strange and so interesting to analyze.
The “whys” of it all are already known and have been discussed: A completely new coaching staff and new system; injuries to key players like Antti Raanta, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jakob Chychrun; a 40 percent turnover in roster players; and of the 23 players on the opening night roster 14 hadn’t yet reached 200 NHL games played.