Utah Hockey Club’s Inherited Roster Still Lacks a No. 1 Center – The Hockey Writers Arizona Coyotes Latest News, Analysis & More

Returning to the Arizona (then Phoenix) Coyotes team in 1996, one must return to Jeremy Roenick to find a No. 1 center in the organization. Even then, Roenick was playing right wing when he first joined the team. He played two seasons on the right wing and then was switched to center during the 1998-99 season.

The results were significant, as he tallied 24, 34, and 30 goals over the subsequent three campaigns. This reveals that he was the team’s best No. 1 center.

When the Coyotes drafted Clayton Keller with their seventh overall selection in 2016, he started as a second-line center. When the Coyotes acquired Nick Schmaltz in 2018, Keller moved to the wing to join Alex Galchenyuk. The line became an immediate success.

Successful Teams Have a No. 1 Center

*Team statistics are for the 2023-24 season. Player statistics are career totals.

• Colorado Avalanche (3.68 goals-per game) – Nathan MacKinnon (1.15 points per game)
• Edmonton Oilers (3.56 goals per game) – Connor McDavid (1.52 P/G)
• Florida Panthers (3.23 goals per game) – Aleksander Barkov (0.97 P/G)
• Pittsburgh Penguins (3.09 goals per game) – Sidney Crosby (1.25 P/G)
• Tampa Bay Lightning (3.51 goals per game) – Brayden Point (0.96 P/G)
• Toronto Maple Leafs (3.63 goals per game) – Auston Matthews (1.15 P/G)
• Vancouver Canucks (3.40 goals per game) – J.T. Miller (0.80 P/G)
• Vegas Golden Knights (3.21 goals per game) – Jack Eichel (0.98 P/G)

Other may include:

• Carolina Hurricanes (3.38 goals per game) – Sebastian Aho (0.93 P/G)
• Dallas Stars (3.59 goals per game) – Roope Hintz (0.79 P/G)
• Detroit Red Wings (3.35 goals per game) – Dylan Larkin (0.78 P/G)
• New York Islanders (2.99 goals per game) – Bo Horvat (0.69 P/G)
• St. Louis Blues (2.85 goals per game) – Robert Thomas (0.80 P/G)
• Winnipeg Jets (3.16 goals per game) – Mark Scheifele (0.91 P/G)

Four Hart Trophy winners and six Stanley Cup champions are on these lists. That’s the type of center the Utah team desperately needs. Utah inherited the Arizona roster, which also struggled with scoring. Over their last three seasons, the Coyotes ranked 27th, averaging just 2.78 goals per game. In comparison, the current Utah team is ranked 21st with a 2.75 goals scored per game average. While the current season is only one-quarter old, no teams compared to the Utah club score lower average goals per game. This indicates that possessing a top center on your team leads to success. That is why centers are such a premium asset on your roster.

When we compare the top three Utah centers, Schmaltz has 0.71 career P/G, Cooley has 0.57 P/G, and Jack McBain has 0.45 P/G. Remember, Schmaltz doesn’t line up as a center exclusively; he also plays right wing.

Barrett Hayton and Dylan Strome Were Thought to Be Top Centers

Barrett Hayton was the fifth overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. He was selected over players such as Quinn Hughes and Evan Bouchard. At that point, the Coyotes wanted a center, not a promising defenseman. The thing is, both Hughes (47 goals, 305 assists) and Bouchard (47 goals, 139 assists) have outscored Hayton (40 goals, 52 assists).

Strome was hyped as the next elite center for Arizona when he went third overall in 2015. He was a complete bust in Arizona. He only managed seven goals and nine assists in 48 games before the club gave up on him. He got dealt to the Chicago Blackhawks along with Brandan Perlini in exchange for Schmaltz in 2018.

Strome was a late bloomer and has since become a skilled center now playing for the Washington Capitals. In his third season with the Caps, he has scored 56 goals and 104 assists in 183 games. In hindsight, the Coyotes should have kept Strome.

2015 NHL Draft Was a Missed Opportunity

The 2015 Draft showed a significant flaw in draft choices. Then, the general manager (GM) Don Maloney selected Strome over some of the now apparent successful players. He passed on players like Mitch Marner (#4), Noah Hanifin (#5), Ivan Provorov (#7), Zach Werenski (#8), Timo Meier (#9), Mikko Rantanen (#10), Mathew Barzal (#16), Kyle Connor (#17), Brock Boeser (#23), Travis Konecny (#24), and Sebastian Aho (#35).

Related: 4 Utah HC Players Not Meeting Expectations

At the time, Strome, who stood 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, was considered the best selection. Little did Maloney know then that a smaller player like Marner would become a superstar. Just think of what Marner would have done to make the Coyotes a better team. Since he joined the Toronto Maple Leafs, he has scored 200 goals and 465 assists in 596 games.

Logan Cooley Has the Best Shot at Becoming a True No. 1 Center

When Cooley was selected with the third overall pick in 2022, the Coyotes again wanted to fill that center position with a player who could dominate. Thus far, he certainly has that potential. His speed and playmaking abilities give him every chance to be an elite center. At 20, he is still very young but is beginning to adjust to the NHL level of play. In 2023-24 he tallied 20 goals, with a late-season flurry of 24 points in the second half of the season.

Is he the answer to the newest NHL franchise’s need for a top-line center? Perhaps, but he is still playing second-line minutes alongside Jack McBain and Dylan Guenther. He needs to mature a bit more, and then we shall see if he can get into that list of players classified as number-one centers.

NHL teams realize that top players (including centers) must be drafted into their systems to succeed. Trades can be a factor, but finding a team that wants to trade a top-line center can be a challenge, if not impossible.

Promising centers in the Utah system include Julian Lutz, who was drafted #43 in 2022 and currently plays for the Tucson Roadrunners in the American Hockey League (AHL). Cole Beaudoin, drafted #24 this year, plays in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Owen Allard, drafted #135, also plays in the OHL.

Increased Scoring is Needed

Josh Doan was sent down to the Roadrunners to improve his game skills. He could be called up to improve Utah’s meager scoring statistics. In nine games in Tucson, he has four goals and two assists.

Unless GM Bill Armstrong has some tricks up his sleeve on acquiring a no. 1 center, the Utah team must rely on the future that Cooley brings to the squad. It’s a ton of pressure for a 20-year-old kid, but for now, it must suffice. If head coach Andre Tourigny wants to see if Cooley can be promoted to the first line, put him with Keller and Guenther and see what happens. Dropping Hayton and Schmaltz down to the second line may be a necessity.

We’ll see what happens.