Cracks in the foundation began to snake up the façade not long after the Coyotes maxed out in the 2012 Western Conference final, but signs of a wobbly future were forecasted all the way back in 2009 once ownership vacated the premises.
Their patchwork effort wasn't sustainable and given a 48-game window for an encore in 2013, they collapsed paces from the finish line.
Even when their search for a new owner had ended, the crevices – masqueraded by an early-season offensive surge in 2013-14 that fizzled when the games mattered the most – were too wide to repair.
By last December, the goaltending was on the fritz, the defense deteriorating and the offense couldn't reach maximum power.
The Coyotes were ready for a wrecking ball.
Management chose to rebuild and instead of remodeling exclusively with current supplies, it invested in some new equipment.
Arizona traded away veteran pillars, including defenseman Keith Yandle, for prospects and picks and left opportunity open for youth to fill in the gaps knowing that it could be three or four years – at best – before the team might even be considered a Stanley Cup contender.
But to have that be an attainable goal, the Coyotes knew their renovation project had to start with a successful base.
That's why they finally appear ready to introduce some of those prized youngsters into the mix, using them as a foundation that can not only dazzle on their own but also instigate better results from the established up-and-comers and experienced 30-somethings surrounding them.
"I want growth in our team," coach Dave Tippett said. "There's gonna be some mistakes. Every team has mistakes. But the ability to learn from our mistakes, the ability to push our game forward and grow – not just young players but that middle tier – and the ability for our veterans to assimilate into the group, to help foster it, we need growth right through our whole organization.
"If you see that, you feel good about moving forward. That's what we have to have."
Much of the Coyotes' shortcomings last season were exacerbated when examined next to the NHL standard.
A truly rough season
They finished 29th overall, posting the second-fewest wins (24) and most regulation losses (50) for a full-length since relocating from Winnipeg to the Valley in 1996. Their goals-per-game (2.01) was second-to-last; their goals-against third-highest (3.26).
Goalie Mike Smith's .904 save percentage and 3.16 goals-against average were among the worst for starters.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, a defenseman, was the only player to eclipse the 20-goal mark, and no one finished a plus-player. Captain Shane Doan was a team-low minus-32.
"As poor a season we had last year, we have to put that behind us," Tippett said.
In attempting to rebound from those failures, the Coyotes want internal improvement in the areas that were lacking: speed, skill and defensive details. By upgrading their own proficiency, their competitiveness in the Pacific Division and Western Conference should strengthen.
"I'm quite hopeful that we'll surprise people," General Manager Don Maloney said. "That's my hope."
Their personnel changes over the offseason were certainly designed to elicit better production, and the most intriguing additions are the youngest.
Winger Max Domi seems ready to make the leap to the NHL after a decorated four-season career in the Ontario Hockey League that saw him amass 331 points in 244 regular-season games. The 20-year-old oozes quickness, creativity and tenacity.
"He's able to handle the puck, and you see passes with people around him and they do something," Maloney said.
What's more, the former 2013 first-round draft pick has a respected hockey pedigree. His dad, Tie, played 16 years in the NHL, mostly with the Maple Leafs.
"That's pretty much at the forefront of my mind – do whatever it takes to help the team win," Domi said. "Whatever that may be, I'm definitely prepared to start doing it."
Winger Anthony Duclair, the centerpiece of the Yandle trade with the Rangers, is another 20-year-old with the potential to make a difference.
He already has 18 games of NHL experience on his resume and offers a brand of speed the Coyotes covet.
On the back end, Klas Dahlbeck, 24, seems on the brink of a full-time role in the top-six after he joined the team at the trade deadline.
"They have a certain skill set that we lack," Maloney said. "There's maturity in their game and plus, we think we have enough around them to support them in the times when things get a little hard."
Ekman-Larsson headlines that next class of players blossoming into quality – star-level in Ekman-Larsson's case – NHLers.
OEL is elite
While the Coyotes stumbled through last season, the 24-year-old was a two-way force. He was named an All-Star and became an alternate captain – all while tying the single-season franchise record for goals in a season by a defenseman with 23.
"I just have to keep pushing and keep getting better," Ekman-Larsson said.
The Coyotes should also be boosted by the returns of winger Mikkel Boedker and center Martin Hanzal, both of whom were absent for much of the second half of last season because of injury. Arizona also signed free-agent forwards Brad Richardson and Steve Downie to bring more speed, grit and depth scoring to the team.
"Our group that's been our younger group needs to step in and be that middle group," Doan said. "That's really your core. That's important."
And if the two bottom building blocks are doing their jobs, that commitment can't help but motivate the veterans.
The Coyotes did not neglect bolstering that contingent during the offseason. Not only did they bring back center Antoine Vermette and defenseman Zbynek Michalek in free agency after shipping out the two before the trade deadline, but they reacquired center Boyd Gordon and landed defenseman Nicklas Grossmann in separate trades to stabilize their defensive approach.
And yet the most influential member of this club is probably Smith.
"It's obviously a goal to get back to the playoffs and be a more consistent, competitive team game-in, game-out," he said. "I know that starts with the goaltending, and I know I feel more prepared than I have in the past going into this season, so hopefully that will carry over into some good play."
Smith's performance could easily determine just how realistic it is for the team to achieve its ambition of vying for a postseason berth, but the Coyotes have tried to retool their entire look to improve their chances.
Combining a more consistent offense with stingy defending would appear to be a better formula for keeping pace in the standings, but it's also a prerequisite to successfully completing the rebuild.
So is integrating all three levels of development.
Just how well they collaborate will likely determine the construction timeline.
Either way, progress is expected in Year 1.
"We want to be the best team we can," Tippett said. "But to be the best team we can be, there has to be growth."
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