With a 4-8-3 record in their last 15 games, the woes of the hapless Arizona Coyotes seem to continuously mount.
Injuries have done them in also, but no NHL team will use that as an excuse to play such poor hockey.
Is Head Coach Dave Tippett in trouble?
There have been posts on social media from fans stating that perhaps Head Coach Dave Tippett's job should be in jeopardy. And, perhaps it should be. GM John Chayka brought in some new players to get this team out of its four year slump of not qualifying for the playoffs.
The results thus far are far from satisfying.
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Their point percentage (points earned divided by maximum points) is next to last in the NHL at .397. It means the team is not playing very well.
They're tied for second in the league for giving up the most goals, while their offense is a dismal 28th. When both your defense and offense are struggling simultaneously, the result is what we have been witnessing. Losses and more losses.
The NHL roster freeze over the holiday season will be lifted on December 28th. Will GM John Chayka make some moves? It's possible.
Trade rumors are flying
It's not surprising with the team playing such sub-par hockey that trade rumors are all over the place.
Big center Martin Hanzal has been rumored to be on the trade block since the beginning of the season with his contract expiring at season's end. One team who may be interested in Hanzal could be the Montreal Canadiens.
The Canadiens will need help to continue their surge to the playoffs with 46 points thus far placing them first in the Atlantic Division.
Who would the Canadiens be willing to trade to get the big center? Hanzal has just seven goals, four assists in 29 games and is injury prone.
Speaking of injuries, the Canadiens are also short on the forward line with young center Alex Galchenyuk being sidelined with a leg injury keeping him on the injured reserve for six to eight weeks. They will miss his offensive production totaling 23 points in 25 games before he fell to injury.
It seems the Canadiens might also want a defenseman since their young blueliner Andrei Markov is out with a lower body injury and has been placed on injured reserve.
It's no secret that the Coyotes are interested in moving right-hand shooting defenseman Michael Stone. His play has deteriorated since his return from knee surgery at the close of last season.
Another Coyote who could be changing addresses, if his play doesn't improve, is winger Anthony Duclair. He is struggling at epic proportions with only one goal, four assists in 31 games. He was a healthy scratch for two games, but that didn't change his lack of production.
One more trade rumor which could really impact the Coyotes in a good way, would be to acquire talented center Matt Duchene from the lowly Colorado Avalanche.
It's not certain what Colorado would want in return, and his $6 million salary would need to be considered in any deal. AV's GM Joe Sakic is said to be ready to blow up his team and the only untouchable player would be Nate McKinnon.
There's no doubt that the Coyotes could use a talented center like Duchene. It would put some punch in their offense, and losing Hanzal or Stone would not hurt them that much.
The Av's would more than likely want Hanzal and Stone, which could make the deal work as far as salaries are concerned. Perhaps Colorado could throw in young defenseman Nikita Zadorov to sweeten the pot.
One other rumor which most Coyotes' fans wouldn't like, is also hitting the rumor mill. And, that is moving popular team captain Shane Doan to the San Jose Sharks to give him a chance at a Cup. Doan has always been a slow starter, but this season he is just not producing with just four goals in 34 games.
He is the heart and soul of the team, but it seems like they are not going anywhere this season, and to give Doan a shot at hoisting the Cup would be something he sorely deserves. Doan does possess a no movement clause in his contract, and would need to approve any deal.
Will the Coyotes recover and make the playoffs?
Doubtful, at best. They lack any of the ingredients necessary to move into the top 16 teams in the NHL to qualify for the playoffs. With only 58 games remaining, the team is on pace to just gather just 64 points which is very reminiscent of the season two years ago when they had a horrible point total of 56.
Sure, this is still a young team with the average age of a player coming in at 28.5 years old. But, compared to the NHL average of 28.2, they can't use that as an excuse to keep losing games.
Tippett's future
Has Dave Tippett been successful while with the Coyotes? Yes, and no. When you compare statistics of point totals of former Head Coach Wayne Gretzky to Tippett's the comparison is eye-opening.
From Gretzky's last three seasons of '06-'07 to '08-'09 his team had 229 points, and a .473 points percentage. Tippett has accumulated only 223 points over his past three seasons guiding the Coyotes, with only a .453 points percentage.
Most NHL followers were of the opinion that Wayne Gretzky was an average coach at best, but the best NHL player to play the game.
The way Tippett's teams of late have been playing, if he doesn't make the playoffs five straight seasons, does GM Chayka give him the boot even though the team just signed him to a five year contract extension, and elevated him to Vice President of Hockey Operations in addition to his Head Coaching duties?
Tough call, but one which deserves some late night consternation by Chayka. Tippett has had a good run, and maybe it's time to look to someone else to lead this team out of the doldrums.
Just a thought.