Regular Season Finish: 13th
Phoenix was quietly one of the more active teams this offseason, making several additions that could potentially vault them into competition as early as the 2009-10 season. Last season, the Coyotes struggled in both offensive and defensive departments, finishing second last in goals allowed, and 3rd last in goals scored. One of the major issues for them was special teams, as they recorded the worst powerplay and penalty kill numbers in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the Coyotes have been active players in the 2009 free agent market, all the publicity around the team has been centered on the ongoing struggle to decide who will be the new owner. 
Fortunately, this offseason, the Coyotes made a number of acquisitions that should help them improve their all-around game. At the trade deadline in 2009, the Coyotes picked up Dmitri Kalinin and Petr Prucha from the New York Rangers as well as Scottie Upshall from Philadelphia, giving them two young forwards to add to their stable of talented young scorers, and yet another veteran defenseman to help stabilize the blueline. The moves made in the offseason mirrored these acquisitions very closely, as the Coyotes continued to bolster their experienced blueline, while adding young talent up front.
Perhaps the biggest move was the signing of Adrian Aucoin from Calgary. With the addition of Jay Bouwmeester to the Flames, Aucoin was left as the odd man out on a roster full of talented defensemen, and was quickly snapped up by the Coyotes, who could certainly use his offensive skill set from the point. Aucoin should provide an instant jumpstart to their anemic powerplay, and the 30+ points that he has been scoring on a regular basis should be a welcome addition to the Coyotes stat sheet. Defense was clearly the first priority for Phoenix, as they used their 6th overall draft pick to acquire Oliver Ekman-Larsson, a talented puck-moving defenseman playing in the Elitserien. Also added were young Finn Sami Lepisto and bruiser Jim Vandermeer, who had 108 penalty minutes in 45 games with Calgary last season.
Up front, the Coyotes already have plenty of young scorers who just need to take the next step to becoming full-blown NHL talents. Peter Mueller, Martin Hanzal and Mikkel Boedker all showed promise last season, and should continue to improve. The additions of Matthew Lombardi from Calgary and Radim Vrbata from Tampa Bay give the Coyotes a couple of veteran players who have the potential to be 40-50 point scorers. Lauri Korpikoski was an excellent pickup, as he has demonstrated a tremendous ability to kill penalties, a skill the Coyotes were in desperate need of.
The Coyotes did a good job this offseason of adding much-needed depth to their roster, an asset which should take the pressure off their young stars, and allow them to focus on improving their game. With a stronger defense and a little more pop in their offense, Phoenix looks to be ready to take the next step towards being an NHL competitor.