Arizona Coyotes hoping Taylor Hall provides spark for team, fans

The Arizona Coyotes have long been one of the NHL’s most forgettable franchises. They don’t win and they don’t draw crowds.

The team took a major step toward fixing that Monday.

That’s when the Coyotes acquired star left wing Taylor Hall from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for two draft picks and three prospects. Arizona was suddenly the talk of the league after getting the 2018 Hart Trophy (MVP) winner.

The Coyotes’ next step is building off their current momentum on the ice and at the box office. The message they sent when acquiring Hall was heard clear across the Pacific Division: We expect to contend and we expect to do so now. Arizona hopes its fans are listening too.

“He’s going to make a good team even better,” Golden Knights center William Karlsson said. “Good for them.”

Hall provided an instant spark for the Coyotes, who sit in first place in the Pacific entering Saturday. He got the primary assist on Arizona’s game-winning goal in his first game with the team Tuesday.

Hall struggled — by his standards — to open the season with six goals in 30 games. The Coyotes hope playing with better teammates and a clearer head now that his long-rumored trade is out of the way will get him back on track. Arizona’s opponents certainly think that’s possible.

“I wouldn’t say I was surprised. You knew something was coming,” Knights coach Gerard Gallant said. “Good trade. He’s a good hockey player, so that’s going to help Arizona for sure.”

The Coyotes hope he’ll help enough to get them their first playoff berth and division crown since 2012. They also hope reaching those goals will be enough to convince Hall, who is an unrestricted free agent this summer, to sign a long-term contract.

Arizona has never had a player like him. He could be a massive boon for a team that hasn’t ranked higher than 28th in league attendance since 2006-07. New owner Alex Meruelo, who also owns the SLS Las Vegas on the Strip, certainly has to be hoping so.

The Coyotes play in Gila River Arena in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale. It’s no secret the NHL thinks the team could be in a better location, and commissioner Gary Bettman said after Meruelo was approved as the team’s majority owner in June that “obviously, the club is not viable long term in Glendale.”

What “long term” means has yet to be seen, as The Arizona Republic reported Dec. 15 the team will play at Gila River Arena next season. What happens after that may depend on what kind of impact Hall makes on the ice and at the box office.

Chabot puts in monster shift

Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot likely needed a lot of oxygen Tuesday. Chabot played 37:50 in the Senators’ overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, the second-highest total in a game since the NHL started tracking ice time in 1997.

Only Calgary Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman, who played 38:05 against the Vancouver Canucks in 2014, has bested Chabot.

Malkin hits milestone

Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin became the 99th player in NHL history to score 400 goals with an empty-netter against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

Malkin has bounced back after a poor season last year and is carrying the Penguins while center Sidney Crosby is injured. Malkin has 29 points in 21 games. The Penguins are 10-4-3 without Crosby.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.