Arizona Coyotes preview: Fifth in Pacific

2013-14 results: 37-30-15, fourth in Pacific

Story line: Coyotes need to put D back in desert

Arrivals: C Sam Gagner (trade from Edmonton Oilers); C Joe Vitale, G Devan Dubnyk (free agents)

Departures: C Mike Ribeiro (signed with Nashville Predators), RW Radim Vrbata (signed with Vancouver Canucks), G Thomas Greiss (signed with Pittsburgh Penguins); LW Paul Bissonnette, D Derek Morris, C Jeff Halpern

Goaltending: When the Coyotes are playing at their best, Mike Smith (27-21-10, 2.64, .915) looks like a premium goalie. He is big and handles the puck like a defenseman. Dubnyk (11-18-3, 3.43, .891) is the backup.

Analysis: The Coyotes won their division in 2011-12 by being a relentless defensive team. They need to try to win 2-1 rather than 4-3. That mindset works well with the way Dave Tippett coaches. But they got away from that last season, giving up 31 shots a game and finishing 26th in penalty killing. They need to tighten up, because they are likely to be among the lower-scoring teams. Mikkel Boedker is the only returning forward who had 50 points. Shane Doan and Antoine Vermette are the only returners who topped 20 goals. The Coyotes once again will rely on defensemen Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Keith Yandle to generate much of their offense.

Breakthrough candidate: Defenseman Connor Murphy, son of former NHL defenseman Gord Murphy, should cement his place on the roster. He was plus 5 playing 18 minutes a game in 30 games last season.

Youngster to watch: Max Domi's father, Tie, was an NHL tough guy. But Max, a 2013 first-round pick, is a scoring center. He will probably get a shot to play at some point this season.

What the team really needs: An elite-level center. The Western Conference is rich in dominant centers such as Ryan Getzlaf, Jonathan Toews, Henrik Sedin and Tyler Seguin. Arizona doesn't have a center close to that caliber.

Key question: Can the Coyotes remember how to hold a lead? They won 69.7% of games last season they led after two periods. Only the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders were worse at holding leads.

Forecast: The Coyotes are a bubble team, and the bubble might burst for a third consecutive season.

Top returning leaders

Goals: Antoine Vermette, 24

Assists: Keith Yandle, 45

Points: Yandle, 53

Plus-minus: Rob Klinkhammer, Zbynek Michalek, plus 6

Penalty minutes: Martin Hanzal, 73

Shots: Yandle, 241