2020–21 Arizona Coyotes season
{{Short description|Season of play of professional ice hockey team}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2019}}
{{Infobox ice hockey team season
| League = NHL
| Season = 2020–21
| year = 2020
| Team = Arizona Coyotes
| Division = West
| DivisionRank = 5th
| Conference =
| ConferenceRank =
| Record = 24–26–6
| HomeRecord = 12–12–4
| RoadRecord = 12–14–2
| GoalsFor = 153
| GoalsAgainst = 176
| GeneralManager = Bill Armstrong
| Coach = Rick Tocchet
| Captain = Oliver Ekman-Larsson
| AltCaptain = Derick Brassard
Niklas Hjalmarsson
Phil Kessel
| Arena = Gila River Arena
| Attendance =
| MinorLeague = Tucson Roadrunners (AHL)
Rapid City Rush (ECHL)
| GoalsLeader = Phil Kessel (20)
| AssistsLeader = Conor Garland (27)
| PointsLeader = Phil Kessel (43)
| PlusMinusLeader = Victor Soderstrom (+4)
| PIMLeader = Lawson Crouse (46)
| WinsLeader = Darcy Kuemper (10)
| GAALeader = Darcy Kuemper (2.56)
| DivisionWin =
| PresidentsTrophy =
| ConferenceWin =
| StanleyCup =
}}
The 2020–21 Arizona Coyotes season was the 42nd season for the National Hockey League (NHL) franchise that was established on June 22, 1979, the 25th season since the franchise relocated from Winnipeg following the 1995–96 NHL season,{{cite book|last=National Hockey League|title=The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2014|year=2013|publisher=Diamond Sports Data, Inc.|page=[https://archive.org/details/nationalhockeyle0000unse/page/105 105]|isbn=978-1-894801-26-3|url=https://archive.org/details/nationalhockeyle0000unse/page/105}} and the 49th overall, including the World Hockey Association years. This would have been the final year of the Coyotes being in the Pacific Division in the 2020–21 season before the new NHL expansion team the Seattle Kraken enters into the Pacific Division in the 2021–22 NHL season.{{cite web|last1=Kaplan|first1=Emily|title=Seattle gets NHL expansion team, to debut in 2021–22 season|url=http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/25451216/nhl-votes-give-expansion-franchise-seattle|website=ESPN.com|accessdate=December 12, 2018|date=December 4, 2018}} However, on December 20, 2020, the league temporarily realigned into four divisions with no conferences due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing closure of the Canada–United States border. As a result of this realignment, the Coyotes played this season in the West Division and only played games against the other teams in their new division during the regular season.
On May 5, 2021, the Coyotes were eliminated from playoff contention after a 4–2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.{{cite web |title=Coyotes eliminated from playoff contention with loss to Kings |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/los-angeles-kings-arizona-coyotes-game-recap/c-324379012 |website=NHL.com |access-date=May 6, 2021 |date=May 6, 2021}}
Standings
=Divisional standings=
{{2020–21 NHL West Division standings|team=ARI}}
Schedule and results
=Regular season=
The regular season schedule was announced on December 23, 2020.{{cite web |title=2020-21 NHL schedule announced |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/2020-21-nhl-schedule-announced/c-319875512 |website=NHL.com |access-date=December 24, 2020 |date=December 23, 2020}}
|-
| colspan="11"|
|-
| colspan="11"|
|-
| colspan="11"|
|-
| colspan="11"|
|-
| colspan="11" style="text-align:center;"|
Legend:
{{legend2|#cfc|Win (2 points)|border=1px solid #ccffcc}}
{{legend2|#fcc|Loss (0 points)|border=1px solid #ffcccc}}
{{legend2|#fff|Overtime/shootout loss (1 point)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}
{{legend2|#ccc|Postponement|border=1px solid #000000}}
|}
Draft picks
{{See also|List of Arizona Coyotes draft picks}}
Below are the Arizona Coyotes' selections at the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, which was originally scheduled for June 26–27, 2020 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Quebec, but was postponed on March 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The draft was held October 6–7, 2020 virtually via Video conference call from the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey.
| class="wikitable" |
| Round
! # ! Player ! Pos ! Nationality ! College/Junior/Club team (League) |
|---|
| style="background:#ccc;"
| style="text-align:center;"|2 | style="text-align:center;"|49 | Forfeited pick{{efn|1=The Coyotes' second-round pick in 2020 was forfeited as the result of a penalty sanction due to violations of the NHL Combine Testing Policy during the 2019–20 NHL season. The penalty included the forfeiture of a first-round pick in 2021.{{cite web|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-announces-sanctions-to-coyotes-for-violating-combine-testing-policy/c-318762274|title=NHL announces sanctions to Coyotes for violating combine testing policy|date=August 26, 2020|accessdate=August 26, 2020}}}} | style="background:#ccc;"| | style="background:#ccc;"| | style="background:#ccc;"| |
| style="text-align:center;"|4
| style="text-align:center;"|111 | Mitchell Miller (renounced){{efn|1=After controversy with Mitchell Miller, the Coyotes decided to renounce the pick on October 29, 2020.{{cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2020/10/26/coyotes-prospect-mitchell-miller-bullied-black-disabled-classmate/|title=NHL draft pick Mitchell Miller under fire for bullying black, disabled classmate|date=October 26, 2020|accessdate=October 26, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://arizonasports.com/story/2437896/coyotes-renounce-draft-pick-mitchell-miller-after-report-of-bullying-racism/?show=comments|title=Coyotes renounce draft pick Mitchell Miller after report of bullying, racism|date=October 29, 2020|accessdate=October 29, 2020}}}} | D | {{flagicon|United States}} United States | Tri-City Storm (USHL) |
| style="text-align:center;"|5
| style="text-align:center;"|142 | LW | {{flagicon|United States}} United States | Michigan Tech (WCHA) |
| style="text-align:center;"|6
| style="text-align:center;"|173 | C | {{flagicon|Sweden}} Sweden | Orebro Jr. (J20 SuperElit) |
| style="text-align:center;"|7
| style="text-align:center;"|192 | RW | {{flagicon|Sweden}} Sweden | Malmö Redhawks Jr. (J20 SuperElit) |
| style="text-align:center;"|7
| style="text-align:center;"|204 | LW | {{flagicon|Canada}} Canada |
=Draft notes=
{{notelist}}
Notes
{{notelist-ua}}
References
{{reflist}}
{{Arizona Coyotes}}
{{Arizona Coyotes seasons}}
{{2020–21 NHL season by team}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arizona Coyotes season}}
Category:Arizona Coyotes seasons