The Arizona Coyotes have spent the majority of their existence (as the former Winnipeg Jets) with concerns over ownership and relocation. Survival and existence were real problems for the club, never mind the brutal grind of an 82-game season in the NHL.

Dave Tippett has been a marvel in the Arizona desert, leading the team to a winning record in the hyper-competitive Western Conference. The underdog Coyotes had become somewhat of a media darling as their ownership drama and hyperbolic nomadic existence carried on.

With stability and conventional ownership taking over the Coyotes suddenly became playoff outsiders. Perhaps the “us against the world” mentality became irrelevant, but more likely was the improvement of several other teams.

The Coyotes have done little to improve their roster since their last playoff adventure in 2012. Let’s see how they stack up in the 2014-15 season.

Offense

It’s never a good sign when your leading scorer is a defenseman, unless you’re Ottawa. The Coyotes top returning goal-scorer is Antoine Vermette a veteran center who has never quite lived up to his YouTube highlight videos. Arizona lacks a true sniper with a nose for the net. Martin Erat and Sam Gagner are the only real newcomers that can score, but have lacked consistency in their careers. For a team near the bottom of the NHL in goals per game (2.6 per game, 20th in the NHL) Arizona did very little to address that area. Tippett’s strategy has always been “defense first”, and that looks to be the case again.

Defense

The good news for Coyote fans is that the strength of the team is their blue line. Yandle and Oliver Ekman-Larsson form a defensive pairing that is as good as any in the NHL. Their Arizona zip code means that they are an afterthought for most folks, but they are the primary reason that a team of overachievers can rank fourth on the power play in the NHL. There is a considerable drop off after the top pairing with a cast of journeymen competing for the final four spots. Connor Murphy and Brandon Gormley are the top two defensive prospects in the system. Expect them to either become or be a part of the top four rotation sooner than later.

Goaltending

One great year made Mike Smith set for life financially. Whether it was out of desperation, relief or a combination of the two, Smith parlayed a magical playoff run in 2012 into a six-year $34 million deal and has been slightly above pedestrian since. His statistics have been heading in the wrong direction in the past two seasons, certainly a reason to consider why the Coyotes have been on the outside of the last two playoffs.

Special Teams

As good as the aforementioned Arizona power play is, the penalty kill leaves plenty to be desired. The offensively gifted Yandle and Ekman-Larsson are extraordinary with the extra skater with brilliant vision and puck handling. Their artistry while quarterbacking the extra-man attack certainly makes the collection of average forwards productive.

However, none of that skill seems to translate remotely well to the shorthanded unit. Only four teams were worse than the 26th ranked desert dogs last season, and unless there are significant improvements from the likes of Zbynek Michalek, Mike Stone, David Schlemko. Be honest, those last three could have been a European boy band and you wouldn’t have known the difference. See what I’m getting at?

Coaching

When Arizona was making the playoffs amid all of the scrutiny involving ownership and arena deals, Dave Tippett was being hailed as one of the best coaches in the NHL. His stock could not have been higher after the Arizona (then Phoenix) run to the conference finals. Since then, Arizona has missed the playoffs and the commission to design Tippett’s Hall of Fame bust has been rescinded. He is still one of the finest motivators in the league and has probably been done a disservice with more frugal ownership and a diminishing talent pool.

Outlook

The Coyotes are outgunned in the Western Conference by a long shot. Tippett’s magic wand might be running low on juice these days, but his downfall will have more to do with the lack of depth and talent on the roster. The good news for youngsters like Max Domi, Henrik Samuelsson and Brendan Perlini is that they may get to see NHL ice earlier than they expected, the bad news for Arizona is that their playoff drought will hit three years in 2015.