Forman Faceoff Top 5 - Arizona Coyotes

Best Overall Player - Oliver Ekman-Larsson (2014/15 Stats - 82GP: 23 G, 20 A, 43 P, -18)

There is no argument here, Ekman-Larsson is the only all-star that the Coyotes have and by far their best player. Ekman-Larsson is one of the emerging stars on defense in the NHL, especially on the offensive side of the game. Ekman-Larsson had a team-high 23 goals last season, the most by a defenseman in the NHL. With the departure of Keith Yandle and Shane Doan's retirement nearing, this is now Ekman-Larsson's team

Best Goal Scorer - Anthony Ducair (2014/15 Stats - 18GP: 1 G, 6 A, 7 P, +4)

This was a tough one because Ekman-Larsson lead the Coyotes with 23 goals last season and they really don't have one elite goal scorer. I am going with the emerging talent Anthony Duclair, he has the potential to be a 30-goal scorer in the NHL very soon. The Coyotes have a bright future with Duclair, Max Domi and Dylan Strome, but Duclair has the most upside for scoring goals. It remains to be seen how Duclair will do in the NHL, but I have a feeling he will succeed. If he doens't make the team then their best goal scorer is either Oliver Ekman-Larsson or Mikkel Boedker.

Best Passer - Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Part of what makes Ekman-Larsson so good is his patience with the puck, he is takes his time to read the play and is very good at making that first pass. All of this Swedish defenseman are strong two-way players that are excellent puck movers, and Ekman-Larsson is no exception. Ekman-Larsson looks to top 30 assists and 50 points in 2015/16.

Best Defenseman - Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Getting hard to keep writing about Ekman-Larsson, but its the reality that this Coyotes roster lacks big-name players. They have a lot of intriguing prospects and young players so it won't always be like this, but for now its the reality. Ekman-Larsson is by far their best defenseman, he plays in all situations and is a dynamic offensive defenseman. Ekman-Larsson is the Coyotes best player at both ends of the ice

Best Goalie - Mike Smith (2014/15 Stats - 62GP: 14 W, 42 L, 5 OTL, 3.16 GAA, .904 SV%)

Smith had easily the worst year of his career and it doesn't help how bad the Coyotes were last season. Smith's career-high for losses in a season was 21 before last year, he doubled that to 42 losses this past season. Hard to imagine because a year and a half ago Smith was good enough to be Canada's 3rd goalie at the Sochi Olympics. Either way Smith will look to rebound this year and hopefully the Coyotes are more competitive team.

Next up: Boston Bruins

-Joel Forman - The Forman Faceoff