When I first noticed that the Arizona Coyotes had added Steve Downie as a free agent acquisition, I was a bit puzzled. I mean he led the ENTIRE NHL in penalty minutes last season with 238. Now, I don’t know about you, but last season the team was horrible in the penalty kill, ranking near the bottom of the league with a 76.7% kill rate.
So, adding Downie was strange… unless management is tired of seeing the smaller forwards being pushed around. With Paul Bissionnette gone, and B.J. Crombeen not being offered a contract from last season, it would just leave Kyle Chipchura alone as the tough guy on the team.