1997–98 Phoenix Coyotes season

1997–98 Phoenix Coyotes
Division	4th Central
Conference	7th Western
1997–98 record	35–35–12
Home record	19–16–6
Road record	16–19–6
Goals for	224
Goals against	227
Team information
General manager	Bobby Smith
Coach	Jim Schoenfeld
Captain	Keith Tkachuk
Arena	America West Arena
Average attendance	15,404
Minor league affiliate(s)	Springfield Falcons Mississippi Sea Wolves
Team leaders
Goals	Keith Tkachuk (40)
Assists	Cliff Ronning (44)
Points	Keith Tkachuk (66)
Penalty minutes	Rick Tocchet (157)
Plus/minus	Teppo Numminen (+25)
Wins	Nikolai Khabibulin (30)
Goals against average	Jimmy Waite (2.12)

The 1997–98 Phoenix Coyotes season was the Coyotes' second season in Phoenix, the franchise's 19th season in the NHL, its second season in Phoenix, and its 26th season overall. The Coyotes made the 1998 Stanley Cup playoffs, losing in the first round to the Detroit Red Wings.

This was the team's final season of its original tenure in the Central Division, which it had joined while still based in Winnipeg, before being realigned into the Pacific Division the following season. The Coyotes would return to the Central in 2021.

Regular season

Final standings

Central Division

No.	CR		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	1	Dallas Stars	82	49	22	11	242	167	109
2	3	Detroit Red Wings	82	44	23	15	250	196	103
3	4	St. Louis Blues	82	45	29	8	256	204	98
4	6	Phoenix Coyotes	82	35	35	12	224	227	82
5	9	Chicago Blackhawks	82	30	39	13	192	199	73
6	10	Toronto Maple Leafs	82	30	43	9	194	237	69

Western Conference

R		Div	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	Pts
1	p – Dallas Stars	CEN	82	49	22	11	242	167	109
2	x – Colorado Avalanche	PAC	82	39	26	17	231	205	95
3	Detroit Red Wings	CEN	82	44	23	15	250	196	103
4	St. Louis Blues	CEN	82	45	29	8	256	204	98
5	Los Angeles Kings	PAC	82	38	33	11	227	225	87
6	Phoenix Coyotes	CEN	82	35	35	12	224	227	82
7	Edmonton Oilers	PAC	82	35	37	10	215	224	80
8	San Jose Sharks	PAC	82	34	38	10	210	216	78
9	Chicago Blackhawks	CEN	82	30	39	13	192	199	73
10	Toronto Maple Leafs	CEN	82	30	43	9	194	237	69
11	Calgary Flames	PAC	82	26	41	15	217	252	67
12	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	PAC	82	26	43	13	205	261	65
13	Vancouver Canucks	PAC	82	25	43	14	224	273	64

Divisions: CEN – Central, PAC – Pacific

bold – Qualified for playoffs; x – Won Division; p – Won Presidents' Trophy

Playoffs

The series began in Detroit. In Game 1, Detroit won 6–3, but in Game 2, the Coyotes came back and won 7–4. The series then shifted to Phoenix, where the Coyotes were victorious in Game 3, 3–2. However, the Coyotes' 2–1 series lead was short lived, as Detroit won 4–2 in Game 4. For Game 5 back in Detroit, the Red Wings won 3–1. In Game 6, the series went back to Phoenix, where Detroit won the game 5–2 and the series 4–2.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1997–98 regular season
October: 5–5–2 (home: 4–2–1; road: 1–3–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 1 W October 1, 1997 6–2 Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 1–0–0 Recap 2 L October 3, 1997 2–7 @ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 1–1–0 Recap 3 W October 5, 1997 2–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 2–1–0 Recap 4 L October 8, 1997 2–3 OT Boston Bruins (1997–98) 2–2–0 Recap 5 T October 11, 1997 3–3 OT @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 2–2–1 Recap 6 W October 13, 1997 2–1 Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 3–2–1 Recap 7 W October 19, 1997 5–3 San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 4–2–1 Recap 8 L October 21, 1997 3–4 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 4–3–1 Recap 9 T October 23, 1997 3–3 OT Washington Capitals (1997–98) 4–3–2 Recap 10 W October 26, 1997 6–1 Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 5–3–2 Recap 11 L October 29, 1997 2–3 @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 5–4–2 Recap 12 L October 30, 1997 2–4 @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) 5–5–2 Recap
November: 7–6–0 (home: 5–2–0; road: 2–4–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 13 W November 2, 1997 3–1 Calgary Flames (1997–98) 6–5–2 Recap 14 L November 5, 1997 2–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 6–6–2 Recap 15 L November 6, 1997 1–4 @ Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 6–7–2 Recap 16 W November 8, 1997 3–0 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 7–7–2 Recap 17 W November 11, 1997 5–2 Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 8–7–2 Recap 18 L November 13, 1997 2–5 Montreal Canadiens (1997–98) 8–8–2 Recap 19 W November 15, 1997 3–2 @ San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 9–8–2 Recap 20 W November 17, 1997 6–3 Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 10–8–2 Recap 21 L November 20, 1997 2–4 @ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 10–9–2 Recap 22 W November 22, 1997 2–0 Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 11–9–2 Recap 23 W November 25, 1997 3–2 St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 12–9–2 Recap 24 L November 27, 1997 1–4 Dallas Stars (1997–98) 12–10–2 Recap 25 L November 29, 1997 2–5 @ Dallas Stars (1997–98) 12–11–2 Recap
December: 5–5–5 (home: 0–2–3; road: 5–3–2) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 26 W December 1, 1997 3–2 @ Florida Panthers (1997–98) 13–11–2 Recap 27 L December 3, 1997 1–2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1997–98) 13–12–2 Recap 28 T December 5, 1997 2–2 OT @ Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 13–12–3 Recap 29 L December 6, 1997 0–4 @ New York Islanders (1997–98) 13–13–3 Recap 30 L December 8, 1997 1–3 @ New York Rangers (1997–98) 13–14–3 Recap 31 T December 10, 1997 3–3 OT @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 13–14–4 Recap 32 T December 12, 1997 2–2 OT Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 13–14–5 Recap 33 T December 14, 1997 3–3 OT Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 13–14–6 Recap 34 L December 17, 1997 1–5 Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 13–15–6 Recap 35 W December 19, 1997 6–2 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 14–15–6 Recap 36 L December 20, 1997 2–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 14–16–6 Recap 37 T December 23, 1997 2–2 OT Calgary Flames (1997–98) 14–16–7 Recap 38 W December 26, 1997 4–0 @ San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 15–16–7 Recap 39 W December 27, 1997 4–2 @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 16–16–7 Recap 40 W December 29, 1997 5–3 @ Calgary Flames (1997–98) 17–16–7 Recap
January: 7–4–3 (home: 4–1–1; road: 3–3–2) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 41 W January 1, 1998 4–0 Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 18–16–7 Recap 42 W January 3, 1998 2–1 New York Islanders (1997–98) 19–16–7 Recap 43 L January 6, 1998 0–2 @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 19–17–7 Recap 44 L January 8, 1998 2–5 @ Boston Bruins (1997–98) 19–18–7 Recap 45 W January 9, 1998 4–2 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 20–18–7 Recap 46 T January 11, 1998 4–4 OT Ottawa Senators (1997–98) 20–18–8 Recap 47 W January 14, 1998 3–2 Florida Panthers (1997–98) 21–18–8 Recap 48 L January 20, 1998 2–6 @ Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 21–19–8 Recap 49 W January 21, 1998 6–1 @ Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 22–19–8 Recap 50 L January 24, 1998 2–5 Edmonton Oilers (1997–98) 22–20–8 Recap 51 W January 26, 1998 4–2 Vancouver Canucks (1997–98) 23–20–8 Recap 52 T January 28, 1998 4–4 OT @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 23–20–9 Recap 53 T January 30, 1998 3–3 OT @ Buffalo Sabres (1997–98) 23–20–10 Recap 54 W January 31, 1998 5–2 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 24–20–10 Recap
February: 0–5–1 (home: 0–3–1; road: 0–2–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 55 L February 3, 1998 2–4 Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 24–21–10 Recap 56 L February 5, 1998 2–6 Philadelphia Flyers (1997–98) 24–22–10 Recap 57 T February 7, 1998 1–1 OT New York Rangers (1997–98) 24–22–11 Recap 58 L February 25, 1998 2–4 Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 24–23–11 Recap 59 L February 26, 1998 0–3 @ Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 24–24–11 Recap 60 L February 28, 1998 0–4 @ Dallas Stars (1997–98) 24–25–11 Recap
March: 4–7–1 (home: 3–5–0; road: 1–2–1) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 61 L March 2, 1998 1–3 Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 24–26–11 Recap 62 L March 6, 1998 4–5 OT Carolina Hurricanes (1997–98) 24–27–11 Recap 63 T March 8, 1998 1–1 OT @ Dallas Stars (1997–98) 24–27–12 Recap 64 L March 10, 1998 3–4 Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 24–28–12 Recap 65 W March 12, 1998 5–4 Dallas Stars (1997–98) 25–28–12 Recap 66 W March 14, 1998 2–0 @ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 26–28–12 Recap 67 L March 16, 1998 1–2 @ Washington Capitals (1997–98) 26–29–12 Recap 68 L March 19, 1998 3–4 Colorado Avalanche (1997–98) 26–30–12 Recap 69 L March 21, 1998 2–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1997–98) 26–31–12 Recap 70 W March 22, 1998 3–1 San Jose Sharks (1997–98) 27–31–12 Recap 71 W March 24, 1998 4–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1997–98) 28–31–12 Recap 72 L March 28, 1998 0–3 New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 28–32–12 Recap
April: 7–3–0 (home: 3–1–0; road: 4–2–0) Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Recap 73 W April 1, 1998 5–1 @ Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 29–32–12 Recap 74 W April 3, 1998 6–3 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1997–98) 30–32–12 Recap 75 L April 5, 1998 2–3 @ New Jersey Devils (1997–98) 30–33–12 Recap 76 W April 7, 1998 2–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1997–98) 31–33–12 Recap 77 L April 9, 1998 1–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 31–34–12 Recap 78 W April 11, 1998 4–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 32–34–12 Recap 79 W April 12, 1998 2–1 @ Chicago Blackhawks (1997–98) 33–34–12 Recap 80 W April 14, 1998 2–1 Detroit Red Wings (1997–98) 34–34–12 Recap 81 W April 16, 1998 3–2 Dallas Stars (1997–98) 35–34–12 Recap 82 L April 18, 1998 4–5 St. Louis Blues (1997–98) 35–35–12 Recap
Legend:   Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1998 Stanley Cup playoffs
Western Conference Quarterfinals vs. (3) Detroit Red Wings – Red Wings win 4–2 Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Recap 1 L April 22, 1998 3–6 @ Detroit Red Wings Red Wings lead 1–0 Recap 2 W April 24, 1998 7–4 @ Detroit Red Wings Series tied 1–1 Recap 3 W April 26, 1998 3–2 Detroit Red Wings Coyotes lead 2–1 Recap 4 L April 28, 1998 2–4 Detroit Red Wings Series tied 2–2 Recap 5 L April 30, 1998 1–3 @ Detroit Red Wings Red Wings lead 3–2 Recap 6 L May 3, 1998 2–5 Detroit Red Wings Red Wings win 4–2 Recap
Legend:   Win   Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; G = Goaltender; LW = Left Wing; RW = Right Wing
• † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Coyotes only.
• ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Coyotes only.

No.	Player	Pos	Regular season						Playoffs
			GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM
7	Keith Tkachuk	LW	69	40	26	66	9	147	6	3	3	6	−1	10
97	Jeremy Roenick	C	79	24	32	56	5	103	6	5	3	8	−1	4
77	Cliff Ronning	C	80	11	44	55	5	36	6	1	3	4	−1	4
15	Craig Janney	C	68	10	43	53	5	12	6	0	3	3	−2	0
27	Teppo Numminen	D	82	11	40	51	25	30	1	0	0	0	0	0
92	Rick Tocchet	RW	68	26	19	45	1	157	6	6	2	8	0	25
11	Dallas Drake	RW	60	11	29	40	17	71	4	0	1	1	−4	2
22	Mike Gartner	RW	60	12	15	27	−4	24	5	1	0	1	−2	18
21	Bob Corkum	C	76	12	9	21	−7	28	6	1	0	1	−3	4
10	Oleg Tverdovsky	D	46	7	12	19	1	12	6	0	7	7	−2	0
4	Gerald Diduck	D	78	8	10	18	14	118	6	0	2	2	−4	20
16	Brad Isbister	LW	66	9	8	17	4	102	5	0	0	0	−1	2
26	John Slaney	D	55	3	14	17	−3	24	—	—	—	—	—	—
34	Darrin Shannon	LW	58	2	12	14	4	26	5	0	1	1	−1	4
36	Juha Ylonen	C	55	1	11	12	−3	10	—	—	—	—	—	—
19	Shane Doan	RW	33	5	6	11	−3	35	6	1	0	1	−2	6
5	Deron Quint	D	32	4	7	11	−6	16	—	—	—	—	—	—
6	Jay More‡	D	41	5	5	10	0	53	—	—	—	—	—	—
14	Mike Stapleton	C	64	5	5	10	−4	36	6	0	0	0	0	2
44	Norm Maciver	D	41	2	6	8	−11	38	6	0	1	1	0	2
33	Jim McKenzie	LW	64	3	4	7	−7	146	1	0	0	0	0	0
3	Keith Carney†	D	20	1	6	7	5	18	6	0	0	0	−3	4
24	Michel Petit†	D	32	4	2	6	−4	77	5	0	0	0	−1	8
32	Jocelyn Lemieux	RW	30	3	3	6	0	27	—	—	—	—	—	—
2	Murray Baron	D	45	1	5	6	−10	106	6	0	2	2	2	6
8	Jim Johnson	D	16	2	1	3	0	18	—	—	—	—	—	—
18	Mark Janssens†	C	7	1	2	3	4	4	1	0	0	0	0	2
35	Nikolai Khabibulin	G	70	0	2	2		22	4	0	1	1		0
54	Daniel Briere	C	5	1	0	1	1	2	—	—	—	—	—	—
55	Jason Doig	D	4	0	1	1	−4	12	—	—	—	—	—	—
48	Sean Gagnon	D	5	0	1	1	1	14	—	—	—	—	—	—
18	Chad Kilger‡	LW	10	0	1	1	−2	4	—	—	—	—	—	—
72	Jeff Christian	LW	1	0	0	0	−1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
20	Jim Cummins†	RW	20	0	0	0	−7	47	3	0	0	0	0	4
31	Scott Langkow	G	3	0	0	0		0	—	—	—	—	—	—
29	Scott Levins	RW	2	0	0	0	−1	5	—	—	—	—	—	—
39	Brad Tiley	D	1	0	0	0	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
28	Jimmy Waite	G	17	0	0	0		2	4	0	0	0		0

Goaltending

No.	Player	Regular season										Playoffs
		GP	W	L	T	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI	GP	W	L	SA	GA	GAA	SV%	SO	TOI
35	Nikolai Khabibulin	70	30	28	10	1835	184	2.74	.900	4	4026	4	2	1	106	13	4.21	.877	0	185
28	Jimmy Waite	17	5	6	1	322	28	2.12	.913	1	793	4	0	3	97	11	3.85	.887	0	171
31	Scott Langkow	3	0	1	1	60	10	4.39	.833	0	137	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Awards and records

Awards

Type	Award/honor	Recipient	Ref
League (annual)	NHL Second All-Star Team	Keith Tkachuk (Left Wing)
League (in-season)	NHL All-Star Game selection	Nikolai Khabibulin
		Keith Tkachuk
Team	Hardest Working Player Award	Dallas Drake
	Leading Scorer Award	Keith Tkachuk
	Man of the Year Award	Jim McKenzie
	Team MVP Award	Keith Tkachuk
	Three-Star Award	Keith Tkachuk

Milestones

Milestone	Player	Date	Ref
First game	Brad Isbister	October 1, 1997
	Sean Gagnon	November 8, 1997
	Brad Tiley	December 5, 1997
	Daniel Briere	March 19, 1998

Transactions

Trades

March 4, 1998	To Chicago Blackhawks Chad Kilger Jay More	To Phoenix Coyotes Keith Carney Jim Cummins
March 24, 1998	To New York Islanders 9th round pick in 1998 (Jason Doyle)	To Phoenix Coyotes Mark Janssens
June 11, 1998	To Tampa Bay Lightning Craig Janney	To Phoenix Coyotes Louie DeBrusk 5th round pick in 1998 (Jay Leach)
June 18, 1998	To Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Jim McKenzie	To Phoenix Coyotes Jean-Francois Jomphe
June 27, 1998	To San Jose Sharks 5th round pick in 1999 (Marc-Andre Thinel)	To Phoenix Coyotes 5th round pick in 1998 (Josh Blackburn)

Waivers

September 28, 1997

From Chicago Blackhawks Jimmy Waite

Free agents

Player	Former Team
Ted Crowley	Boston Bruins
Rick Tocchet	Washington Capitals
Darin Kimble	New Jersey Devils
Jeff Christian	Pittsburgh Penguins
Martin Simard	Colorado Avalanche
John Slaney	Los Angeles Kings
Brad Tiley	Los Angeles Kings
Radoslav Suchy	Undrafted Free Agent
Michel Petit	Philadelphia Flyers

Player	New Team
Kris King	Toronto Maple Leafs
Jeff Finley	New York Rangers
Pat Jablonski	Carolina Hurricanes
Brent Thompson	New York Rangers
Kevin Dahl	Calgary Flames
Igor Korolev	Toronto Maple Leafs

Draft picks

Phoenix's draft picks at the 1997 NHL entry draft held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Round	#	Player	Nationality	College/Junior/Club team (League)
2	43	Juha Gustafsson	Finland	Kiekko-Espoo (Finland)
4	96	Scott McCallum	Canada	Tri-City Americans (WHL)
5	123	Curtis Suter	Canada	Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
6	151	Robert Francz	Germany	Peterborough Petes (OHL)
8	207	Aleksandrs Andrejevs	Latvia	Weyburn Red Wings (SJHL)
9	233	Wyatt Smith	United States	University of Minnesota (WCHA)

See also

• 1997–98 NHL season

References

• "Phoenix Coyotes 1997-98 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
• "1997-98 Phoenix Coyotes Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved July 5, 2023.