• Coyotes open rookie camp

    Coyotes open rookie camp

  • Shane Doan retires

    Shane Doan retires

  • Moore, McLellan on the Coyotes entering a 'new era'

    Moore, McLellan on the Coyotes entering a ‘new era’

  • Greg Moore on the Coyotes' changes

    Greg Moore on the Coyotes’ changes

  • Coyotes introduce new coach, president

    Coyotes introduce new coach, president

  • Shot Clock: Tocchet a good fit for Coyotes?

    Shot Clock: Tocchet a good fit for Coyotes?

  • Dylan Strome works out at Coyotes Development Camp

    Dylan Strome works out at Coyotes Development Camp

  • Mike Smith rips Coyotes; Cards' RB ranked

    Mike Smith rips Coyotes; Cards’ RB ranked

  • Coyotes begin prospect development camp

    Coyotes begin prospect development camp

  • Coyotes part ways with coach Dave Tippett

    Coyotes part ways with coach Dave Tippett

  • Shot Clock: What does Doan's dismissal mean?

    Shot Clock: What does Doan’s dismissal mean?

  • Coyotes part ways with Shane Doan

    Coyotes part ways with Shane Doan

  • Coyotes trade starting goalie Mike Smith to Flames

    Coyotes trade starting goalie Mike Smith to Flames

  • Which Arizona Coyotes player could be taken by the Vegas Golden Knights?

    Which Arizona Coyotes player could be taken by the Vegas Golden Knights?

  • Coyotes' Clayton Keller on his first year in the NHL

    Coyotes’ Clayton Keller on his first year in the NHL

  • Coyotes rookie Christian Dvorak on 'year of ups and downs'

    Coyotes rookie Christian Dvorak on ‘year of ups and downs’

  • Coyotes' Jakob Chychrun sums up rookie season

    Coyotes’ Jakob Chychrun sums up rookie season

  • Shane Doan at Coyotes' season-ending press conference

    Shane Doan at Coyotes’ season-ending press conference

  • Max Domi talks to Sarah McLellan about offseason goals, plans

    Max Domi talks to Sarah McLellan about offseason goals, plans

  • Coyotes coach Dave Tippett wraps up 2016-17 season

    Coyotes coach Dave Tippett wraps up 2016-17 season

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Wild

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Wild

  • Coyotes conclude season with 3-1 loss to the Wild

    Coyotes conclude season with 3-1 loss to the Wild

  • Coyotes recognize Roadrunners captain Craig Cunningham

    Coyotes recognize Roadrunners captain Craig Cunningham

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Canucks

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Canucks

  • Coyotes react to win over Canucks

    Coyotes react to win over Canucks

  • Shot Clock: Young Coyotes standouts provide hope

    Shot Clock: Young Coyotes standouts provide hope

  • Coyotes fall in overtime to Stars

    Coyotes fall in overtime to Stars

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Stars

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Stars

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Kings

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Kings

  • Coyotes eliminate Kings from playoffs with 2-1 win

    Coyotes eliminate Kings from playoffs with 2-1 win

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Capitals

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Capitals

  • Coyotes snap losing streak against Capitals

    Coyotes snap losing streak against Capitals

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Blues

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Blues

  • Coyotes react to 3-1 loss to Blues

    Coyotes react to 3-1 loss to Blues

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Blues

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Blues

  • Coyotes cap road trip with 4-1 loss to Blues

    Coyotes cap road trip with 4-1 loss to Blues

  • Forward Clayton Keller set to begin pro career with Coyotes

    Forward Clayton Keller set to begin pro career with Coyotes

  • U.S. women's hockey team boycotting world championship

    U.S. women’s hockey team boycotting world championship

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Capitals

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Capitals

  • Capitals pull away from Coyotes with 3-goal third

    Capitals pull away from Coyotes with 3-goal third

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Panthers

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Panthers

  • Unusual goal sparks Panthers to win over Coyotes

    Unusual goal sparks Panthers to win over Coyotes

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Lightning

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Lightning

  • Coyotes rally past the Lightning

    Coyotes rally past the Lightning

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Predators

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Predators

  • Coyotes open road trip with 3-1 loss to Predators

    Coyotes open road trip with 3-1 loss to Predators

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Blues

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Blues

  • Coyotes shut out 3-0 by the Blues

    Coyotes shut out 3-0 by the Blues

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Red Wings

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Red Wings

  • Coyotes clipped by Red Wings 5-4 in a shootout

    Coyotes clipped by Red Wings 5-4 in a shootout

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Kings

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Kings

  • Coyotes outlast Kings in 11-round shootout

    Coyotes outlast Kings in 11-round shootout

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Avalanche

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Avalanche

  • Coyotes blank Avalanche 1-0

    Coyotes blank Avalanche 1-0

  • Sarah McLellan's plus-minus against the Devils

    Sarah McLellan’s plus-minus against the Devils

The Coyotes haven’t been afraid to embrace change during their rebuild, trading away key players, injecting youth into the lineup and reconfiguring their off-ice structure.

But never had they experienced a makeover as dramatic as the one they received this past offseason.

Arizona dismissed longtime captain Shane Doan, shipped goalie Mike Smith to a division rival and mutually parted ways with coach Dave Tippett – all in the span of a dizzying week that undoubtedly signaled a new direction.

While the Coyotes hope for growth and progress, they haven’t set a specific expectation for where they’ll slot in amid the ultra-competitive Western Conference.

What they have figured out, though, is that developing their character as a hockey team is Priority No. 1 as training camp opens Thursday with medicals and fitness testing.

“I think that’s more important before any expectations,” first-year coach Rick Tocchet said. “I couldn’t give you, ‘Hey, we want this many points or we want to do this, we want to do that.’ The only thing I can tell you is I want to establish an identity. When teams play the Arizona Coyotes, this is their identity – this is who they are. That’s the most important thing for our organization and myself and players to establish.”  

Tocchet wants the Coyotes to be fast and poised. The team’s youngsters should help with the former, while the experience added in the summer targets the latter. Both will need to contribute to another attribute Tocchet covets: relentlessness.

“I think we did a pretty good job of putting together a competitive roster that has a nice mix of veteran and youth players,” General Manager John Chayka said.

The most significant acquisitions also came during that whirlwind week in mid-June when the Coyotes became the busiest organization in the NHL. They landed center Derek Stepan and goalie Antti Raanta in a trade with the Rangers in exchange for defenseman Anthony DeAngelo and the 2017 seventh overall pick and also brought in three-time Stanley Cup champion Niklas Hjalmarsson from the Blackhawks after trading defenseman Connor Murphy and center Laurent Dauphin.

Stepan, a regular 50-point producer, is the team’s top center, Hjalmarsson will fill out the first defensive pairing next to Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Raanta will get his first crack at a starting gig after the Coyotes traded Smith to the Flames.

CLOSE

Coyotes players took batting practice at Chase Field before the Diamondbacks hosted the Padres Friday.
Sarah McLellan/azcentral sports

Arizona also traded for – and locked up – depth forward Nick Cousins and landed defenseman Adam Clendening in free agency in addition to a slew of depth signings.

These additions, however, were accompanied by subtractions. Aside from Doan and Smith, the Coyotes also lost winger Radim Vrbata – last season’s offensive leader – in free agency. The departures of Doan and Vrbata left the team thin at right wing, even after re-signing the ever-versatile Jordan Martinook and Anthony Duclair, but Jamie McGinn can shift from left to right and rookie Christian Fischer could grab a spot.

Fellow youngsters Dylan Strome and Clayton Keller also are vying for NHL jobs. Tocchet and Chayka don’t have a set number of vacancies in mind, but there will be competition for locker stalls and on-ice roles.

“Everybody gets a clean slate,” said Tocchet, who joined the Coyotes after winning the past two Stanley Cups as an assistant with the Penguins. “I’ve talked to a few guys already and they’re like, ‘I’m really glad that I get a clean slate,’ and I’m going, ‘Perfect.’ Everybody gets to reload and give another impression.”

RELATED: 5 Coyotes prospects who could intrigue at training camp

Tocchet does have a few line combinations already in mind but will observe camp and rely on intel from management. He also has no preference on how many forwards to carry versus defensemen.

How the blue line evolves will be intriguing; the unit isn’t at full strength with Jakob Chychrun recovering from offseason knee surgery, and the Coyotes have been monitoring their external options. Veteran Tyson Strachan will be in camp on a professional tryout.

Building chemistry and camaraderie on the heels of a massive overhaul seems to stoke the value of this year’s primer. After three days of practice, the Coyotes will begin a seven-game preseason schedule Monday at Gila River Arena against the Kings before their season-opener Oct. 5 in Anaheim against the Ducks. Their first home game is Oct. 7 against the Golden Knights, and Tocchet has reasons to be optimistic the regular-season journey will be productive.

He feels the Coyotes have plenty of speed on the wings, a solid veteran presence and a goaltender hungry for a chance to flex his skills as a No. 1. Tocchet also isn’t discouraged by the underdog label he believes has already been attached to the team.

“It’s a great spot for us as a young team,” he said.

The Coyotes may not know where they’ll end up but they do expect adversity. That’s another reality Tocchet doesn’t want the team to fear because if they overcome the tough times, they may finally reach the point where they’ve found a combination that can stick.

“It’s going to hurt,” he said. “I think that’s something I want to share with them, how hard it’s going to be and embrace it. I’m a big believer you have to embrace the struggle of it, and that’s the exciting part for me. I’ve seen it happen before, and it’s magical when it works.”

MORE: Doan among new Arizona Sports Hall of Fame inductees

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Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-8276. Follow her at twitter.com/azc_mclellan.

Camp schedule

Training-camp practices: Friday and Sunday start at 9 a.m. at Gila River Arena. Saturday’s session begins at 10 a.m. at the Ice Den in Scottsdale.

Camp runs through Oct. 1. All practices at Gila River Arena are free and open to the public. Enter the arena at Gate 3.