Forward Travis Boyd is worried to be done for the season after suffering what is believed to be a torn pectoral muscle, per Arizona Coyotes insider Craig Morgan on Sunday’s PHNX postgame show. Morgan also shared that Barrett Hayton has suffered a setback in his return from a hand injury and likely won’t return until early-February.
These are two big blows to a Coyotes roster that seemingly can’t get past the injury bug. Boyd and Hayton are joined by Sean Durzi and Vladislav Kolyachonok in missing games due to injury, with Durzi being the only one of the group not currently on injured reserve. Jason Zucker has also missed seven games through the early season.
Boyd loses his season after playing in 16 games and scoring eight points for the Coyotes’ fourth-line. The 30-year-old centerman has come into his own with Arizona, who he joined as an unrestricted free agent in 2021. Boyd has managed the two highest-scoring seasons of his career in his two years with the Yotes, scoring 35 points in 74 games in 2021-22 and 34 points in 82 games last season. He was on pace to maintain that scoring this year, despite seeing his average ice time plummet from 16:32 to just 9:37 between last season and this season. Over a seven year career, Boyd has totaled 296 NHL games and 118 points.
The Coyotes are also losing former-fifth overall selection Hayton for an extended period. The 23-year-old winger has also appeared in 16 games this season, scoring four points. It’s a step down from the career-high 43 points that Hayton managed in 82 games last season. Hayton spent most of his time this season playing alongside Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller, a role that has since been filled by rookie Logan Cooley or Zucker, when healthy.
Playing without 3 of your top 5 centers for an extended period has been tough for the improving Yotes, especially on the road when defensive matchups really matter. At least they got McBain back, which helps in front of the net and with overall toughness. Still, they’ve managed to hang in the playoff race while shifting around wingers Schmaltz and Kerfoot, who has especially played incredibly!
Not enough talk about the reason Boyd being out for the season is a result of Josh Manson getting beat by Boyd and Manson checking Boyd in the letters into the wall.