Ever since Barrett Hayton went down with an upper-body injury last month, the Arizona Coyotes have been searching for replacements to fill that center slot alongside Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz. Coach André Tourigny has plugged a number of players on this line including Travis Boyd, Logan Cooley and Jason Zucker. While from an individual standpoint these players did not perform badly, they just weren’t the right fit with Keller and Schmaltz. After multiple weeks of experimenting, it finally seems that Tourigny has found the perfect match as through the past two games, Alexander Kerfoot has slid right into the team’s top center role. Tourigny made an in-game adjustment during the Coyotes Friday night matchup against the San Jose Sharks, switching Zucker with Kerfoot and it has worked out extremely well. The former Toronto Maple Leaf plays a very similar style compared to Hayton. He is scrappy, responsible at both ends of the ice and matches the speed of Schmaltz and Keller. 20231216_PostGameKeller_FTP “He’s a super skilled player,” Keller said about Kerfoot. “Even skating with him in the summer, you can tell he has a good stick, he’s always around the net, he can make those little plays and he’s a great addition to our line so hopefully we can keep our chemistry going.” While Keller and Schmaltz play the more skilled position role, Kerfoot is not afraid to get into the dirty areas, fighting for every loose puck which is exactly what these two offensive juggernauts need. If this play continues, Kerfoot should stay on a line with Keller and Schmaltz until Hayton returns to the lineup. Even with Hayton back into the mix, Kerfoot will most likely still see an increased role considering the way he has been performing as of late. He has really become one of the team's most valuable players and is a true swiss army knife for the Coyotes.
