Coyotes get bad news on veteran defenseman

Dermott, 26, logged 15:24 of ice time in Tuesday’s game at Mullett Arena but did not return to the ice after completing his last shift at the 13:42 mark of the third period.

The Coyotes’ other five defensemen (Sean Durzi, Juuso Valimaki, J.J. Moser, Matt Dumba, and Troy Stecher) picked up the slack for the rest of regulation and overtime. Before leaving the game, Dermott picked up an assist — his first point as a Coyote — on a Matias Maccelli goal in the first period.

Dermott, who made news earlier this season as the first player to circumvent the NHL’s short-lived ban on Pride Tape, has averaged 17:29 of ice time in 10 games with the Coyotes in 2023–24. According to Morgan, the timeline on his return is “unclear at this point.”

To replace Dermott, the Coyotes announced on Wednesday that they have recalled defenseman Michael Kesselring from the American Hockey League’s Tucson Roadrunners.

Kesselring, 23, is a 6-foot-4 right-handed defenseman who has been held without a point in six games with the Roadrunners to kick off the 2023–24 season. In 59 AHL games split between the Roadrunners and Bakersfield Condors in 2022–23, Kesselring racked up 15 goals and 29 points.

The Coyotes originally acquired Kesselring and a 2023 third-round pick (Vadim Moroz) from the Edmonton Oilers ahead of the 2023 trade deadline in exchange for center Nick Bjugstad, who subsequently returned to the Coyotes on a two-year deal in the summer.

Kesselring appeared in his first nine NHL games with the Coyotes after the trade, collecting three assists while logging an average of 17:06 per game. He beat out the likes of Vladislav Kolyachonok, Victor Soderstrom and Max Szuber to earn this recall to the Coyotes.

With veteran Josh Brown likely sliding into the lineup to replace Dermott for the time being, the Coyotes will return to action on Thursday evening to take on the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center.