The last time an NHL team won the Stanley Cup the same season its American Hockey League affiliate won the Calder Cup, the AHL championship trophy: 25 years ago, when the NHL’s New Jersey Devils and AHL’s Albany River Rats turned the trick.
Fast-forward, 1995 to 2020, and the professional hockey clubs in the desert southwest are doing their best to repeat that feat this season.
Steve Sullivan, who in his current role as assistant general manager for the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes also serves as GM for the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners, remembers that 1995 double-dip well.
As he should. The veteran of 17 professional seasons as a left winger was a point-per-game-plus scorer for the River Rats that season, scoring 31 goals and recording 81 points as a professional rookie, en route to the Calder Cup crown.
A quarter century later and Sullivan, an integral part of the last NHL/AHL pair to complete the Stanley/Calder set in the same season, certainly sees the possibility of that happening again, this time with the Coyotes and Roadrunners.
“To me, it’s definitely a feasible feat,” Sullivan said. “We can definitely put ourselves in a position to at least try.”
The Roadrunners (21-5-0-0), who open a seven-game homestand Friday night against the Ontario Reign (13-11-3-1), have done their part so far this season. They enter the weekend with the AHL’s top overall record and near the top of the league’s scoring and defensive charts.
As for the Coyotes: well, they were in first place in the NHL’s Pacific Division themselves this week. But the big news out of Glendale, of course, was the acquisition of Taylor Hall — the NHL’s most valuable player two seasons ago.
Sullivan recognized that moves of that type of fanfare at the NHL level often have a significant impact on affiliate clubs. As part of the deal that brought the 2018 Hart Trophy winner to Arizona, the Roadrunners parted ways with third-year forward Nick Merkley, a 2015 first-round draft pick of the Coyotes and favorite among Tucson fans and his ex-teammates alike.
They also said goodbye to Nate Schnarr, a third-rounder in 2017 who played the hero for the Roadrunners in the 15th round last weekend’s shootout win over San Antonio.
Sullivan acknowledged most teams would struggle to manage after losing that kind of personnel. He added, though, that most teams don’t have the depth the Roadrunners sport this season.
“Does it stink some time getting rid of some really good people? Yeah it does. … But we feel like this was sustainable for us to give up some of these pieces and still have enough in the cupboard left to continue to move forward.”
Added Sullivan: “For us, the way we have to look at it, we have to make sure the move is going to help us currently, short term, and not hurt us long term. … We did that here.”
Tucson coach Jay Varady said that the Hall move is a prime example of the role of the developmental team.
Varady has preached often that while he, his players and the rest of the Roadrunners’ staff are competitive and there’s no debate they want to win, the purpose of the Roadrunners as an AHL team is to serve the Coyotes’ needs.
That may be in injury call-ups — seen over the past eight days with leading scorer Brayden Burke and top defenseman Jordan Gross each earning their first NHL recalls, as well as goaltender Adin Hill being called up for a day, too, because of an illness.
That also, as was the case this week, means losing players that have been contributors. Merkley was fifth in points (16) and tied for third in assists (13) for Tucson before being dealt to the Devils. Schnarr had nine points.
“(The Coyotes) added an unbelievable player to their hockey club — a difference-maker,” Varady said. “In our world, in the American Hockey League, we lost two guys who were a big part of our team … but that’s hockey. We’re all in this as one organization with the same long-term goals.”
Varady said replacing the “ton of minutes” Merkley ate up, and Schnarr’s presence in specialty situations like the penalty kill, won’t be easy. But like in any call-up or other roster-move situation, he’s happy to see other players get the chance to prove their own mettle.
Tucson defenseman Kyle Capobianco noted that it’s a double-edged sword of sorts — that it’s hard to see players like Merkley and Schnarr head off to other opportunities, yet acquiring Hall has the ability to galvanize the entire organization, top to bottom.
“People are starting to notice the Coyotes and this whole organization outside of Arizona, so that’s been a really great thing,” Capobianco said. Acquiring Hall “shows commitment.”
Capobianco and his Tucson teammates were still processing not seeing Merkley in the building as they prepared for Ontario this week. Merkley battled back from multiple serious injuries to become a fully productive player time and again during his time with the Roadrunners, and Capobianco and Merkley were roommates in Tucson the past three seasons.
“He left this morning … so going home tonight’s going to be different,” Capobianco said Tuesday, the day after the deal that sent Merkley, Schnarr, the rights to defenseman Kevin Bahl and a pair of draft picks to the Devils for Hall and forward Blake Speers, who reported to Tucson this week.
Capobianco said, however, he won’t stop rooting for his friend’s future success — even while the teams in Tucson and Glendale go for their own glory.
“He’s an NHL-caliber player,” Capobianco said. “I hope to see him get that chance.”
