Sarah McLellan

azcentral sports

Center Martin Hanzal was unable to agree to a contract extension with the Coyotes before Saturday’s opener, and it’s possible he ices talks until the season ends.

“I’ll just probably shut it down from my side and just keep focusing on hockey because it will be a distraction for me,” Hanzal said. “I just want to focus on hockey and make sure I can do everything to help the team win.”

The 29-year-old is in the final season of a five-year, $15.5 million contract and was hoping to get a new deal done before the season so he could concentrate on playing rather than negotiations.

“I want to stay here, but that was the plan if we don’t get it done before the season,” Hanzal said. “But hey, I understand. It’s just business and if I wouldn’t have signed right now, we’ll see what happens. Obviously I want to stay but again, I want to shut it down because of the hockey.”

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Hanzal said he’d have “no problems” talking with the team once the season ends. General Manager John Chayka said earlier in the week he isn’t operating under a deadline and hopes Hanzal re-signs.

“It’s still a process,” Chayka said. “We continue to chat with Marty and his representative. I don’t think anything’s imminent right now. Having said that, Marty’s a big part of our team and a good player and he’s made us aware that he’d like to be back here, so just trying to find something that makes sense for everybody.”

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Strome sits

Center Dylan Strome will have to wait to make his NHL debut.

Strome, 19, was the odd man out Saturday against the Flyers, sitting as a healthy scratch while fellow rookies Christian Dvorak, Lawson Crouse, Laurent Dauphin and Jakob Chychrun all cracked the lineup with Dvorak, Crouse and Chychrun playing in their first career games.

“Obviously, it’s disappointing,” Strome said. “But it’s the NHL. It’s not an easy league, so you just gotta keep working hard and keep doing what they’re asking of you and wait for your chance to get in the lineup and do your best when you get in. You gotta prove that when you get in that you deserve to stay in and be in. So I’m going to wait for my opportunity and try to run with it when I get it.”

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The Coyotes entered training camp with two spots up the middle for grabs, and Dvorak and Dauphin were the first to merit ice time.

Dauphin seems best-suited out of all three to occupy the fourth-line role, so it’s possible Dvorak and Strome share that second-line spot.

“He has to be able to get in there and play his game,” coach Dave Tippett said of Strome. “When he has the puck, he’s a good player. He makes good plays, but there’s just positionally and strength with the puck and playing without the puck are all things that not just Dylan but all young players have to learn.”

Those areas of improvement aren’t lost on Strome; he said he worked with team skating coach Dawn Braid three times during the week to try to get faster and stronger.

“Whenever I get my opportunity, I’m going to try to hopefully get two points for the team and get the win and hopefully do enough to stay in the lineup," Strome said.

While Dauphin has some experience on the wings and could be shifted to that position, the Coyotes plan to keep Strome and Dvorak exclusively as centers. Tippett isn’t trying to avoid having all five rookies in the lineup at once, but finding a balance is key in his mind.

“We’re going to have to integrate them,” Tippett said. “Can’t just throw them all out there to the wolves kind of thing. So we’re going to make sure everybody can do their best to play their best. So it’s just a matter of how it goes right now.”

Injury update

Winger Jamie McGinn missed Saturday’s opener with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day.

While Tippett said this isn’t a long-term issue, it’s questionable whether or not McGinn accompanies the team on its upcoming six-game road trip that starts Tuesday in Ottawa.

“He plays a rugged game,” Tippett said. “I think he’s played with lots of bumps and bruises, but he has an injury that doesn’t allow him to play. It’s disappointing for him, I’m sure, and disappointing for us he’s not in the lineup.”

Tippett said there’s a chance defensemen Michael Stone and Kevin Connauton return during the road trip.

Stone is working his way back from ACL and MCL surgery on his left knee, while Connauton also seems to be dealing with a knee issue after suffering a lower-body injury before camp.

“They’re close,” Tippett said. “I think Connauton might be a little closer than Stone.”

Ice chip

Former Coyotes goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin was on hand for a ceremonial puck drop as the team began its 20th season in the Valley.

Reach the reporter at sarah.mclellan@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8276. Follow her at twitter.com/azc_mclellan.