Well-traveled Mark Arcobello finding footing with Coyotes

You don’t need to ask. Mark Arcobello is well-aware he’s part of an NHL record.

The Arizona Coyotes became Arcobello’s fourth team this season after they picked him up off waivers earlier this month, tying him with Dennis O'Brien and Dave McLlwain for most teams in a single season, according to HockeyDB.com.

It’s been a long journey to the desert for Arcobello after beginning with the season with the Edmonton Oilers. He was dealt on Dec. 29 to the Nashville Predators for Derek Roy, played four games in Smashville, was waived and picked up by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 14. Ten games later, he was waived again, landing with the Coyotes.

Traveling with Arcobello are a couple of suitcases he took with him after the trade from the Oilers as it’s now hotel life for the 26-year old forward. And despite all the movement, he’s still posted 12 goals and 19 points this season.

So how much has the wackiness of the past two months thrown him off?

“A little bit,” Arcobello said during the Coyotes’ day off in New York City on Wednesday. “It’s tough just getting used to a new team, new coaches and new systems. So in that way it’s a little bit different.”

With the Coyotes already looking toward the future, Arcobello, a pending restricted free agent this summer, is making his case to no longer live the hotel life in Arizona. Through six games with his latest club he's scored four times, half of the total amount the team has netted over that span.

“I think it’s a little bit of luck,” he said about his scoring blitz. “It’s a little bit of I’m just playing loose, too. It’s the fourth team now. I almost kind of used to the change. I’m also shooting the puck every opportunity I get.”

It’s true. Through those six games Arcobello has registered 15 shots, including seven against the New York Islanders Tuesday night. Prior to arriving in Arizona, he’d recorded 15 shots over his previous 13 games between two teams.

Arcobello’s travels have also allowed him to see what winning and losing seasons can do to a club. After leaving the Oilers, spending time with the Predators and Penguins educated him on how to find success, something he’s brought with him to his fourth and what he hopes is his final stop this season.

“Obviously it’s a different mood from a top-place team to a team towards the bottom,” he said. “That’s just part of it. It’s just one of those years where it’s not going right for us now and wasn’t in Edmonton either.

But with playing on the teams at the top was that I kind of was able to pick up a little bit of what it takes to win and be towards the top, and hopefully I can bring that to Arizona.”

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy

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