Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Coyotes Rumors

Poll: Which GM Will Be Fired Next?

at CDT | by 11 Comments

Despite missing the playoffs in each of the last four seasons, the Vancouver Canucks decided to extend GM Jim Benning today. The reasons for that are complicated—and obviously do not hinge entirely on his postseason record—just as they were when the Minnesota Wild made the decision to fire Paul Fenton just 14 months into his tenure with the team. The inner workings of an NHL front office are almost never made public (unless there is an intrepid reporter like Michael Russo of The Athletic who gets the incredible story), and it is hard to see why some decisions are made.

Still, even the most casual fan can see the seat of specific executives and coaches heating up. When the Edmonton Oilers decided to move on from Peter Chiarelli during another disappointing season, it didn’t come as much of a surprise. On the other hand, it was easy to see why the Carolina Hurricanes recently locked up Don Waddell after he interviewed for another job.

Looking around the league, who is next? Which GM will be let go, either this year or next summer?

It might be easy to look at the teams that have struggled recently, but many of them have replaced their top hockey operations executive over the last few seasons. The Oilers brought in Ken Holland to change the culture in Edmonton, while Steve Yzerman returned to the Detroit Red Wings to bring a new voice to a stagnant team. Florida has gone through quite a bit of turmoil in the front office since their ownership changed but Dale Tallon now seems to be entrenched as a veteran leader.

There are others though that may not be so lucky. The Ottawa Senators are heading in a new direction after shedding their previous core, but if the young talent doesn’t develop as hoped Pierre Dorion could be held responsible. John Chayka was the youngest GM in history when he took over the Arizona Coyotes in 2016, but they still haven’t made the playoffs under his watch and now have new ownership of their own. Jason Botterill was expected to have success in Buffalo after finding so much of it in Pittsburgh, but the Sabres haven’t been able to build a full roster around Jack Eichel despite some outstanding individual players.

Nothing is certain when it comes to front offices however. Cast your vote below and explain just why you think they’ll be the first to go!

[Mobile users click here to vote]

*We’ve used Kelly McCrimmon as the Vegas GM, though he won’t officially take that title from George McPhee until September

Pacific Notes: Coyotes’ Arena, Labanc, Flames’ Goaltending

at CDT | by 3 Comments

While the Arizona Coyotes new owner Alex Meruelo has made it clear that he’s committed to keeping the Coyotes in Arizona, he also didn’t go as far as to say that he wants to keep the team in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes have struggled financially at Gila River Arena and Merulo may be interested in moving the team elsewhere, calling Glendale, “a difficult situation.”

The owner made it clear that there are several reasons why Glendale may not be an ideal location in Arizona, including the team keeps losing money, most fans don’t live in Glendale, sponsorship there has been difficult and the team does not have a long-term lease there. However, AZ Central’s Jen Fifield reports that the leaders of the city of Glendale hope to have a meeting with Meruelo “to see how we can help him achieve his goals of success.”

However, Meruelo has made it clear for quite a while that he’s looking to find a new arena in Arizona. The team is currently on a year-to-year arena lease and the owner has made it clear that Glendale “is not viable long-term.”

  • Many eyes went wise earlier this summer, when highly talented restricted free agent Kevin Labanc signed just a one-year, $1MM deal when he could have gotten quite a bit more. NHL.com’s Adam Kimmelman reports that Labanc admits that he put the team first when he signed that deal. “I didn’t want to wait,” he said following a Checking For Charity game at Flyers Skate Zone on Friday. “I wanted to sign the contract, get myself ready for the upcoming year and have nothing hanging over my shoulder.” Labanc, who will be a restricted agent once again next summer, could be in line for an even bigger payday as his role on the ice with the Sharks is likely to increase with the losses of Joe Pavelski, Joonas Donskoi and Gustav Nyquist during the offseason. Labanc put together a solid year last season, posting career highs in goals (17) and points (56) and saw his ATOI improve as the season went on, averaging 15:26 in April despite averaging just 13:34 before the all-star break.
  • With a recent bias over the last few years in the NHL over the importance of height in goaltenders, The Athletic’s Darren Haynes (subscription required) writes that the Calgary Flames seem to be heading towards an anti-establishment policy towards them. In fact, most of Calgary’s goalie draft picks in recent years have been towards smaller goaltenders, including Tyler Parsons, who at 6-foot-1, is not considered to be ranked at the 15th percentile in height. In comparison, he would have been considered in the 89th percentile in 1984-85. The Flames seem to be opting to go against those trends as the team is also loaded with shorter goaltenders, including 2019 seventh-rounder Dustin Wolf at 5-foot-11 and Nick Schneider, who is one of their tallest prospects at 6-foot-2.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Arizona Coyotes

at CDT | by 2 Comments

Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2019-20 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Arizona Coyotes

Current Cap Hit: $81,321,901 (under the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

F Christian Fischer (one year, $822K)
F Barrett Hayton (three years, $894K)
F Clayton Keller (one year, $886K)

Potential Bonuses

Fischer: $212.5K
Hayton: $1.35MM
Keller: $850K

Keller took a considerable step back in his second NHL season, dropping from 67 points to 45.  A comparable performance could have him in line for a bridge contract a year from now but if he shows some chemistry with newly-acquired winger Phil Kessel, he could have a big boost in output next season to make him one of the top restricted free agents of the 2020 class.  How they get paid will largely be determined by what happens over the coming weeks to the current RFA class but right now, his next deal could range from anywhere from around $4MM on a short-term pact to twice that much on a contract that buys out some UFA eligibility, something the Coyotes have preferred based on recent history.

Fischer is also coming off of a rough season, recording just 18 points in 71 games, well off his 33 from the year before.  He’s more of a secondary piece on their roster so a short-term second contract is likely on the horizon.  Hayton briefly made the Coyotes last season (spending one day with them before being returned to junior) and as their consensus top prospect, he’ll likely get a long look in training camp.  Even if he does make the team though, it’s too early to forecast what his post-ELC contract will look like.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Vinnie Hinostroza ($1.5MM, RFA)
G Darcy Kuemper ($1.85MM, UFA)
D Ilya Lyubushkin ($874K, RFA)
F Brad Richardson ($1.25MM, UFA)
F Carl Soderberg ($4.75MM, UFA)

Hinostroza’s first season in Arizona was a successful one as he became a consistent top-six forward.  The Coyotes hoped that he’d be able to become a part of their young core when they got him and he’s trending in that direction.  He’s technically on his bridge deal but could still sign another short-term pact and still have RFA rights and given their longer-term cap outlook, that’s a likely outcome.  Soderberg was brought in to provide some extra depth down the middle and is coming off a resurgent season with Colorado that saw him collect 49 points.  A repeat performance could have him pushing for a similar price tag a year from now but if he reverts back to his play from the previous two years, he’ll be looking at a notable pay cut.  Richardson tied for the team lead in goals last season which made him one of the better bargains on the team.  It’s unrealistic to expect him to produce like that again but he still should be looking at a raise on his next deal.

Lyubushkin accepted his qualifying offer after an up-and-down rookie campaign.  He’s clearly no higher than seventh on the depth chart and if his price tag goes much higher, they’ll likely move on from him.  Kuemper wound up having a stellar season, one that saw him thrive with a number one workload on the way to posting a career year.  He won’t get as much playing time in 2019-20 but there will be teams remembering his performance when he hits the open market in July where he’ll land a decent raise.

Two Years Remaining

D Jason Demers ($3.9375MM, UFA)*
F Conor Garland ($775K, RFA)
D Alex Goligoski ($5.475MM, UFA)
F Michael Grabner ($3.35MM, UFA)
D Niklas Hjalmarsson ($5MM, UFA)
F Marian Hossa ($5.275MM, UFA)
D Jordan Oesterle ($1.4MM, UFA)
G Antti Raanta ($4.25MM, UFA)
F Derek Stepan ($6.5MM, UFA)

* – Florida is retaining the other 12.5% of Demers’ contract

This is where the bulk of Arizona’s commitments are.  Let’s get Hossa out of the way first.  He won’t play again and will go on LTIR if the Coyotes need to free up extra room.  However, the risk in doing so is that it would set them up for the possibility of having to carry over any bonus overage penalties into 2020-21.

Stepan had a very disappointing season and only managed a career-low 35 points.  They were hoping he could be their number one center but it hasn’t happened.  At this point, it’s hard to envision him landing $6.5MM on his next contract.  Grabner was reasonably productive when he was healthy last year but he missed half of the season due to injury.  His speed is a big weapon now and his ability to maintain that will ultimately determine if he gets another deal in this price range down the road or if he’ll be looking at a cut as well.  Garland has his flaws but has shown an ability to score in his limited NHL experience.  If he produces like he did last season (a 23-goal pace over a full season), this could be a nice bargain for the Coyotes.

Goligoski was yet another player whose production dipped considerably as his output was the lowest since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign.  He has settled into more of a second pairing role and considering he’ll be 36 when his next contract kicks in, he’ll be hard-pressed to get a raise two years from now.  Hjalmarsson doesn’t put up many points but the Coyotes liked his defensive presence enough to give him this deal a year ago.  Even so, he’ll be 34 two years from now and as the league trends towards more skill on the back end, that doesn’t bode well for his chances.  Demers battled injuries last season but is a serviceable fourth or fifth defender when healthy.  His $4.5MM price tag (between the two teams) isn’t enough to justify that.  Oesterle took advantage of being a regular for the first time and posted a career year.  Maintaining that over the next couple of years would give him a much better track record for teams as he enters the open market for the first time.

Raanta, when healthy, has played well for the most part in recent years (despite some struggles last season).  The Coyotes clearly believe he can be a starter but he has still played more than 30 games in a single season just once.  If he wants a chance to beat (or even equal) his current deal two years from now, he’ll need to stay healthy and help lead this team to the postseason.

Three Years Remaining

F Lawson Crouse ($1.533MM, RFA)
F Phil Kessel ($6.8MM, UFA)*

* – Toronto is paying the other 15% of Kessel’s contract

Kessel was brought in this summer to give Arizona a legitimate top-line forward with a track record of production.  He immediately becomes the best scoring threat they’ve had in quite some time.  However, his all-around game has long been questioned and he’ll be turning 35 at the start of the 2022-23 season which will be his next contract.  Accordingly, he probably will struggle to land an $8MM deal in free agency.  Crouse held his own in a bottom six role last season but has developed slowly thus far.  The three-year bridge deal gives the team some time to see if he can progress into a legitimate top-six threat.

Four Or More Years Remaining

D Jakob Chychrun ($4.6MM through 2024-25)
F Christian Dvorak ($4.45MM through 2024-25)
D Oliver Ekman-Larsson ($8.25MM through 2026-27)
F Nick Schmaltz ($5.85MM through 2025-26)

Schmaltz was the return in the somewhat-questioned trade with Chicago that saw Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini go to Chicago.  Clearly, GM John Chayka has plenty of confidence in him considering that extension was signed only a few months after the trade.  He was productive during his limited time with Arizona (injuries limited him to 17 games) while he played at a 50-point pace overall.  There is some risk to this deal given the lack of track record but there is some potential for reward as well.  Dvorak’s contract was a big surprise considering he was coming off a pair of seasons with 15 goals.  Clearly, they’re banking on him taking a step forward although injuries limited him to just 20 games last season.  Right now though, that deal looks to be on the expensive side.

Last offseason, Ekman-Larsson was looking like he’d be one of the top defenders available in free agency but instead, he opted to sign the extension.  For the next few years, the high price tag shouldn’t be an issue as he’s a legitimate number one defender but as he ages, it could become a bit of an overpayment (although that can be said about a lot of long-term extensions given to pending UFAs).  Chychrun has had trouble staying healthy in his career as he has missed at least 14 games in each of his first three seasons.  That creates some risk with the deal but when healthy, he’s a legitimate top-four defender that’s locked in at a pretty good rate.

Buyouts

F Mike Ribeiro ($1.944MM, final year)

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Kuemper
Worst Value: Dvorak

Looking Ahead

Seeing Arizona potentially being in cap trouble is something we’re not used to seeing.  Moving Hossa to LTIR will help but if bonuses are hit, that will hurt them for next season at a time where they’re going to need a lot of room for a new deal for Keller (and potentially Kuemper if they’d like to keep their goalie tandem intact).

The good news is that the crunch is going to be relatively short.  Two summers from now, a lot of big-ticket contracts will be off the books and not a lot of those players will be in line for raises.  That will give Chayka plenty of flexibility to work with and accordingly, expect a lot of turnover to come at that time.  Some short-term cap pain is on the horizon but they’ll be in good shape before too long.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Snapshots: Shattenkirk, Miller, Malik

at CDT | by 3 Comments

There appears to have been more interest in Kevin Shattenkirk than most anticipated, making his one-year, $1.75MM pact with the Tampa Bay Lightning all the more interesting. Earlier today, it was reported that the Lightning and the Arizona Coyotes were just two of eleven teams that reached out to Shattenkirk. Now, The Fourth Period’s Dennis Bernstein states that the Anaheim Ducks went so far as to make Shattenkirk a formal, multi-year contract offer. He notes that the Los Angeles Kings also entered the mix. Colleague David Pagnotta adds that the Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Avalanche, and Winnipeg Jets were also serious contenders. As for some of the other possible suitors, there was rampant speculation that both the Montreal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers would have interest in Shattenkirk. At the end of the day, the veteran puck-mover clearly chose what he felt was his best opportunity to return to form as a high-scoring, dynamic defenseman, playing with the uber-skilled Lightning. There were surely offers for more money and term than what Shattenkirk ended up accepting to go to Tampa, and what remains is to make the most of that gamble by asserting himself as a top option on a crowded blue line and padding his stats before hitting the free agent market again next summer.

  • Despite Shattenkirk’s ties to the city during his collegiate career, it’s safe to assume that the Boston Bruins were not one of the teams interested in his services. The Bruins are having a hard enough time getting their own right-handed defensemen under contract with limited cap space, never mind adding another to the mix. Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo remain unsigned and the team has acknowledged that one or both may miss time during training camp due to to the rigors of difficult negotiations. Barring some magic from GM Don Sweeney and company, Boston will likely have to make a move to free up cap space. While many hope that it would be overpaid and ineffective veteran David Backes leaving town, such a trade would be hard to make and/or would cost the Bruins too much in picks or prospects. NBC Sports’ James O’Brien writes that defenseman Kevan Miller is instead the most likely casualty. Miller is a strong two-way defenseman who can make an impact on any team, when healthy. The problem is that he is not healthy as often as the Bruins have liked, leading them to invest heavily in defensive depth, such as signing John Moore last summer and extending Steven Kampfer and Connor Clifton in recent months. The Bruins have the depth to survive next season without Miller, after which he is likely to leave as a free agent anyway. Eliminating Miller’s $2.5MM cap hit may give the team just enough wiggle room to sign McAvoy and Carlo to long-term contracts. Meanwhile, even with so many teams facing salary cap issues, there would be a market for Miller’s services as a year-long rental to play a shutdown role for a contender.
  • NHL scouts will have to travel to the Czech Republic to evaluate one of the 2020 draft class’ top goaltenders in-person this upcoming season. 17-year-old Nick Malik, son of former NHL defenseman Marek Malik, was drafted by the OHL’s Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in this summer’s CHL Import Draft, but will not sign with the club. His Czech junior team, HC Ocelari Trinec, announced today that their starting goaltender will be staying through the 2019-20 season. Malik is considered one of the top handful of goaltenders early on in the 2020 evaluation process, with one scouting source, Future Considerations, naming him their No. 2 goalie and No. 59 overall prospect in their preliminary rankings last month. The Czech keeper, who was actually born in Raleigh, North Carolina while his dad was playing for the Hurricanes, has turned heads with his calm demeanor and lightning reflexes in net and performed very well at the U-17 World Junior Championship last year. Rather than split time with new Greyhounds acquisition Christian Propp, who made 51 appearances for the North Bay Battalion last season, Malik will likely be the undisputed starter for Ocelari and will have the chance to make more appearances in the Czech secondary pro league.

Pacific Notes: Meruelo, Frolik, Talbot

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Arizona Coyotes fans got good news last week when Alex Meruelo closed on his sale of the franchise and the expects to keep the franchise in Arizona. The new owner must still figure out whether the team can get a new arena and make his claim to keep the team in the state of Arizona a reality.

Arizona Sports 98.7’s Matt Layman notes five takeaways from his press conference last week, including the owner’s desire to win. However, perhaps the most interesting fact is that Meruelo is known for buying failed businesses and making them viable once again. While Arizona isn’t a failing franchise, the team has been losing money and Meruelo might be the perfect owner to take over a struggling franchise that many feel cannot survive where it is, hence the rumors that the team will eventually make its way to Houston.

At the end of the day whether you’re flipping pizzas or you’re hitting hockey pucks, it’s a business and it must be treated as one. Hockey is a sport, but it’s also a business. I’ve had a lot experience growing businesses and turning them around. For 40 years I’ve been doing this. I’ve had a lot of success. I’ve got good people that I work with that I consider to be my team and my family and that makes me who I am today.

  • The Calgary Flames may have $7.76MM in projected cap room still, but with Matthew Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane still unsigned, the team will be forced to offload a contract to bring both forwards, especially Tkachuk under contract. While there has been plenty of talk of Calgary trading away a defenseman such as T.J. Brodie or Travis Hamonic, The Athletic’s Kent Wilson (subscription required) writes that another option would be Michael Frolik. The middle-six forward is still just 31 and is coming off a 16-goal season, which might make him more palatable than many of the veteran free-agent options remaining on the market. Frolik has one year remaining at $4.3MM. Wilson suggests that Ottawa might make a good fit. The Senators are way under the cap, but Frolik will actually be paid just $3MM in salary despite his cap hit number, something that the budget-focused Senators love to acquire. The scribe adds the New Jersey Devils, Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers as alternative options for Calgary.
  • Sportsnet’s Luke Fox writes that Calgary Flames new goaltender Cam Talbot hopes to prove his value to his new team. Talbot, who signed on to be a veteran backup to David Rittich this summer, struggled in his final two seasons with the Edmonton Oilers before finally being traded at the trade deadline. Talbot said he hoped that a trade to Philadelphia would be the reset of his career that would allow him to bounce back. However, Talbot played just three and a half games with Philadelphia as the backup to Carter Hart and never got a chance to prove his value. Now in Calgary, Talbot said he hopes to be more than just a backup to Rittich and hopes to split time with him evenly. “[Rittich] played extremely well last year and kinda took that spot and earned his right to battle for it. I’m going in. I want to complement him,” says Talbot.

Adin Hill Agrees To Sign Qualifying Offer With Arizona Coyotes

at CDT | by 2 Comments

The Arizona Coyotes have brought back their third-string goaltender as Adin Hill has agreed to accept his qualifying offer and will sign a one-year deal, according to The Athletic’s Craig Morgan. The Coyotes have announced the trade, reporting that it is a two-way contract. Since Hill made $675K last season, his qualifying offer is for five percent more, meaning Hill should make just under $709K. While his qualifying offer expired on July 15, the offer can be extended by the team.

Hill showed some flashes of potential last season after being recalled and pulled into active duty after Arizona saw both their goalies, Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper, injured in the middle of the season. Hill immediately took over, winning four straight games, which included one shutout and two one-goal performances. He continued to show impressive skills for six more games before teams began to figure things out. The 23-year-old finished with a 2.76 GAA and a .901 save percentage in 13 appearances before returning to Tucson in the AHL.

With Raanta and Kuemper expected back to tandem the net for the Coyotes, Hill is expected to work on his skills with the Roadrunners and is the likely callup if one of the injury-prone goalies gets hurt and if he can find some consistency, could eventually be a long-term option for the club, especially considering that Kuemper is in the final year of a two-year deal he signed back in 2018. Raanta is also only two years away from unrestricted free agency, so a good season by Hill could eventually vault him into the mix.

New Owner Alex Meruelo Promises To Keep Coyotes In Arizona

at CDT | by 1 Comment

New majority owner of the Arizona Coyotes Alex Meruelo made a great first impression on his fan base today. Meruelo took the stage this afternoon at Gila River Arena and, among other things, promised that he would keep the Coyotes in Arizona:

I am committed to stay here. I will do everything I can in my heart, and in my hard work to make sure that we can make it viable…I will not stop until we bring a Stanley Cup to the Valley.

Given the constant issues that the Coyotes franchise has had with both ownership turnover and attendance, the team has continually been rumored to be a candidate to re-locate to a new market. Although NHL expansion has quieted some of these whispers, cities like Houston and Quebec City remain interested in adding an NHL club and the Coyotes are always considered the top candidate. However, the league has remained dedicated to the state and the new owner has joined in.

Meruelo spoke openly and honestly in his press conference about many things, including his childhood dreams of owning a sports franchise and his role as the NHL’s first Hispanic owner. His commitment to keep the Coyotes in Arizona seems just as legitimate. While that doesn’t necessarily mean that the team will remain in Glendale, having previously expressed a desire to move to a new arena – an idea backed by the league – it seems that Arizona fans can rest easy for a while longer that their team isn’t going the way of the Thrashers.

Ownership Change Official For Arizona Coyotes

at CDT | by 5 Comments

The NHL announced today that the Arizona Coyotes franchise has now formally changed hands. Alex Meruelo has purchased a majority share in the team from Andrew Barroway, though Barroway will retain a minority stake. This sale was reported much earlier this offseason, but is now official.

The Coyotes have a long and varied history of ownership, including former Phoenix Suns owner Jerry Colangelo, Wayne Gretzky and the NHL themselves at different times. Barroway purchased a majority stake in the team in 2014 after a failing bid to get into ownership with the New York Islanders. He bought out the remaining investors in 2017, a move that was quickly followed by a change in leadership for the team, with Gary Drummond and Dave Tippett both leaving the organization entirely. There were also some hard on-ice decisions made, including leaving Shane Doan unsigned and trading Mike Smith to the Calgary Flames.

In 2017 there was also a real push from the league to find a way to move Arizona to a new arena, as commissioner Gary Bettman penned a letter explaining to legislators that “the Coyotes cannot and will not remain in Glendale.” The battle for a move out of Glendale will now fall to the new ownership.

Obviously, this transfer of ownership will also bring up the long standing issue of franchise relocation. Not just finding a new arena for the Coyotes in Phoenix, but the chance that the team could move to another city and state entirely. With the announcement that the team will be moving into the Central Division once the Seattle expansion franchise is operational, many had speculated on a potential move to Houston. When the NBA’s Houston Rockets were sold to Tilman Fertitta in October of 2017, he immediately expressed interest in bringing the NHL to the city.

The NHL however, for all the strong language about not remaining in Glendale, has always strongly supported the Coyotes staying in the Arizona market. Relocation is a last resort for the league—and currently off the table. Hopefully new ownership will be able to finally find some financial and organizational stability for the franchise.

Arizona Coyotes Announce ECHL Affiliate

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

What’s old is new in terms of ECHL affiliates for the Arizona Coyotes, as they have reached a new two-year agreement with the Rapid City Rush. The Rush served as the Coyotes ECHL affiliate from 2015-17. Arizona assistant GM Steve Sullivan released a statement on the renewed partnership:

We are excited to once again partner with the Rapid City Rush as our ECHL affiliate. The Rush are a first class organization with a passionate fan base. We look forward to working with owners Jeff Dickerson and TJ Puchyr (Spire Sports and Entertainment) as well as owner Scott Mueller and Head Coach Daniel Tetrault.

The Coyotes were affiliated with the Norfolk Admirals last season and the Fort Wayne Komets the year prior, but will now get at least a little bit of stability with the two-year deal. Like any ECHL affiliation, the Coyotes can use the Rush for their raw or long-shot prospects as well as house their young goaltenders to give them some stable playing time.

Pacific Notes: Coyotes Defense, Carter, Flames, Lucic

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The Arizona Coyotes have one of the highest payrolls among defensemen, the second highest in the league at $29.54MM. Yet despite their success defensively, the blueline’s offensive production just isn’t there. The Coyotes defensemen had the seventh-worst goal production in the league and were fourth-worst in points.

The Coyotes hope that much of the defense’s struggles can be accounted by the massive amount of injuries the team suffered throughout the year and while many of those injuries came from the forwards, the changes in personnel definitely had a part to play in the team’s struggles to score goals. The team also were without defenseman Jason Demers for all but 35 games last season and lost Jakob Chychrun for 29 games as well, according to The Athletic’s Craig Morgan (subscription required).

“We played defensive and there were so many injuries that we were forced to, but for the most part during the season, we directed the pace of the game and the scoring chances,” said Demers. “It’s just that once you get behind the eight ball and it has been 20, 30 games of not scoring, you tense up a little bit and you might force things you wouldn’t normally force or look for the perfect play when the perfect play is just getting it to the net.”

The team hopes that new assistant coach Phil Housley can help out and get the defense to start producing some offense, his forte when he was a player. The hope is that with a healthy blueline, the team should be able to take that next step.

  • The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta appeared on NHL Tonight recently and stated that the Los Angeles Kings have tried to be active on the trade market, reporting that the Kings were talking to the Arizona Coyotes before the draft about potentially sending Jeff Carter there. Of course that was before Arizona turned around and traded for Pittsburgh’s Phil Kessel instead. However, trading off Carter may have been more of a challenge as the 34-year-old who scored just 13 goals and 33 points last season still has three years at $5.27MM AAV and obviously was no where near as productive as Kessel who finished last season with 82 points.
  • NBC Sports’ James O’Brien writes that despite moving James Neal Friday, the team’s salary cap situation hasn’t improved much at all. In fact, the Flames saved just $500K after they traded Neal for Milan Lucic, which will require Calgary to make more moves this summer. The team has just $9.97MM in cap space and still have to sign several restricted free agents, including Matthew Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, David Rittich and Andrew Mangiapane.
  • Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson writes that another victory in the Edmonton Oilers of Lucic to the Calgary Flames for Neal is that Neal doesn’t have a no-trade clause and will not have to be protected in two years for the Seattle expansion draft. However, the Calgary Flames do have to worry about the fact that Lucic has a no-movement clause and will have to be protected, which could be a major issue in two years unless they can convince him to waive that clause for the expansion draft.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top