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Tobias Rieder

Arizona Stays Busy, Lock Up Stone To One-Year Deal

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Immediately on the heels of the Connor Murphy signing, the Arizona Coyotes have inked fellow blue liner Michael Stone to a one-year, $4MM contract, according to AZSports’ Craig Morgan. Stone and the Coyotes had been scheduled to go to arbitration on August 4th but the two parties obviously found common ground and thus avoided a hearing.

Stone blossomed in his fourth full season in the desert, averaging nearly 22:30 of ice time per game. He ranked second among Arizona defensemen behind Oliver Ekman-Larsson, tallying 36 points in 2015-16. The Coyotes drafted the 26-year-old in the third-round (69th overall) of the 2008 draft.

After accounting for Stone’s deal, Arizona is left with more than $6MM in cap space and only RFA Tobias Rieder left unsigned. That figure is a bit surprising given how busy the Coyotes have been this summer upgrading their roster. In addition to locking up their own RFA’s, Arizona has re-upped with Shane Doan (one-year, $3.88MM), signed UFA winger Jamie McGinn to a multi-year deal worth $10MM over three seasons, and acquired pending free agent Alex Goligoski via trade before extending his contract for five years with an AAV of nearly $5.5MM. That doesn’t even include Pavel Datsyuk’s $7.5MM cap hit which Arizona absorbed as part of a deal to move up four slots in the first round of the recent draft. To still be $6MM under the cap ceiling is an impressive bit of work from John Chayka.

Given the offseason work and the young talent already on the roster, it’s conceivable the Coyotes could force their way into a playoff spot in 2016-17. That’s especially true if goaltender Mike Smith, who missed three months of action last season due to a core muscle injury, returns to form as a quality netminder.

 

 

Latest On Connor Murphy

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While news has started trickling out about the Coyotes’ inability to sign RFA Tobias Rieder, Arizona may be closing in on one of their other remaining unsigned players. Craig Morgan of AZSports reports that Brian Bartlett, the agent for restricted free agent Connor Murphy expects to have a deal done by the end of the week.

Murphy, 23, saw his role with the Coyotes improve drastically last season especially following the trade of Keith Yandle. After the trade, he logged over 22:30 per night (up from 19:50 pre-trade) and held his own against tougher opponents. The bone-crushing hitter isn’t an offensive or possession dynamo, though he did contribute 17 points last season, and saw some limited powerplay action.

Even with the addition of Luke Schenn, Murphy will probably slot in beside another newcomer in Alex Goligoski on the second pairing next season, with fellow unsigned RFA Michael Stone skating alongside superstar Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Obviously, these pairings will be settled in camp, but Murphy will try to continue his strong development from first-round pick (20th overall in 2011) to top-four defenseman.

Snapshots: Rieder, Prust, LaBarbera

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News and notes from around the NHL:

  • Tobias Rieder and the Arizona Coyotes are still far apart on a deal, reports Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports. The German winger scored 14G and 23A in 82 games for the Coyotes, and his 37 points is a 16 point improvement over his rookie year. Rieder was an integral part of the Coyotes team last year, playing over seventeen minutes a game. He is also one of three Coyotes RFAs yet to be signed—Michael Stone and Connor Murphy are still unsigned, with Stone electing salary arbitration. It is possible that Arizona is waiting to see what happens with Stone’s arbitration that is scheduled for August, 4, 2016. The defenseman put up similar numbers to Rieder last season.
  • Free agent forward Brandon Prust tells TVA Sports (link in French) that he is willing to take a job anywhere. The former Vancouver Canuck tallied only 1G and 6A in 35 games last year before being sent down to the AHL Utica Comets. He says he was hampered by an ankle injury, and is looking for a chance to prove that he still belongs. Prust will most sign a training camp invite to get a shot at the NHL next season.
  • Former NHL goaltender Jason LaBarbera hangs up the skates for a goaltending coach position with the WHL Calgary Hitmen. Originally drafted by the New York Rangers, LaBarbera also played for Los Angeles, Vancouver, Phoenix, Edmonton, and Anaheim. The Philadelphia Flyers signed LaBarbera to a one-year deal last year but relegated him to the minors. The 36 year old finished the AHL season with a 7-14 record with a 3.02 GAA and an .899 SV%.

Coyotes, Rieder Far Apart In Contract Talks

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The Arizona Coyotes and Restricted Free Agent (RFA) winger Tobias Rieder are “not close” in contract talks according to Rieder’s agent, Darren Ferris, in a conversation with Arizona Sports columnist Craig Morgan.

Rieder completed his entry-level contract with career highs across the board, scoring 14 goals and 37 points in 82 games. Ferris told Morgan their camp feels Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri and new Coyotes winger Jamie McGinn are fair comparisons for Rieder; while both scored more points than Rieder last season, Rieder has superior possession stats. Kadri and McGinn have both signed new contracts this summer, worth $4.5MM and $3.33MM respectively.

Coyotes rookie GM John Chayka says talks have not progressed in “a while”, and that the team has made what they think is a fair offer. Rieder is not eligible for arbitration, something Chayka says the team isn’t trying to take advantage of. The contract impasse has lead Ferris to explore European and KHL options, but he says Rieder’s first choice is stay in the NHL.

The Coyotes’ qualifying offer, tendered in late June, expires on July 15. The two sides have until December 1 to negotiate a new contract, at which point Rieder is ineligible to play in the coming season.

Arizona has three other key free agents left to sign, captain Shane Doan is a UFA and defensemen Michael Stone and Connor Murphy are RFAs. The Coyotes have $18.68MM in cap space, according to CapFriendly.

The Latest On Arizona’s Free Agents

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The Arizona Coyotes are in the midst of discussions with restricted free agent winger Tobias Rieder and defenseman Connor Murphy but the progress the team is making with each differs considerably, writes Sarah McLellan of AZCentral.  Talks with Murphy’s agent Brian Bartlett began last weekend and are going well while talks have been ongoing with Rieder’s agent Darren Ferris but the two sides remain far apart on a new deal.

Both players are restricted free agents coming off their entry level contracts and are not eligible for arbitration.  Last season, Rieder set career highs across the board in his second full NHL campaign, scoring 14 goals and 23 assists in 82 games with the Coyotes.  He also logged an average of 17:18 per game, third highest among Coyote forwards.  Rieder was acquired from Edmonton back in March of 2013 and received a qualifying offer of just over $874K in late June.

Murphy, in his third NHL season, picked up six goals and 11 assists in 78 games while averaging a career high 20:30 per game, the third highest average on the team behind Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Michael Stone.  Murphy was Arizona’s first round pick (20th overall) in the 2011 draft and also received a qualifying offer just over $874K last month.

On top of Rieder and Murphy, the team also has to re-sign arbitration-bound Stone, who was qualified at $1.45MM.  The team also is hoping to re-sign long-time captain Shane Doan to a one year deal.  The 39 year old scored 28 goals last year for the Coyotes, his highest goal total since 2008-09.

Arizona has just under $18.9MM in salary cap space to work with this offseason according to Cap Friendly.

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