Arizona Coyotes Sign Christian Dvorak To Six-Year Extension
The Arizona Coyotes have made it clear that Christian Dvorak is going to be a part of their plans for a long time, signing him today to a six-year contract extension. The deal kicks in for the 2019-20 season and will carry Dvorak to unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2025. The 22-year old forward is entering the final year of his entry-level contract, and was eligible to sign an extension on July 1st. CapFriendly reports that the deal will carry a $4.45MM cap hit, meaning the total extension is worth $26.7MM. Arizona GM John Chayka included a statement:
We are very pleased to sign Christian to a long-term contract. Christian is a highly skilled, reliable, two-way center who continues to improve each season. He will be a key player for us in the future and we are thrilled to have him with us for the next seven seasons.
Dvorak was originally selected 58th overall by the Coyotes in 2014, but returned to the OHL for two more seasons to round out his game at the junior level. In those years, paired mostly with Mitch Marner (and often either Max Domi or Matthew Tkachuk) Dvorak became a dominant offense player and recorded 230 points in just 125 regular season games. He added 35 points en route to an OHL Championship and Memorial Cup in 2015-16 as team captain, before jumping straight to the NHL the following season. While some doubted that Dvorak could produce goals and points away from Marner and the other talented players on the London Knights roster, he scored 15 goals and 33 points as a rookie on a bad Arizona team and performed better admirably in the role that he was given.
Unfortunately Dvorak failed to take another step forward offensively in 2017-18, scoring just 15 goals again and recording 37 points despite increased ice time. While he took substantial strides in his defensive and faceoff work, his upside in the offense zone was capped and his powerplay production was underwhelming even with ample opportunity. No longer a rookie, there were higher expectations of the young forward that he didn’t quite reach in the eyes of many. Apparently not in those of the front office though, as the team has signed him long before it was necessary in an attempt to get him under contract before a potential breakout. There’s little chance he could have demanded a contract of this value next summer given that he would not have been arbitration eligible, though it does buy out two of his unrestricted free agent years down the road for a reasonable price. The breakdown of the deal, provided by Craig Morgan of AZ Sports, indicates that he also has an eight team no-trade clause in those UFA seasons. The full salary breakdown is as follows:
- 2019-20: $2.95MM salary + $300K signing bonus
- 2020-21: $3.45MM salary
- 2021-22: $5.075MM salary
- 2022-23: $3.45MM salary
- 2023-24: $5.725MM salary
- 2024-25: $5.75MM salary
Those are big numbers for a player that still has yet to really have an offensive breakout, though they could look like a bargain down the road if he does. With the salary cap expected to continue to grow (though perhaps not at the same rate), a $4.45MM cap hit might become more than reasonable for a two-way center with Dvorak’s ability. Unfortunately right now it will be compared to some of his contemporaries who have produced at a much higher rate in recent years. CapFriendly’s tool indicates that Victor Rask and Rickard Rakell are the closes matches for the deal, given they each signed six-year extensions in 2016 at the age of 23 (the same age Dvorak will be when the deal kicks in). Rask and Rakell were each coming off 20+ goal and 40+ point seasons, thresholds that Dvorak has still yet to eclipse in his short career, and both come in at substantially lower cap hits ($4.0MM and $3.8MM respectively). Rakell has thrived after being moved to the wing with 67 goals over the first two years of the deal, and while Rask has actually taken steps backwards offensively in consecutive years his point production still sat right around where Dvorak was in 2017-18.
The interesting part of a deal like this for Arizona though, is that the team normally doesn’t really have to worry about cap problems. Even after assuming dead cap hits like Dave Bolland and Marian Hossa, the team still finds itself with more than $10MM in space and one of the lowest salary totals in the league. Giving Dvorak a little bit extra in order to keep him in the desert long-term may have been necessary, and something that the team was obviously willing to do. Other teams around the league will likely feel the effects worse than Arizona when it comes to re-signing their own restricted free agents.
Jakob Chychrun Cleared To Skate
The Arizona Coyotes are hoping to make a run for the playoffs this season after an inspiring second half and several changes this summer. The team brought in Vinnie Hinostroza, Jordan Oesterle, Alex Galchenyuk and Michael Grabner, while retaining almost all of their key players—save for Max Domi, who was sent to Montreal. In order to really push for the postseason though they’ll need to stay healthy all season, and there was some more good news on that front today. Jakob Chychrun, who underwent his second knee surgery in a year back in April, has been cleared to skate according GM John Chayka who relayed the information to Craig Morgan of AZ Sports. Chychrun is just 17 weeks out from the procedure, and is expected to be a full participant in training camp.
That’s huge news for the Coyotes but also is extremely important for Chychrun, who is heading into the final season of his entry-level contract without an injury-free season under his belt. The 20-year old defenseman has played just 68 and 50 games in his first two seasons, limited by two major knee injuries already. While he’s been impressive in his ability to recover from surgery, he needs to prove that he can stay on the ice for an entire season before the team commits to him going forward. He’s shown an ability to log top-four minutes in the NHL even as a teenager, and now must start to fulfill his extremely high potential and dominate the league.
Chychrun dropped to 16th overall during the 2016 draft, but many felt that was due to overexposure and perhaps some disinterest during his final year of junior hockey. He had long been projected as a potential top pick given his obvious talent at both ends of the rink, but saw Olli Juolevi, Mikhail Sergachev, Jake Bean and Charlie McAvoy all go off the board ahead of him on draft day. He’s played more NHL games than any of them—in fact Juolevi and Bean are still waiting to make their debuts—but hasn’t quite shown his full potential in Arizona. With Oliver Ekman-Larsson signed to a huge extension, Chychrun could provide the Coyotes with a rock solid second option on the left side for many years to come.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Snapshots: Chychrun, Lambert, Legace
The Arizona Coyotes were shocked by how quickly Jakob Chychrun recovered year, as the then-19 year old defenseman made his return to the lineup just three months after undergoing knee surgery in August. This time they won’t be so surprised. Chychrun, who suffered another brutal knee injury at the very end of the season, is expected to be ready for training camp in September with the Coyotes according to Craig Morgan of AZ Sports. His remarkable ability to rehab doesn’t faze GM John Chayka at this point, who said that Chychrun is “just one of those guys who just recovers on his own schedule.”
That’s big news for the Coyotes, who are looking to ride a late-season surge last season all the way to the playoffs in 2018-19. After acquiring several players including Derek Stepan, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Antti Raanta last summer, Chayka was busy again in bringing in Alex Galchenyuk, Michael Grabner and Marcus Kruger to round out the lineup. All eyes though will be on the young core of Chychrun, Clayton Keller and Dylan Strome, who are the key to getting the Coyotes back to long-term respectability.
- The New York Islanders have shocked no one by hiring Lane Lambert as an assistant coach, reuniting him with Barry Trotz behind the bench. Lambert has worked alongside Trotz for the last seven seasons, prior to which he worked as the head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals implementing the same system Trotz was using while with the Nashville Predators. The two are almost inseparable at this point, and now face the task of returning the Islanders to success in 2018-19.
- As many have expected, the Columbus Blue Jackets have named former NHL goaltender Manny Legace as their new goaltending coach, promoting him from a similar position with their minor league affiliates. Legace, known as an incredibly consistent backup goalie during his playing career, is now an extremely well-regarded coach that was destined for the NHL ranks. He’ll get to work with two-time Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky in his first season in Columbus, but will likely focus more on preparing Joonas Korpisalo for the starting role should the team not be able to reach a contract extension with the former. Bobrovsky is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next summer, and could command a deal like Carey Price‘s eight-year $84MM extension.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson Officially Signs Eight-Year Extension
Though it had been confirmed for some time, the Arizona Coyotes couldn’t officially sign Oliver Ekman-Larsson to an extension until today. Now that they can, they quickly announced the eight-year extension for their star defenseman. The team did not release the financial details, but several reports have it totaling $66MM. The salary will be paid as follows:
- 2019-20: $8MM
- 2020-21: $8MM
- 2021-22: $10.5MM
- 2022-23: $10.5MM
- 2023-24: $10.5MM
- 2024-25: $8MM
- 2025-26: $5.25MM
- 2026-27: $5.25MM
After spending a full season listening to trade rumors about Ekman-Larsson as the team wasn’t sure it could sign their superstar defenseman, Arizona managed to lock him up. Part of the reason was the team’s second-half success as the team started winning in the second-half. That sign the team is heading in the right direction was a key reason Ekman-Larsson wanted to return. That doesn’t include all the changes that general manager John Chayka has made, ranging from bringing in veterans like Derek Stepan, Alex Galchenyuk, Michael Grabner and Antti Raanta, not to mention the influx of youth to the team like Clayton Keller, Dylan Strome, Christian Dvorak, Jakob Chychrun, Brendan Perlini. and 2018 first-rounder Barrett Hayton.
The team also brought in veteran countryman Niklas Hjalmarsson in a offseason trade last year, who has mentored the young 26-year-old. Now even Hjalmarsson has re-signed with Arizona for another two years, keeping the two together even longer.
Latest On The Arizona Coyotes & Phil Kessel
Part of Josh Yohe’s latest piece for The Athletic (subscription required) touched on the fact that Phil Kessel would be willing to play for the Arizona Coyotes due to his solid relationship with head coach Rick Tocchet. The problem, according to Yohe, was that the Coyotes are only looking to stay near the salary cap floor this season and had told the Penguins it likely wouldn’t be possible to take on Kessel’s salary. Now Arizona GM John Chayka wants to dispel any notion that he’d be stopped from going after Kessel because of financial reasons.
On Arizona Sports 98.7 today, Chayka sounded off about the report:
I’d like to know more about it, too. I think it’s terrible reporting. It’s inaccurate across the board from start to finish. I don’t know where some things come up. I’m the one having trade discussions, those discussions with the Penguins haven’t occurred. So unless someone else is making calls that I don’t know about, I’m not sure where his information is coming from.
I’m not sure where it’s coming from, but the basis of that reporting is not coming from anything tied to the Coyotes and certainly not anywhere close to factual.
Chayka by no means confirms that he is pursuing Kessel, but the fact that he reacted so strongly to the suggestion that the Coyotes are limited financially does make them an even more interesting team to follow this offseason. Arizona currently has around $57MM in salary obligations for next season, but that includes Dave Bolland‘s contract that will be mostly covered by insurance and no real important restricted free agents to sign. If they had the full salary cap to spend, the Coyotes could go on a shopping spree in free agency and certainly afford to bring Kessel on board.
More likely though is that Arizona will sit somewhere in the bottom third of the league once again and could even be a landing spot for another bad contract at the draft. Similar to the way they took on Bolland and Pavel Datsyuk in the past, Chayka could use his cap space to take a contract like Marian Hossa‘s off the books of Chicago in exchange for an asset.
It seems in this case as though a source was mistaken or perhaps was speculating on discussions between Pittsburgh and Arizona, though a trade between the two would likely benefit both. The Coyotes are looking to compete next season and could use another veteran star to support their young core, and the Penguins need to create some cap flexibility if they’re to do anything in free agency. Pittsburgh has several RFAs to get under contract, and currently less than $10MM in cap space to do it.
Coyotes Acquire Alex Galchenyuk From Canadiens For Max Domi
The first big trade of the 2018 off-season has dropped and to no surprise, the Arizona Coyotes are right in the middle of it. After making two minor deals on Thursday, Arizona GM John Chayka has made a much bigger trade, acquiring forward Alex Galchenyuk from the Montreal Canadiens. In return, Max Domi is headed to Montreal in a one-for-one swap. Both teams have confirmed the deal.
This trade is very much about both players getting a fresh start. Both Galchenyuk and Domi have been discussed as trade candidates this off-season and now they have been traded for one another. They are also similar in their struggles with both consistency and injury. Galchenyuk, the third overall pick in 2012, has shown flashes of brilliance but has yet to put it all together to reach his ceiling. Galchenyuk has 255 points in 418 NHL games, by no means a disappointing total, and even notched a 30-goal season in 2015-16. However, his scoring has been streaky and when he is not producing offense, his lack of a two-way defense game and difficulties at the face-off dot have become glaring. Under head coach Claude Julien, Galchenyuk struggled to find a defined role and lost play time as a result. On the other side of the deal is Domi, the 12th overall pick in 2013. After a breakout rookie campaign, Domi has been unable to produce at the same level the past two seasons. Altogether, he has 135 points in 222 games, but has failed to hit double-digit goals in each of the past two years and has also lost some of his two-way edge he displayed in year one. Like Galchenyuk, Domi’s issues at the dot and in playing a consistent well-rounded game had caused the Coyotes to question where he fit in their lineup.
The trade is even in many ways. The two players are almost identical in per-game scoring albeit Galchenyuk has done it over more seasons and clearly has a superior goal-scoring touch. Galchenyuk has a higher ceiling as an offensive producer but, while neither plays much of a physical game, Domi has shown a superior two-way ability and has been leaned on to play a bigger role in Arizona that Galchenyuk was ever asked of in Montreal. The deal is actually almost too similar, as both players get a much-need change, but both teams end up with the same type of player with positional questions and consistency issues. There is upside on both ends, but also bust potential for either acquisition. It is very much a gamble for both the Coyotes and Canadiens that their new player will somehow find their game in a way that the old player couldn’t. Both players are obviously talented, but need some work to reach their vast potential.
The only real significant difference in the deal could be a slight reprieve on the salary cap for Montreal. Galchenyuk is signed through 2019-20 at $4.9MM, while Domi is an impending restricted free agent who is unlikely to command that much given his recent struggles. While Galchenyuk will be an unrestricted free agent when his deal expires and could command market value, Domi is under team control for four more years. We will soon find out exactly how much the Canadiens value their new forward, as TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the team is already close on a new contract with Domi, indicating that this trade has been in the works for some time. LeBrun speculates that it will be a bridge deal; a reasonable assumption for a brand new player with some concerns to work through.
Coyotes, Sabres Swap Brandon Hickey For Hudson Fasching
It looks like another team will take a shot at signing prospect Brandon Hickey. The collegiate defenseman has been dealt for the second off-season in a row, this time from the Arizona Coyotes to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for minor league winger Hudson Fasching. Veteran forward and impending unrestricted free agent Mike Sislo will also head to Buffalo in the deal. Both teams have confirmed the trade and seem optimistic about re-signing their new prospects.
Hickey was originally acquired by the Coyotes last summer from the Calgary Flames as part of the Mike Smith trade. The Flames worried that they would not be able to sign the Alberta native, who they had drafted in the third round in 2014 but at the time had already played three seasons in the NCAA and was not yet looking to leave. A year later, the Boston University captain has graduated and apparently was not keen on signing in Arizona either/ He only has to wait until August to become a free agent, but the Sabres clearly hope to get him signed instead. A smart defensive blue liner with leadership qualities, Hickey would add experience and locker room presence to any pipeline and Buffalo could certainly use the blue line boost.
It’s likely that Buffalo was already given permission to have such contract talks with Hickey before this deal was made, otherwise it’s highly unlikely that they would have traded away a player like Fasching. Granted Fasching is an impending restricted free agent and, like Hickey, needs a new contract, the Sabres would have had more team control over Fasching than they do now with Hickey. Fasching also has pro experience, including 22 NHL games with the Sabres over the past three seasons. The 22-year-old American forward has not found the same offensive production in the pros that he exhibited with the University of Minnesota, but appeared to be back on track this season with a career-high 30 points in the AHL. Fasching brings a physical element that the Coyotes have often lacked and could be one of the top minor league options for the team moving forward.
As for Sislo, the 30-year-old forward put up good numbers in the AHL, but isn’t much of a threat to make a difference at the next level, whether he signs with the Sabres or another team. He may simply be a throw-in in this deal, given his impending free agency. This deal is primarily about two prospects getting a new opportunity to sign with a different team and filling specific, minor needs for each organization. It also continues a trend for each franchise: the BU-to-Buffalo pipeline for the Sabres and the Coyotes taking on high upside prospects that many others have written off.
Latest On Oliver Ekman-Larsson’s Future In Arizona
Recently we learned that Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019, has been given an eight-year, $66MM ($8.25MM AAV) contract extension offer by the Arizona Coyotes. The team is waiting for a decision from their superstar defenseman, though nothing can officially be signed until July 1st when Ekman-Larsson is less than a year away from free agency. Nothing stops the team and player from agreeing to terms before that date, and as hockey insider Bob McKenzie opines in his latest Bobcast for TSN, they could also potentially move to a different course of action depending on the answer.
The general sense from within the organization is they’re optimistic [he’ll re-sign]. They believe that Ekman-Larsson is more likely than not to want to stay for the next eight years in Arizona, and take the 8x$8.25MM deal. I’m not saying he’s not, only that I don’t think he’s made that final decision yet. Last I heard he was in France on a vacation—and I’m not sure if there’s a specific timeline here—but I would have to think in the next week or two, the Arizona Coyotes want to know from Ekman-Larsson and his representatives ‘is he prepared to commit to that long-term deal?’ Because if he’s not, then there’s no doubt in my mind that Arizona will try to trade him.
The fact that Ekman-Larsson hasn’t made a final decision yet isn’t surprising, as he only recently finished playing at the IIHF World Championship and has plenty of time to weigh all of his options. The interesting part though is that McKenzie believes that the Coyotes would try to trade him, presumably this summer, if they can’t get a deal. In fact, McKenzie goes on to say that he believes the team hasn’t ruled something like that out at this point:
I believe that Arizona has kept its options open in that regard. I don’t think that they’re being real proactive, picking up the phone and calling teams and saying ‘Hey do you want to trade for Ekman-Larsson?’ but I think they’re well aware of which teams are interested in Ekman-Larsson, and that there is ongoing dialogue that if a trade were to become necessary, how they would go about it. Their priority, no doubt about it, is to get Ekman-Larsson signed to that eight-year extension.
Obviously none of this is a concrete report that Ekman-Larsson will be traded, or that he will re-sign with the Coyotes in the coming weeks. He may not make a decision for months and the team could be fine waiting until part way through the season before making a final decision on his future. But the idea that Arizona would strongly consider a trade should he turn down the offer—which McKenzie believes is as high as the team is willing to go salary-wise—does add another intriguing name to the market this summer. A player like Ekman-Larsson could generate the most interest out of anyone not named John Tavares, and really change the market for a player like John Carlson who currently looks like the best puck-moving option available. Ekman-Larsson would come with just one year left on his contract, but could potentially sign an extension with any acquiring team right away.
Still, the 26-year old defenseman has never given any indication that he is frustrated with Arizona, despite the speculation that has surrounded him while the team struggles on the ice. After a relatively successful second half of the 2017-18 season, perhaps he believes the franchise is headed in the right direction with young players like Clayton Keller and Jakob Chychrun at the wheel. The team has gone out of their way to provide a support system for Ekman-Larsson has he dealt with a tough personal year, and it has never seemed like the relationship between organization and star has waned.
As we approach the NHL Entry Draft in less than three weeks, more player movement will surely arise and teams will start organizing their depth charts for the 2018-19 season. If the ball is truly in Ekman-Larsson’s court, he could drastically change the market on the draft floor by making a decision by then. Even if he takes the contract, strategies for the Coyotes and other teams could be altered, if only as another 2019 “Superclass” member drops off the table.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Free Agent Focus: Arizona Coyotes
Free agency is now a little more than a month away from opening up and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. Here is a breakdown of Arizona’s free agent situation.
Key Restricted Free Agent: F Max Domi – The 12th-overall pick from 2013 is an enigma for the Coyotes, who have received flashes of dominance and bouts of inconsistency from Domi throughout his young career. Few would argue with 135 points in 232 games for any forward before his age-23 season, but there is clearly more to get out of Domi as he heads out of his entry-level contract. After spending time at center this season his point totals were boosted by a late-season run, but he failed to eclipse the 10-goal mark for the second consecutive year. Perhaps because of that relatively disappointing total, trade rumors have popped up around Domi with the Pittsburgh Penguins showing interest.
While nothing is certain for any NHL player, the future for Domi is particularly unclear. Does he sign a long-term deal with the Coyotes this season to be a core piece of their rebuild, anchoring the top-six alongside Clayton Keller and others? Is a short-term bridge deal a better option for a player who has yet to really show his full potential in the NHL? Do the Coyotes use this summer to cash in on their asset before he becomes too expensive, and try to acquire a more veteran presence to help them win in the near future? With GM John Chayka loathe to lose out on young inexpensive assets, trading Domi at this point seems like the opposite of the Coyotes model. Perhaps Arizona will show patience and accept his 6.0% shooting percentage in 2017-18 as more of a bargaining chip than reason to move him.
Other RFAs: F Freddie Hamilton, F Laurent Dauphin, G Sean Maguire, D Dakota Mermis, D Trevor Murphy, G Marek Langhamer, F Michael Bunting
Key Unrestricted Free Agents: D Kevin Connauton – The Coyotes face a much more difficult crop of unrestricted free agents in the summer of 2019, when Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Niklas Hjalmarsson and others are scheduled to hit the free agent market. They also already dealt with Antti Raanta, their biggest question mark from this offseason, when they signed him to a new three-year extension. Still, Connauton has a pretty compelling case for a raise this summer from the $1MM he’s earned the last two years.
The 28-year old defenseman finished third on the Coyotes in scoring by defensemen with 21 points, and did so in limited minutes that included almost zero powerplay time. His 11 even-strength goals actually put him fourth on the entire team—not just among defensemen—and he tied for the lead with three game-winners. All that while playing just over 15 minutes a night, and getting relatively even zone starts (if not a little negative). There’s obviously an argument to be made to let Connauton walk, as the team will likely have Jakob Chychrun back and could get contributions from younger players—including perhaps one selected with the fifth-overall pick in the upcoming draft. His agent also recently told Craig Morgan of AZ Sports that like many other players, Connauton wants a bigger role. If that’s not possible in Arizona, perhaps he’ll find himself in a new sweater come October.
F Brad Richardson – Richardson’s fate may have been sealed when the Coyotes traded for Marcus Kruger in early May, as the former Carolina Hurricanes forward is expected to take over as the shutdown center for Arizona next season. The 33-year old Richardson then would be expendable, even if he has proven to be a big part of the leadership group for the club. His 15 points in 76 games this season were far from a career-high, but still represented a solid campaign for a player tasked with winning faceoffs and getting the puck out of his own end. Richardson had a whopping 66% defensive zone-start percentage, easily the highest on the Coyotes last season.
Centers are difficult to find on the open market, but there may be no room for Richardson any longer on a Coyotes team that is looking to contend for the playoffs in 2018-19. If Dylan Strome is truly ready to step into a full-time role in the NHL, it gives the team four—Derek Stepan, Christian Dvorak, Strome and Kruger—capable options down the middle with even more experience in other players on the roster. His market may lie elsewhere around the league as he’s proven himself a capable NHL option over the last decade.
Other UFAs: F Zac Rinaldo, D Luke Schenn, D Joel Hanley, F Pierre-Cedric Labrie, F Mike Sislo, F Tye McGinn
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Max Domi Linked To Pittsburgh Penguins
In this week’s 31 Thoughts Podcast with Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the two hosts enter into discussion over Arizona Coyotes forward Max Domi and where his future may lie. Domi has been involved in trade speculation for more than a year, and after his second consecutive season with fewer than 10 goals, that isn’t expected to end anytime soon. Friedman links Domi to the Pittsburgh Penguins this time around:
One of the things that I heard just around the Cup Final is that I think the Penguins have interest in him. There was a point last year where I thought he was going to get traded. His name was out there. I believe there are teams with interest, I believe Montreal for example had some interest in Max Domi. I think Pittsburgh is going through some changes, and Domi is one of the guys they’re really interested in.
The venerable insider goes on to note that Penguins’ owner Mario Lemieux and Tie Domi, Max’ father, are close friends. Though that doesn’t signify anything specific, the fact that Marek admits he’s also heard rumblings about the young Coyotes forward likely points to at least passing interest from Pittsburgh.
Domi, 23, was selected 12th-overall in 2013 but hasn’t become the true top line player many expected him to be. With 45 points in 2017-18 he’s clearly not a negative on the Coyotes roster, but after being a huge goal scoring threat in junior and notching 18 as a rookie he was expected to put up bigger totals as he progressed. That progression has taken him all the way to restricted free agency this summer, where he’ll have a very interesting case to negotiate with the Coyotes.
This season new head coach Rick Tocchet made the decision to move Domi back to center part way through the year, a position he hadn’t played since his first year of junior. Though he found mixed success at the position and eventually was moved back to the wing, the fact that he now has some added versatility to his resume could bring even more suitors out of the bushes. Teams like Pittsburgh may want to take a look at the young forward in the middle, especially if he can continue to be defensively responsible and distribute to his linemates. It’s important to note though that 18 of Domi’s 45 points came in his final 20 games as he was lining up on the wing.
If the Coyotes want to move onto the next wave of forwards, led by Clayton Keller and Dylan Strome, perhaps Domi is a name that they’d be willing to move out. Bringing back some more veteran talent to help the team win in the short term would go along with the moves that Arizona made last offseason, when they acquired Derek Stepan, Antti Raanta, Niklas Hjalmarsson and Jason Demers.
As a note—speculative as it might be—Tocchet’s close relationship with Phil Kessel has been widely reported, and with the news recently of the Penguins potentially considering a trade for the enigmatic forward, a fit could be found in Arizona. Kessel of course holds a list of just eight teams he can be traded to, and no discussions have been reported between the two sides. If the Penguins are interested in Domi though, they’ll have to pay a steep price. Whether he’s a perfect fit in Arizona or not, he still holds quite a bit of value to the Coyotes.