Arizona Coyotes Sign Jean-Sebastien Dea, Boko Imama
The Arizona Coyotes have added another minor league standout, signing Jean-Sebastien Dea to a two-year, two-way contract according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. The scribe reports that the deal will carry an average annual value of $750K in the NHL, though that isn’t actually possible as the league minimum will increase to $775K next season. Dea will earn $300K in the minor leagues.
Not to be forgotten is Bokondji Imama, who has re-signed with the team on a one-year, two-way contract. The 25-year-old had qualified for Group VI unrestricted free agent but will return to the team that gave him his first taste of NHL action this season.
Dea, 28, is an excellent AHL forward, capable of putting up big offensive numbers no matter where he’s playing. He had 26 goals and 52 points in 70 games with the Laval Rocket this year and also has experience with the Rochester Americans, Springfield Thunderbirds, and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins during his time in the minors. He also has 33 games of NHL experience, though any chance of him becoming an impact player at that level has long passed. He might get a handful of games in with the rebuilding club but is probably joining more for the Tucson Roadrunners than anything else.
The same is likely true for Imama, even if he did make his first NHL appearance this year. The 25-year-old played four games with the Coyotes and scored a goal, an impressive performance given he has never even reached double-digit tallies in the AHL. For Tucson this year he had five goals, 12 points, and 178 penalty minutes, bringing a physical presence to every shift.
Arizona Coyotes Acquire Patrik Nemeth
The Arizona Coyotes have helped relieve a tight cap situation in New York. They’ve acquired defenseman Patrik Nemeth from the New York Rangers, along with a 2025 second-round pick and conditional 2026 second-round pick, in exchange for Ty Emberson.
From New York’s perspective, the motives behind this move are clear. With the signing of Vincent Trocheck at a $5.625MM cap hit, the Rangers desperately needed to clear cap space in order to have enough room to ink their two important restricted free agents: Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil. Nemeth’s $2.5MM cap hit was a major barrier to their ability to get those deals done, so they’ve decided to pay a pretty hefty price in order to clear his deal off their books. The Rangers have paid the Coyotes a 2025 second-round pick and a 2026 second-rounder (that the Coyotes can choose to make a 2024 third-rounder) in exchange for defenseman Ty Emberson and the Coyotes taking on Nemeth’s deal.
Nemeth never quite worked out in New York, and quickly lost the trust of coach Gerard Gallant, who scratched him for the entirety of the team’s run to the Eastern Conference Final. Nemeth’s defense-first game was more ineffective than it had been in the past, and his envisioned role sheltering fellow Swede Nils Lundqvist never materialized as Lundqvist was quickly passed on the Rangers’ depth chart by Braden Schneider.
In Arizona, Nemeth will have a chance to play in a lower-pressure environment than in New York. As recently as 2021, Nemeth was viewed as valuable enough for a team to part with a mid-round pick to acquire him, so perhaps he can improve his play well enough in Arizona to become a tradeable asset once again, especially if Arizona is willing to retain half of his salary.
For the Coyotes, acquiring Nemeth gives them two valuable draft picks for cap space they were unlikely to use otherwise. GM Bill Armstrong has spoken about his desire to “build” drafts well in advance, adding picks not only for the next two seasons but the drafts in the future, where picks can typically be had for a discounted rate. He adds two second-rounders (or a second-rounder and a third-rounder) here, although he does have to surrender Emberson, who was a top-75 pick at the 2018 draft.
In Emberson, the Rangers are getting a defenseman who just played his first full professional season since signing out of the University of Wisconsin. Emberson played 58 games and scored 11 points. Emberson is a defense-first prospect who got time on both of the AHL Tucson Roadrunners’ special teams units, including a solid amount of time on their penalty kill. The Rangers will likely have Emberson in Hartford next season and will see if he can develop into an NHLer down the line.
Overall, it’s an expensive price for GM Chris Drury to pay for such a recent mistake, and losing two valuable future picks could end up biting the Rangers if they want to be as aggressive at the 2023, 2024, or 2025 trade deadlines as they were this past spring. That being said, even though it’s an expensive price to pay, it’s a move they really needed to make.
Arizona Coyotes Set To Sign Three Players
The Arizona Coyotes have signed Troy Stecher to a one-year, $1.2MM contract, according to Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK TV. Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports actually notes that it is worth $1.25MM, but the team has not announced the deal yet. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta also reports that the team is signing defenseman Josh Brown to a two-year contract. Morgan also notes the team is working on a contract with Nick Bjugstad. Bjugstad’s deal is one-year, $900K.
More to come…
Arizona Coyotes Sign Laurent Dauphin
After he received the most NHL playing time of his career this season, minor league veteran Laurent Dauphin is headed back to the desert. Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports that Dauphin is in agreement with the Arizona Coyotes on a one-year, two-way contract worth $750K at the NHL level. It also includes a $400K minor league guarantee.
Dauphin’s signing returns him to Arizona for the third time. Dauphin was drafted 39th overall by the Coyotes at the 2013 draft and was re-acquired by them in 2018, a year after being shipped to Chicago in the Niklas Hjalmarsson deal. Dauphin has spent the last three seasons playing closer to home in the Montreal Canadiens organization, mostly with the Laval Rocket. In Laval, Dauphin was an important top-six center, scoring relatively close to a point-per-game rate and being among their most heavily utilized forwards.
This season, as the Canadiens endured a nightmarish season, Dauphin earned a call-up and an increased role after the Canadiens shipped away numerous veteran players at the trade deadline. Under Martin St. Louis, Dauphin played a larger NHL role than he’d ever played before and was utilized as a middle-six centerman. Obviously, that was more due to necessity than Dauphin’s true talent level, but it would be misleading to say anything other than Dauphin performed better than expected at the NHL level. He had 12 points in 38 games and provided an up-tempo, high-energy game.
He’ll bring that to either the Coyotes or the Tucson Roadrunners, and be someone coaches can rely on. He may not get the same NHL opportunity he got with Montreal, but at the very least he’ll be an impactful AHL player for a Roadrunners club that could be stocked with prospects next season.
Arizona Coyotes Extend PTO to Grigori Dronov
While the Colorado Avalanche and Pittsburgh Penguins were handing out long-term extensions to Valeri Nichushkin and Rickard Rakell respectively, and as the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired their next starting goalie in Matt Murray, a few bits of business were still getting done around the league, with a pair of minor leaguers getting contract extensions, and the Coyotes extending an invite to training camp.
The first of these is the Minnesota Wild extending goaltender Zane McIntyre with a one-year, two-way contract extension to stay in the organization according to CapFriendly. The contract is worth $750K at the NHL level and $300K at the minor league level, but does guarantee the goaltender a minimum of $325K. McIntyre appeared in eight games with the Boston Bruins back in 2016-17, but has otherwise made a solid career in the AHL, most recently splitting the 2021-22 season between the Tucson Roadrunners and the Iowa Wild.
- Shortly thereafter, the Nashville Predators extended forward Jimmy Huntington on a one-year, two-way contract worth $750K at the NHL level and $80K in the minors, leaving him an RFA at the conclusion of the deal, per CapFriendly. Huntington spent five years in the QMJHL, finishing his career with an incredible 92 point season with the Rimouski Oceanic in 2018-19 before turning pro, spending parts of the previous three seasons between the ECHL and AHL. The undrafted forward spent 2021-22 with the Syracuse Crunch and Milwaukee Admirals, putting up 13 goals and 22 assists in 61 games combined.
- The Arizona Coyotes have made a move to continue looking at depth options, extending a professional tryout to defenseman Grigori Dronov, according to CapFriendly. An undrafted free agent, Dronov has spent his professional career as a member of Magnitogorsk Metallurg in the KHL, featuring as a steady defenseman, though not much of a point producer. Dronov also appeared as a member of team Russia at the 2017 World Junior Championships, where he had one point in seven games.
Arizona Coyotes Extend Christian Fischer, Cam Dineen
While seemingly going unqualified today, the Arizona Coyotes have extended right wing Christian Fischer on a one-year contract, according to the team. PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan reports the deal is worth the equivalent of his qualifying offer, coming in at $1,125,875 for the one year. That could suggest Fischer and Arizona agreed to terms before qualifying offers were due today. The team also extended defenseman Cam Dineen on a one-year, two-way deal with undisclosed financial terms.
Drafted in the second round in 2015, Fischer’s development has plateaued in the past few years. While he likely won’t be the high-end middle-six power forward Arizona thought they were drafting, he’s still a decent contributor and, most importantly for Arizona, an experienced NHL player under contract. It helps matters that Fischer’s physical and exciting brand of hockey has endeared him to Coyotes fans, making it certainly a wise business decision to keep him around.
Fischer will be just the eighth Coyotes forward on a one-way contract next season. With Arizona needing to hit the cap floor, they’ll likely throw some money around in free agency to get players some cash that they wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else, but it’s a risky bet on having enough players and enough money. Retaining players like Fischer is crucial for the franchise to survive the next few years on and off the ice.
In 53 games last season, Fischer had five goals in 10 points. He has 84 points in 318 games in the desert.
Dineen 24, registered seven assists in his first 34 NHL games last season. The team’s third-round pick in 2016 figures to be a contender for their seventh defense spot next season and could even lock down a bottom-pairing role.
Arizona Coyotes Acquire Zack Kassian
We have another trade. The Coyotes, who earlier tonight cashed in some of their draft capital to move up to the 11th overall pick, are making another move. They have acquired forward Zack Kassian, the 29th overall pick, a 2025 second-rounder, and a 2024 third-rounder from the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for pick 32. To put it more simply, the Oilers are moving down two spots and trading two future mid-round picks in order to clear Zack Kassian’s contract off their books.
The Oilers, desperate to improve their team after an encouraging run to the Western Conference Final, want to be active this offseason in making improvements to their roster. They have been interested in a variety of goalies, but with cap space at an absolute premium, they have now decided they’ll need some more wiggle room in order to get a deal done. Trading Kassian’s cap hit gives GM Ken Holland more room to work with as he chases free agent goalies, such as Jack Campbell, or other established players in free agency.
For the Coyotes, this move adds a few more picks to GM Bill Armstrong’s stockpile. The Coyotes add two decently valuable picks as well as the right to move up a few spots in tonight’s draft in exchange for taking on Kassian, who had six goals and 19 points in 58 games this year. If Kassian can perform well in Arizona, it’s possible that the Coyotes will have the option to retain salary on his deal in order to flip him to another club. For now, though, the main priority will be the draft picks acquired in the deal.
We knew going into this summer that teams such as Chicago and Arizona would be active in weaponizing their cap space in order to acquire future assets. Now, on the night of the draft, both teams have made moves to do exactly that.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was first on the details.
Arizona Coyotes Select Logan Cooley Third Overall
With a chance to kickstart their rebuild with seven picks in the first two rounds, the Arizona Coyotes got things started with USNTDP standout Logan Cooley. The shifty center may be the most skilled player in the entire draft, capable of weaving between defenders with speed, creating space with his incredible edgework, or using his quick hands to finish close to the net.
There are some who believe Cooley might have the highest upside out of anyone available today, giving the Coyotes a potential franchise center to build around as they go through their ASU transition period.
Notably, Cooley isn’t headed directly to the NHL, as he is committed to the University of Minnesota for next season, where he’ll join a powerhouse program that should be in contention for the national championship. For Arizona, delaying his entry into the league actually might make some sense, as they continue to collect draft picks over the next few years.
There has been some debate over whether Cooley’s size–he measured 5’10.5″, 180 lbs at the combine–will hold him back at the professional level, but there’s no denying the upside in his offensive game. The thing that made some people believe Cooley should go even higher than this–some had him at the very top of their board–is that it’s not all offense; the Pittsburgh native is a tenacious backchecker that can make an impact all over the ice.
For Arizona, who have two more first-round selections tonight and four more second-round picks tomorrow, Cooley will be at the head of a huge influx of talent over the next few years. The team has barely any players signed long-term, more trades coming for the ones that are, and a brand new identity to be forged as they prepare for a new Tempe arena. The young center is the first true building block for that identity.
Offseason Notes: Chychrun, White, Dallas
It’s been a while since we’ve heard Jakob Chychrun‘s name atop trade rumors, especially when considering how he was viewed as one of the hottest commodities ahead of the Trade Deadline. It’s not often an under-25 defenseman with top-pairing pedigree becomes available, but the Arizona Coyotes decided not to move him just yet. That could change, however, as the Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger reports that the Blue Jackets and Coyotes are talking about a deal. While he couldn’t offer Chychrun’s name specifically, he also reminds that Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen has said that the team could move their 12th overall pick at the 2022 draft in exchange for a young NHL player with term.
Chychrun certainly fits that bill, signed at just $4.6MM through 2025. It also matches up with the rumblings that Columbus is looking to add aggressively on defense, as multiple reports suggested they were in discussions with the Tampa Bay Lightning about landing Ryan McDonagh. If Arizona acquired the 12th overall selection, it would give them a jaw-dropping four first-round picks in addition to their five second-round picks.
- There’s significant interest in soon-to-be free agent Colin White after he was placed on waivers for the purpose of a buyout today by the Ottawa Senators. TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports that up to 14 NHL teams have shown interest in White over the past few months, which could lead to a significant bidding war for his services once free agency opens. TSN’s Darren Dreger specifically names the Montreal Canadiens as a team that could be a fit, as general manager Kent Hughes was his agent prior to getting hired in Montreal.
- The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta says the Dallas Stars are looking to add a significant punch at forward this offseason, specifically to add a jump to a line with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. Dallas will reportedly be active on both the trade and free-agent markets, looking to be aggressive and squeeze out whatever this core has left in them to try and win a championship. Neither Benn nor Seguin, who are making above $9MM per season each, cracked the 50-point mark last year.
No Movement On The Jakob Chychrun Trade Front
After being at the forefront of trade speculation for most of last season, Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun hasn’t been mentioned in trade talk as much in recent weeks. At this point, it doesn’t seem as if he’ll be on the move as GM Bill Armstrong told Craig Morgan of PHNX Sports that there hasn’t been much movement on the trade front when it comes to the 24-year-old. Arizona’s asking price before the trade deadline was reported to be in the range of three first-round picks (or equivalent assets) or slightly more than that and evidently, no one came in with a big enough offer to get him. Chychrun, who has three years left on his deal with a team-friendly $4.6MM, is coming off a bit of a down year and while the Coyotes will certainly listen to offers at the draft, they may be better off seeing if he has a strong start in 2022-23 to try to bolster his value.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- Ethan Bear isn’t the only pending Hurricanes RFA blueliner that is being allowed to speak to other teams in the league as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that defenseman Anthony DeAngelo has been granted permission to shop his services. The 26-year-old was one of the biggest bargains in the league in 2021-22, picking up 51 points in 64 games with just a $1MM AAV. DeAngelo is arbitration-eligible this summer and with Carolina having a lot of key players to re-sign, there may be a price point that’s too rich for them to agree to. Allowing DeAngelo to speak to other teams will give everyone a better understanding of what his market could be this summer.
- ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports (Twitter link) that former Montreal assistant GM Scott Mellanby no longer appears to be in the running for the GM position with the Sharks. Interim GM Joe Will indicated on Friday that the plan is for the team to hold three to five in-person interviews with the hope of making their choice soon after. Rangers’ Hockey Operations Coordinator Mike Grier and Ray Whitney (who currently works for the Department of Player Safety) are believed to still be in the mix for the position.