As the trade deadline approaches, we’ll be doing a team-by-team look at who should be buying and selling and which players might be on the move. Today, we have Arizona Coyotes.
The Situation
The Coyotes had a firesale last summer and there’s another one right around the corner.
Over the offseason, Arizona shipped captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland to the Vancouver Canucks, goaltenders Darcy Kuemper and Adin Hill to the Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks respectively, and young pivot Christian Dvorak to the Montreal Canadiens.
Arizona also added some more draft picks by using their excess salary cap room to take on some problematic contracts, such as Andrew Ladd, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Anton Stralman.
All told, the Coyotes have managed to stockpile an absurd amount of picks. They’re currently slated to select eight times in the first two rounds of the 2022 draft and they have multiple picks in the second and third rounds of the 2023 draft.
To the surprise of nobody, the Coyotes are one of the worst teams in the league this season. They own a 10-25-4 record and are in an intense tanking battle with the Habs for top draft lottery odds.
This is an organization fully invested in rebuilding through the draft and selling off whatever is left on the roster ahead of the trade deadline will help them do exactly that.
Players to Watch
Given Arizona’s situation, there aren’t going to be many (if any) players who are off the table.
The Coyotes have 15 different players who are set to become unrestricted free agents at the end of the season and a handful of them would make solid rental options for teams gearing up for playoff runs.
Phil Kessel is the biggest name of the bunch. Now 34 years old, Kessel only has five goals in 39 games this season, but he’s only one year removed from reaching the 20-goal plateau in 56 games. Kessel has a wealth of experience as he was a key cog in the back-to-back Stanley Cups won by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.
Travis Boyd was brought in last offseason on a dirt-cheap one-year deal worth $750,000 and he’s provided the Coyotes some excellent value. Through 31 games, Boyd has doubled his career-high in goals with 10 and he boasts some of the best underlying numbers on the team. He’d be a nice addition for any team pressed up against the salary cap ceiling.
Johan Larsson is another inexpensive player who’s quietly having a nice season for the Coyotes. Signed in 2020 to a two-year deal worth $1,400,000 annually, Larsson has 15 points through 27 games despite starting two-thirds on his shifts in the defensive zone.
Other veterans on the Coyotes who could be of interest as rentals are Ryan Dzingel and Ilya Lyubushkin, both of whom are on cheap deals. Anton Stralman, Jay Beagle, and Antoine Roussel are decent veterans but are expensive for what they bring at this stage.
Beyond the rentals, the Coyotes also have some young talent that could net the team a massive return if they decide to pull the trigger. At the top of that list is Jakob Chychrun.
Chychrun was ranked No. 3 on Frank Seravalli’s Trade Targets list earlier this month and seeing him moved before the trade deadline wouldn’t at all be a surprise. Chychrun is having a down season with just eight points in 28 games, but he’s young, on a great contract, and received Norris Trophy votes in 2021, so it’s easy to see why a lot of teams would be interested.
Seravalli mentioned that Chychrun was general manager Bill Armstrong’s only untouchable last year, so if he’s willing to move the young defender now, it’s fair to assume that any Coyote could be had.
Lawson Crouse has grown into a strong two-way winger and is putting together the best season of his career offensively with 10 goals and 20 points in 38 games. His cap hit is only $1,533,333 and he’s a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
One final name to mention is Shayne Gostisbehere, who’s revitalized his career in Arizona. He was moved last summer as a cap dump but is putting together his best season in years. Through 39 games, Gostisbehere has 24 points and is logging 22:07 per game.
He has a cap hit of $4.5 million for one more season, but if the Coyotes were willing to retain some of his salary they might be able to get a team to pony up a solid return for the veteran puck-moving defender.
More must-reads: