It is crazy to believe but the NHL Trade Deadline is about a month away. Yet, March 1st will come before anyone knows it. When fantasy hockey and trading collide, there is bound to be rumors and speculation.
The Arizona Coyotes are currently 15 points out of a playoff spot with many teams to pass. They have also played 48 games as of press time which means they do have games in hand. The Coyotes are nowhere near .500. They rank in the bottom five on the power play, have allowed nearly three goals a game, and just have been mediocre in every fantasy way too. How much does John Chayka sell is the real question?
NHL Trade Deadline Targets – Arizona Coyotes
Mike Smith – Goalie
Smith would be an intriguing trade asset but his fantasy value exceeds the acquisition value for many reasons. For one, the goalie faces over 34 shots per 60. He is likely not to face that kind of shot volume anywhere else. Second, that salary is prohibitive at a cap hit of $5.667 million for the next two plus years. Arizona would have to retain half the salary or very close. Even then, finding a partner may be daunting.
Stubbornly, the general manager is going to shoot for the moon before the prices come down. That is always the tradition before the trade deadline. The added wrinkles as far as the draft and expansion draft do add windows to make trades, however. Smith has a very low chance of being moved before March 1st (if zero).
Martin Hanzal – Center
Hanzal has had a disappointing season to say the least. He has 19 points in 40 games, including ten goals. Hanzal has 20 shots in his last five games and four points.
The thing is the center has the ability to produce points in two and three game spurts. Hanzal cannot crank out those five, six, or seven game streaks like he used to. Health is concerning. The forward has had one healthy season and that was seven years ago. Every season is the same thing over and over.
How about one more snag? He is almost 30 years old. On the bright side, the center is in the final year of his current deal which makes trading easier. Defensively, Hanzal is not much of a two way forward but then again maybe that improves on a better team. Hanzal might be able to fetch an early round draft pick and in some cases higher if the market is more compact than expected. His trade probability is very high.
Michael Stone — Defenseman
The defenseman has proven to be a liability for Arizona with just eight points in 36 games. He is on pace for about 17 points and when he is on the ice, the Coyotes do have an improved save percentage (5 on 5) at .935.
Defensive red flags are several. It is not the -7 but from an offensive standpoint, Stone does miss a lot of opportunities. He has 45 shots which is poor but misses more shots than hit. There are the 87 blocks which is almost 2.5 per game. That is a bit of an asset as well for fantasy purposes. A $4 million salary means salary retention is likely if a trade is pursued.
Chances are low as the Coyotes may not be able to sell off Stone and they may have better options in Luke Schenn or Kevin Connauton even. That is how far Stone’s stock has fallen. However, that 36 point campaign was only a year ago. Some team might take the leap!
