Ekman-Larsson may not be the only Coyote on the move this offseason
Sportsnet: Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet 960 on the Arizona Coyotes and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. OEL has a no-movement clause.
“I think there’s an understanding that the Coyotes want to move on and I think the player wants to move on, too. One thing I hear about Ekman-Larsson is he needs a new start. It’s just gotten a bit stale for him and the franchise and he needs somewhere else to go to rejuvenate himself.
“It’s not a guarantee he gets traded, but I think he’s willing to consider more places than he was last year.”
Ekman-Larsson could join the list of available defenseman and the free agent/trade market: Seth Jones, Alec Martinez, Vince Dunn, Dougie Hamilton, Mattias Ekholm, Rasmus Ristolainen
Coyotes Phil Kessel could be another Coyote on the trade block. He won’t bring back a large return.
Friedman adds that Coyotes goaltender Darcy Kuemper could be back in the rumor mill again this offseason.
“Kuemper’s going to be an interesting one because he can get them what they want, which are picks or prospects.”
Friedman on his 31 Thoughts Podcast said that he believes Ekman-Larsson and Kessel will be traded, then we’ll need to keep an eye on Kuemper and Conor Garland. Garland is a 25-year old RFA who will be looking for a raise.
Do the Golden Knights move a goalie and bring in a scorer?
Sportsnet: Chris Johnston on Sportsnet 650 said that some changes could be coming to the Vegas Golden Knights.
“I do think you would see some change there. They had trouble scoring when it mattered last year in the playoffs and went out and got Alex Pietrangelo…I just wonder if they try to make more of an impact in terms of bringing in a scorer or, as well as it’s worked this year and as great as Fleury and Lehner have been as a tandem, maybe they think about moving one of those guys to free up some room.”
The Golden Knights don’t have a lot of salary cap space to work with.