The Arizona Coyotes avoided the RFA meltdown BUT…..
Craig Morgan of The Athletic: John Chayka avoided the logjam by signing players like Christian Dvorak, Jacob Chychrun, and Nick Schmaltz to longer deals early in the process. This was to avoid the logjam.
“I don’t think it was being clairvoyant or anything like that,” said Chayka, the Coyotes president of hockey operations. “There was a number of top-end players all coming due at a similar time so it felt like there was a good chance there would be a logjam. We didn’t want to be caught in it so we did deals we felt were fair — good for the player and good for the team. We viewed it as a partnership so we weren’t trying to win any deals as much as get good deals done and continue to grow.”
Again, risks come as eventually other RFA’s spring up. Clayton Keller, Vinnie Hinostroza, and Christian Fischer are next to be signed. Keller expects to cost the most by far and away. Needless to say, things could get interesting in Arizona.
A quick Jake Gardiner tidbit…
James (Account4Hockey): The feeling on Jake Gardiner is that he is not waiting for Toronto. Instead, he is looking towards teams like Buffalo and even the Arizona Coyotes. Buffalo would have to move Rasmus Ristolainen or someone equivalent in salary.
Ken Holland and the 3C?
Jim Matheson: Unlike the Arizona Coyotes, Ken Holland and the Edmonton Oilers just need a third-line center that can be versatile. Losing out on Derrick Brassard was not terrible but pickings are slim. Riley Sheahan definitely could fit that bill and for cheap.
Players expected to be traded in 2019-20
Matt Larkin of The Hockey News: So, who heads up the list of players to be traded in 2019-20. Naturally, Rasmus Ristolainen and Jesse Puljujarvi top this list and they will move. So, who else?
Some other names include Jared Spurgeon and Mike Hoffman. Also, Mike Green and Justin Faulk may finally get moved. Once these players have more desirable contracts, they get shipped out. The biggest name may just be Chris Kreider. Kreider is on a team with barely any cap space. What will New York do?
