Coyotes don’t have a home for next season yet
TSN: Chris Johnston when asked what is going to happen with the Arizona Coyotes next season as they no longer have a place to play in Glendale and no new arena being built.
“Well, they’re still working on that. But I can say with certainty that they’re confident they will be in Arizona next season and beyond. On the front burner is trying to get an arena project, a permanent arena built in Tempe, Arizona.
That’s going to take a few years, so the Coyotes have to be creative. And among the things they have considered for future temporary homes is Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, it’s a domed stadium that in downtown Phoenix, they feel they can put an ice surface in there and play. And there is a precedent for this, many years ago the Tampa Bay Lightning did this while they were getting their own permanent rink built.”
Coyotes will look to add even more draft picks
Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic: The Arizona Coyotes already have three first-round picks and five second-round draft picks. At the trade deadline, they could add to that total by moving some pending free agents, including forward Phil Kessel. Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong:
“We’ve had honest conversations with Phil from the get-go. But Phil has been so good for us here. He’s come in and worked his butt off and played hard every single game for us. He’s someone that, as he gets older, still maintains his skating — that’s the greatest thing. He’s got that natural, goal-scoring ability. He continues to be good for us.’’
Reported earlier that the Coyotes tried to use their cap space as a third team in the Jack Eichel trade talks. The Coyotes will look to leverage their cap space at the trade deadline and at the draft.
“We’ve obviously tried to be very creative in trying to generate picks and we’re going to continue to do that all the way through,’’ Armstrong said. “That’s something we haven’t been shy about, trying to acquire picks and cap space because the flat cap has been at a premium. So, we’ve always tried to use that to our advantage and will continue to do so.’’