Arizona Coyotes are better off without Tobias Rieder

The Arizona Coyotes are at an impasse with Tobias Rieder and his agent in contract negotiations. Perhaps this dispute could be a blessing in disguise for the franchise moving forward.

The Arizona Coyotes are a team that has been constantly looking to get younger, faster, stronger and higher scoring.

One of the earliest members of this youth movement was a young trade pickup by the name of Tobias Rieder.

A wash up in the Edmonton Oilers organization, Rieder was considered an AHL talent at best by Edmonton and not worth a contract. So Edmonton moved his rights to the then Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Kale Kessy and Phoenix signed Rieder to an entry-level contract.

Every Coyotes fan knows what Rieder has done since.

Edmonton belatedly became acutely aware of Rieder’s talents as well.

Now you can’t help but giggle at those two Rieder goals, whether at Taylor Hall’s coughing up of a puck at the blue line (imagine that) or the atrocious Edmonton defense on the second goal (Edmonton have a terrible defense? No way!).

I do every time I watch this video.

And, by the way, Kessy went on to be significantly less successful than Rieder, splitting most of his time between the AHL and the ECHL within the Edmonton system.

Now Toby Rieder has finished his entry-level deal and the talks between the Arizona Coyotes and Rieder’s camp have stalled.

Things have taken a serious tone as Rieder’s agent has threatened to take his client’s talents to the KHL.

Many fans would hear this threat and have the knee-jerk reaction of “give the man his money” towards new Arizona Coyotes General Manager John Chayka.

It’s understandable.

Rieder was one of the first steps towards youth by the Coyotes. He kills penalties, drives possession and could jump into a power play, using his speed and skating talents to his advantage.

But Rieder’s roster spot is a precarious one.

He’s a top-6 kind of player and if you don’t think he’s top-6, he’s certainly a top-9 talent. He deserves that kind of money and it isn’t necessarily that Arizona doesn’t have the money to cough up, but rather that they don’t have the space.

The reason? The same reason Rieder was brought into Arizona in the first place; youth.

The Arizona Coyotes are stocked to the brim with youth on the wings, a position the team has been thin at since their 2012 Western Conference Finals run. And since that depth in youth is so deep, that makes a guy like Rieder expendable, as unfortunate as it seems.

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Now none of this ‘hot take’ is a knock on Tobi Rieder. He is an outstanding talent with all the skills in his toolbox to be a great NHL player.

But every player’s time with an organization must come to an end, no matter how great.

We saw that with Antoine Vermette‘s buyout, as did we with Kyle Chipchura‘s free agency departure. Moreover, we will likely see that with Zybnek Michalek in the near future and at some point, Shane Doan will have to let us go.

We are all acutely aware that Dylan Strome is ready to break into the NHL, and some think Christian Dvorak is even more prepared than Strome.

But beyond those two, Arizona has a gaggle of young wingers who may ready for NHL ice time, most namely Brendan Perlini, Christian Fischer, Michael Bunting and Conor Garland.

Many of them looked excellent in the prospect development camp.

The way the line projections for the Coyotes are looking, none of them have an outstanding shot at making the opening night roster unless the Arizona Coyotes let Rieder go.

The end point is this; if they go down this route, the Arizona Coyotes need to trade Tobias Rieder’s rights.

Next: Arizona Coyotes: Rapid hockey growth in the desert

Rieder deserves to have the money and ice time he’s earned, as do the prospects below him on the depth chart. It’s in his best interests for sure, but it might also be worthwhile for the Arizona Coyotes organization long term.

It may incur the wrath of fans, but it’ll yield another pick/prospect for the team and give fans the chance to get some new Coyotes merchandise. I know I’m chomping at the bit for a Conor Garland shir-zy myself.