Time for a Trade: Who Should the Arizona Coyotes move?
Prospect Packaging
Sep 25, 2013; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Phoenix Coyotes left wing Lucas Lessio (51) crushes into Calgary Flames goalie Reto Berra (29) during the first period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Phoenix Coyotes won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Ultimately, the Coyotes might have to be willing to take on some salary in order to pick up the kind of player they’re looking for. Not many teams with talent to spare are willing to take on salary, particularly from players that aren’t performing well on their own franchise.
In this instance, the most likely scenario would be the Coyotes picking up someone talented for a clump of prospects or a few draft picks. Naturally, it seems like a given that they’d stick David Schlemko in any package deal they make — but they might have to part with someone they like in order to get someone they need.
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If the team needs to get rid of a top Portland guy, my first recommendation would be either Lucas Lessio or Henrik Samuelsson. Both players are being developed for a similar role on the team, and it’s probable that only one of them is going to get slotted in where he wants to be. Many would prefer to see Lessio go first — he’s less exciting than Samuelsson, and he hasn’t immediately clicked with another up-and-comer like Samuelsson did with Domi. The team might want to hold on to Lessio, though, simply because he’s been categorized as a solid two-way player; it’s going to hurt, but they might need to let Samuelsson go.
Teams that might be willing to do this? The Islanders gave away pretty much every draft pick they have between now and the end of the world; they could be interested in giving away someone for the future relief, though I’m not sure who they’d be willing to give up. The Kings are still insanely broke (despite getting some cap relief for Slava Voynov, which I won’t even get into now), and might be willing to ship off a big-name player on offense to free up the space to replace Voynov on defense. Finally, the Colorado Avalanche are looking a little broke, and might be willing to dump some salary in hopes of picking up a blue liner at the trade deadline. Jamie McGinn could probably be acquired for peanuts, and he’s been known to bring that energy on offense that the Coyotes lack.
When a team needs to make a trade, it’s never going to be pretty. The Bruins and Blackhawks were both devastated to lose blue-liners over the summer, but they needed to make cap space. Such will be the case with the Coyotes — in order to get back a player that they need, they’ll have to part with someone that they want to keep.
Can we all agree that they’ve got to do something, though?
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