Arizona Coyotes deal Keith Yandle to Rangers for Duclair, Draft picks

Keith Yandle’s time in Arizona has come to an end

Sunday afternoon, the oft-rumored trade candidate was finally dealt to the New York Rangers, bringing Chris Summers and a fourth round pick in 2016 to the Big Apple in exchange for prospect Anthony Duclair, defenseman John Moore and two draft picks.

Puck Prose

To make the trade seem that much better, the two draft picks are a 2015 second rounder and a 2016 first rounder.

As part of the trade however, the Coyotes will be retaining half of what is left on Yandle’s salary, per Elliotte Friedman on Twitter. Yandle is still owed $5.75 million next season, so that’s the biggest damper.

Coyotes General Managaer Don Maloney said the following about Yandle in the teams official release:

“Keith Yandle was a terrific player and leader for us,” Maloney said. “We would like to thank him for all his contributions to the organization over the past nine seasons. We wish him and his family all the best in the future.”

Yandle has spent his entire career with Arizona — and in nine seasons as a Coyote racked up 311 points in 558 career games. He’ll leave as the franchise’s fourth leading scorer among defenseman.

In 2014-2015, Yandle was the Coyotes’ leading scorer with 41 points in 63 games — not bad, considering he’s on the blue line.

Unfortunately, not everyone was thrilled to have him around. During his time with Arizona, Yandle was certainly a target for Coyotes fans ire. Here is a sampling of some reactions today to the trade news.

With Yandle now out, the Coyotes brought back a pretty nice haul — most notably prospect Anthony Duclair. The 19-year-old Duclair is a former third round selection from the 2013 Entry Draft, and brings experience on NHL ice from a brief stint in New York this season. In 18 games with New York, he put up seven points before being sent back to his junior team in the QMJHL, the Quebec Remparts.

Flame for Thought

In 20 games with Quebec, Duclair has put up 25 points — and while last season he put up 99 points in 59 games, he’s got plenty to boast this year outside of his QMJHL appearance.  In coming to Arizona, Duclair brings some fond memories — of a pretty spectacular winter with one of the Coyotes’ top prospects.

That’s right — Duclair skated on the top line for Team Canada alongside Coyotes prospect Max Domi during the World Junior Championships held earlier this season.

During the tournament, Duclair put up eight points in seven games en route to a gold medal for his home country. Together with Sam Reinhart, he and Domi were a pretty fun line to watch — and Coyotes fans should be excited to get two thirds of that line at the NHL level.

Unfortunately, though, Coyotes fans will not be able to see Duclair at the NHL level for the rest of the season per the NHL CBA. The following is a good refresher on a Junior players elligibility from NHL.com.

"The NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement allows for nine games at the start of the regular season during which a player on his entry-level contract can be evaluated. The player can be returned to his junior team without his contract kicking in at any point before the player dresses for his 10th game.If the player skates in more than nine games, he still can be returned to his junior team, but the first year of his contract goes into effect and the player could reach free agency at an accelerated pace. Plus, once sent down after the nine-game mark, he can’t be recalled during that season, except under emergency conditions."

Regardless, he’s an exciting pickup. Don Maloney highlighted Duclair’s skill in the team’s release:

“Anthony Duclair is a dynamic, skilled forward who has size, speed and offensive talent,” Maloney said. “He will be a valuable addition to our organization.”

Duclair was just one of the additions that Maloney made in the trade, though — the Coyotes also acquired defenseman John Moore.

Moore is 24, and immediately makes the Coyotes blueline younger. The average age of the Coyotes roster defenseman is now just under 25, with four of them having played under 100 career NHL games. Moore has played in 125 career games over three seasons, though, as the former first rounder split his time between Columbus and New York. He has put up a total of 27 career points, with six coming this season.

The former first round pick will never be expected to replace Yandle’s point production, but should be able to stabilize the blueline.

“John Moore is a young, strong skating, puck moving defenseman who will solidify our core group on the blue line,” Maloney said.

Moore is a restricted free agent after this season, but the Coyotes should be able to retain him with his current salary of $850,500.

Our first chance to see John Moore — and more than likely Klas Dahlbeck — will be Tuesday at Gila River Arena.

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