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Arizona Coyotes: Three Free Agents To Sign

By William Grigsby |

Free Agents Beleskey, Soderberg, And Irwin Can Help Arizona Coyotes

  • Matt Beleskey – Just a couple days ago bleacherreport.com was stating that Beleskey would probably re-sign with the Anaheim Ducks. Today, he still does not have a contract signed, and may be looking to test the free agent waters.

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According to a story done by sportsnet.com, the Ducks’ GM Bob Murray has made one last contract offer, and if it is rejected, they will attempt to trade him before the free agency deadline on July 1st.

“You gotta protect yourself. It’s not just the contract this year; it’s what it does to your team in future years. You’ve gotta be looking one, three, five, seven years out. You gotta see what that contract does to you, the term of it. There’s lots of things that go into this that people don’t see right off the bat.”

“It’s a bumpy road right now. I’m not going to lie. We’re going to take one more shot at it, and then we’ll have to move on,” Murray told Hockey Central at Noon Monday

Beleskey, who just had a birthday two weeks ago, turning 27 had a very good season, scoring 22g-10a, and posting a career-high plus-13 rating. Add in the fact that in 16 playoff games, he scored eight more times. All that performance for a mere $1.35-million cap hit. He will be a hot commodity on the trade ticker.

And, the Arizona Coyotes could certainly be one of those bidders. Beleskey 6′ 0″, 200 lbs is a left wing, and Martin Erat will be finding a new team, since the Yotes are not going to renew his $4.5M contract. That will give them salary cap space to make Beleskey a good offer, maybe one he can’t refuse, even to a team who finished poorly last season.

With 13g-31a in 82 games last season he is a bargain at the $2M-3.5M range. He’s a huge center-man coming in at 6″3″, 216 lbs. He may be a No. 2 or No. 3 line center-man. I know the Arizona Coyotes have quite a few center-men; if you see that they don’t take a Dylan Strome with their third overall pick this Friday, they may have Soderberg on their radar. I like that he is BIG, and played all 82 games, unlike our current BIG center-man, Martin Hanzal. Having two huge center-icemen can’t hurt. Clearing out the middle is a good thing. Max Domi can play center or left wing, so it would work out fine.

  • Matt Irwin – I wasn’t too aware of this D-man, until I looked him up. At age 27, and 6′ 2″ 210 lbs another large frame to add to the lineup for the Arizona Coyotes. I was impressed with his stats too. In 53 games last season he netted 8g-11a and had a +/- of +3. His past salary has been $1M, and he could demand as much as $2.5M to convince him to sign the dotted line. The Arizona Coyotes have made it known that they want another experienced defenseman, and this guy could very well be there for the taking. GM Don Maloney is a shrewd deal maker, and can put together something to aid OEL on the blue-line.

Any or all of these free agents seem to fit the mold of a Dave Tipppet coached team, and I believe would put the team back on the path of either making the playoffs again, or getting very close to that goal.

Much depends on the third overall draft pick, and who that will be. The team will change on Friday, and sure they didn’t get that marquee player McDavid or Eichel, but they will still get a very talented prospect who will change the team’s future for the better.

The Arizona Coyotes need to build their team, just like the Stanley Cup winner, Chicago Blackhawks have done.

Some pretty exciting thoughts for all you loyal Coyotes’ fans. Keep the faith, good things on are the horizon.

Next: Arizona Coyotes Fan: Envious Of Blackhawks Success

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