Arizona Coyotes build offensive depth with Christian Dvorak signing

After two seasons with the Arizona Coyotes, forward Christian Dvorak has signed a six-year contract extension with a youthful Coyotes squad that is shooting for a competitive 2018-19 season.

As the Arizona Coyotes continue to make signings to strengthen their offense for the upcoming 2018-19 season, it was only a matter of time that Coyotes GM John Chayka extended an offer to forward Christian Dvorak for a brand new contract.

Drafted by the Coyotes with the 58th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, Dvorak has started to display his true potential in the past two seasons with 30-point seasons, with last season being his best by recording 37 points. However, there is plenty of room for improvement for the 22-year-old forward.

Taking a look at the new contract, it does raise some questions for a third line center who has only reached 30 points in the past two seasons. The Coyotes have signed Dvorak to a six-year contract that is worth nearly $4.5M per season, and although this may seem like a lot for a third line center, according to Chayka, the signing is all just another part of a larger plan.

According to an article written by Richard Morin of the Arizona Republic, Coyotes GM John Chayka said, ” (The extension) lined up extremely well with what we wanted to do in keeping this group together,” Chayka said. “We’ve got to be able to make things work and make things fit. The way this is structured and way this lines up allows a lot of benefit and a lot of reward.”

According to Chayka, the idea of the signing is to be able to build a sustainable winner in the Coyotes. The expectation of the Dvorak signing is that it will allow the Coyotes to be able to offer great value at a cut-rate when the time comes for the Coyotes to be able to retain other young, and promising talents on the Coyotes squad.

According to an article written by Jared Clinton of The Hockey News, Chayka said “The (Clayton) Kellers, the (Christian) Fischers, the (Jakob) Chychruns, the (Brendan) Perlinis, et cetera, they’re all going to be coming out of their entry-level deals here soon and we’ve got to be able to make things work and make things fit,” Chayka said. “The way (Dvorak’s extension) was structured and the way that this lines up for us in the future allows us a lot of benefit and a lot of reward to keep this group together, keep growing with it and allows us to supplement with some outside players as well.”

Was this a good signing?

Despite the huge gamble that Chayka is putting on a young third line center, it is easy to believe that this signing for Dvorak is good in the terms of being able to build on the Coyotes offensive depth.

As the Coyotes continue to focus towards building a system that is focused of speed and skill, Dvorak is able to continue to help the Coyotes stay within this system, while also allowing the Coyotes to keep at least some muscle within their lineup.