'Yotes Notes: Arizona Coyotes Free Agency Team Needs

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Happy Tuesday Coyotes fans! This week’s ‘Yotes Notes focuses on free agency and where the team should focus their efforts (and money) as one of the most exciting days on the hockey calendar kicks off Wednesday July 13, at noon ET.

This past season was the first time the team was honest with the fans about the direction that the team needed to head in. As painful as it was to watch names like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Conor Garland, and every rostered goalie leave town while the team “foolishly” picked up the bad contracts of other team’s aging vets, the team quietly stockpiled draft picks in hopes of hitting it out of the park on future prospects.

To the casual Coyotes fan, or hockey fan from the outside looking in, this seems like business as usual in the desert.

The reality is, the team has been searching for an identity since they arrived in Glendale.

From being owned by the NHL to being passed around from one owner to the next, the team has finally found an ownership group that represents the demographics of the Valley, but also has an honest interest in keeping the team in Arizona. Vegas has proved that Hockey can be successful in the desert if the team puts a good product on the ice.

To the outsider this team looked like a mess on paper. Shades of the movie Major League. Aside from Clayton Keller, Nick Schmaltz, and Jakob Chychrun, the team rostered a collection of has-beens, no names, and up-and-coming talent. Sadly, the season did not end with the team defying all odds and winning their division. Actually, they did not even come close.

They came in dead last in the Western Conference.

What they did do was unearth some super stars and a nucleus to build a winning team around. Some unexpected successes give this team excitement moving forward. The development of Keller and Schmaltz into legitimate super stars, and the rise of goalie Karel Vejmelka, and defenseman Dysin Mayo into roster studs have this team closer to being a playoff team than perennial bottom feeders.

This time tomorrow many teams should be in the middle of bidding wars for the services of some of the NHL’s elite talent. As a hockey fan, it is fun seeing players chase money and rosters changing.

Many of these players are about to get paid.

The top free agents that should draw the most interest include Johnny Gaudreau, Nazem Kadri, John Klingberg, Patrice Bergeron, Evgeni Malkin, and former Coyote goalie Darcy Kuemper.

I hate to burst our collective bubble, but the Coyotes are probably not going to be pursuing any of the aforementioned names, in spite of the fact that the team is loaded with cap space. With the NHL salary cap floor sitting at $61,000,000 (the amount a team must spend on their active roster) and the team’s current total cap $54,381,042, the team must spend money to meet the cap floor (currently sitting at $6,618,958 below the cap floor and about $28 million below the cap ceiling).

How much will they spend is up in the air. I guarantee you this- the team will not come close to the cap ceiling.

Finishing dead last in the Western Conference means that the team has holes at pretty much every position on the roster. Lets take a look at a few (realistic) free agents that the Coyotes should reach out to, that could have a sizable impact on the team next season.

Martin Jones is a veteran goalie that could help the development of Vejmelka, and provide stability to the back up position. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Goalie Martin Jones

Karel Vejmelka is the starter of the present and future for the Arizona Coyotes. Make no mistake about that. Regardless of being in a rebuild, the team can not afford to play goalies that are not NHL ready. Period.

Too many games last year felt like the team was in desperation mode (remember, rebuild!), and too many times fans had to ask “who is in net?” The team could help Vejmelka’s growth by adding a veteran goalie like Martin Jones.

Jones is clearly not the goalie that he was when he played initially played in San Jose (had four consecutive 30 win seasons and three consecutive sub 2.55 GAA seasons), but the savvy veteran can still play in the NHL. That is something that we can not say about some of the guys that we had in net last season. Would Jones want to play for a rebuilding team? Maybe. I am not sure what the market is for Jones after struggling off and on the past two seasons. I do not see a legitimate contender offering Jones a contract thus opening the door for a team like the ‘Yotes to pay Jones for his services. He could be the mentor and calming presence that the team needs in net for the next few seasons. Last season Jones played for the Philadelphia Flyers on a 1 year/$2 million contract. The team could easily afford Jones and could even pay him slightly more than other teams, as the Coyotes need to spend some cash.

Erik Gudbranson would be a welcome addition to the Coyotes. (Photo by Derek Leung/Getty Images) /

Defenseman Erik Gudbranson

At 6’5 220 lbs, Erik Gudbranson is a hulking defenseman that hits, blocks shots, and would pair nicely with Victor Söderström, or J.J. Moser. Since being drafted by the Florida Panthers with the 3rd overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Gudbranson has failed to live up to the expectations that typically come with a player drafted that high (think of Chris Phillips of the Ottawa Senators).

Gudbranson has moved around a bit during his career spending time with Florida, Vancouver, Pittsburgh, Anaheim, Ottawa, Nashville, and Calgary. There is a reason that the 30 year old defensemen continues to find work though. He is nasty and brings a mean edge to his team.

The Coyotes are currently stock piling offensive talent and if all goes well, they should be set up front in the next few seasons. Their backend has Jakob Chychrun (who will find his game again and rejoin the elite category again), and puck moving defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. The team has always been built from the net out, typical of a team that is trying to win games “the hard way”. If the Coyotes were to sign Gudbranson, he would fit right in as a player who would help minimize opponent’s shots on net (last season Gudbranson blocked 92 shots), and wear out opposing teams with his physicality (145 hits last season). He could also contribute offensively as he scored 6 goals last season.

If the team decided to sign Gudbranson, the projected defensive pairings would look like this

Jakob Chychrun -Dysin Mayo

Shayne Gostisbehere- J.J. Moser

Victor Söderström -Erik Gudbranson

Vladislav Kolyachonok

Conor Timmins

Haydn Fleury (center) and Ryan Donato would fill multiple roster holes and would be a part of the Coyotes long-term plans. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images) /

Defenseman Haydn Fleury and Left Wing/Center Ryan Donato

Surprisingly the Seattle Kraken did not offer Donato or Fleury contracts and both are entering free agency. Both of these players would fit nicely on the Coyotes and neither would be looked at as rental players or guys brought in to fill a roster for one year.

Haydn Fleury was once a first round pick (seventh overall pick in 2014, Carolina) and has very high upside still. He is an offensive defenseman who could thrive in the desert if paired with a player like Chychrun or Gostisbehere. Fleury is 6’3 208 lbs and is 26 years old. With all of the speed and skill coming down the pipeline in the next year or two, Fleury could be a big time player on this club. Given his upside he should have plenty of suitors lining up on Wednesday. The Coyotes could outbid pretty much anybody, given their cap situation.

Advantage: Coyotes.

Ryan Donato will go down as the answer to a trivia question (the player who scored the first goal in Kraken history), but has tremendous offensive skill. Donato has great hands, and above average speed, and at 26 is just entering his prime. This past season he scored 16 goals, 15 assists, and 31 points on the expansion Seattle Kraken. If the Coyotes decided to sign Donato, he would fit nicely on the second line, and could play either center or left wing (probably would play left wing). A line featuring Lawson Crouse, Jack McBain and Ryan Donato would provide some much needed secondary scoring.

Donato should have many teams coming at him with contract offers.

As mentioned, the team has many roster holes to fill, and will almost certainly not go after any of the big ticket free agents.

That is OK.

Stay the course, and enjoy the ride. Given the team’s cap situation do not be surprised if the Coyotes pick up another large contract in exchange for draft capital (happens almost every year now- Chris Pronger, Marian Hossa, Pavel Datsyuk , Andrew Ladd) and I am honestly shocked that the Coyotes did not pick up the contract of Shea Weber from Montreal.

The team should focus on signing players that will make an impact on the ice and help develop the younger guys.

Tomorrow will be exciting. Stay tuned!

Happy Howlin’!

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