‘Yotes Notes: Free Agency

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.