Howlin' Hockey
Fansided

‘Yotes Notes: Arizona Coyotes Sign Lawson Crouse to 5-Year Extension

By Chris Donovan

Lawson Crouse will be an Arizona Coyotes for the nest 5 years. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
Lawson Crouse will be an Arizona Coyotes for the nest 5 years. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Arizona Coyotes completed their biggest offseason transaction, re-signing forward Lawson Crouse to a 5-year extension. The deal is worth $21.5 million over 5 years, and carries and an annual value of $4.3 million.

This deal comes weeks after Howlin’ Hockey discussed the importance of Crouse to the Coyotes’ present and future plans. The team has locked up the big guys (Christian Fischer, Lawson Crouse, and Nick Bjugstad) and will be a force to be reckoned with.

NHL teams need to take notice; these Coyotes are not going to be fun to play against.

General manager Bill Armstrong said “We are very pleased to sign Lawson to a long-term contract. He is a big, strong, skilled power forward and we look forward to him being a big part of our future.”

This signing was a no brainer as Crouse draws comparisons to Marcus Foligno of the Minnesota Wild, a player that brings a rare blend of physicality and goal scoring ability that makes him a true power forward.

This moves essentially wraps up the free agents that were offered contracts by the team. Coyotes forward Barret Hayton has yet to be re-signed but the two parties should come to and agreement in the nearby future. Hayton is not arbitration eligible.

The Coyotes signing Crouse to a long-term deal avoids the potential exit from the team, just as he is entering his prime. He was they key piece in the team’s trade for Dave Bolland from the Florida Panthers in a bad contract acquisition in 2016. If you remember, the team was on the hook for three years of Bolland’s bad contract, but were able to land Crouse in the deal.

Looking back, that was worth it. Crouse is a stud, and fans should be excited about him being a Coyote for the next five years. This past season, he had a career year, 20 goals, had 14 assists, 34 points and 181 hits in only 65 games.

He is only going to get better, and the team is on the rise.

Expect big things from him this season. I am happy to see that the team did not overthink this or make this super difficult. They did the smart thing and re-signed one of the best young players in the game. This signals to players in the NHL that Arizona is a destination that will reward players with lucrative, long-term deals.

I am happy that Lawson and his fiancé Claire will be around the Valley for five more years. Congratulations Lawson! You deserve it.

Happy Howlin’!

Home/Coyotes News