2) Tobias Rieder re-signs.
His agent wants, on a 2-year deal, $2.75M, whereas the Coyotes are pushing for closer to $2.2M to $2.3M. I'm personally inclined to say his worth is closer to the team's ask, so I said $2.4M as a compromise.
3) Dylan Strome and Nick Merkley play in the CHL, and every other AHL-eligible prospect starts with the Roadrunners.
Look, I know people are saying that Strome's too good for the OHL (they're sure saying that about Mitch Marner, too) and that he should be in the NHL next year. His point totals certainly appear to back that up. However, the hole in the Coyotes' roster created by the Vermette buyout is at 2C, and rushing a prospect into the NHL and starting him at 2C is playing with fire. Playing center in the NHL has a lot of responsibilities attached to it, and having to handle those duties while being matched up against top competition (as head coaches are wont to do with 2nd lines) seems like quite a burden for a player with zero NHL experience. This applies to the other prospects as well (Christian Dvorak, Brendan Perlini, Ryan MacInnis, Conor Garland, etc.). Even Auston Matthews is starting on the 3rd line, per Mike Babcock. Everyone said Max Domi was ready to start in the NHL 2 seasons ago, and he likely benefited from not being rushed to the big leagues. Kyle Turris is a pretty good cautionary tale of what happens when you try to rush prospects into the NHL too early.
Now, the Coyotes don't have very good options to replace Antoine Vermette at 2C. Brad Richardson and Ryan White are the only established NHL centers available; White shouldn't be playing 2C, and Richardson could but probably shouldn't over the course of an entire season. Tyler Gaudet seems to be tabbed as Boyd Gordon's heir apparent on the 4th line, and Laurent Dauphin has all of 8 games of NHL experience. Sooooo where does one find a center that can competently play 2C and fill in for Martin Hanzal when he inevitably misses ~15 games to injury over the course of the season?
Well, the Maple Leafs happen to have a center that doesn't have a set spot on the roster: Peter Holland. There's not really a place for him at center: Nazem Kadri's 1C, Tyler Bozak's probably 2C, Matthews is 3C, and Brooks Laich is 4C. Left wing is also similarly jammed: James van Riemsdyk, Leo Komarov, Joffrey Lupul (in theory), Milan Michálek, Colin Greening, Matt Martin, and Josh Leivo all play LW. Holland's underlying stats suggests that he drives offense fairly well. He could be an option at 2C that could fill in occasionally for Hanzal on the 1st line. Plus, he's familiar with the Western Conference, having started his career with the Ducks.
Of course, you have to give to get. The Coyotes have many defenders signed to one-way contracts. Michael Stone's one-year deal and Luke Schenn's signing indicated to me that John Chayka was opening up possible trade routes for himself. The Maple Leafs also have many defenders signed, but their right side generally seems to lack a top-4 defender (unless Morgan Rielly plays on his off-hand again). Roman Polák's not a top-4 defender. Nikita Zaitsev could be one right now, but no one knows for sure. Connor Carrick and Frank Corrado could be top-4 defenders, but they're still fairly young. Stone would be an immediate upgrade and probably a better partner for Rielly than anyone on the roster that's not named Jake Gardiner. To balance out the number of defenders as well as the cap hits, I retained half salary on Stone and included Corrado in the trade. Holland's $1.3M + Corrado's $600K = $1.9M, only a shade lower than Stone's $2M, so the Maple Leafs gain only $100K in salary. I didn't really bandy about with picks, though. Ostensibly, one or two would be included, though from which side, I'm not sure.
Now, this isn't a bulletproof scenario and does leave several issues to be resolved.
1) Can Holland actually play 2C minutes on a consistent basis? He could, but I don't know for sure.
2) The Maple Leafs' roster does look better with Stone on it, as a whole.
Rielly - Stone
Gardiner - Carrick
Marinčin - Polák / Zaitsev, once Polák leaves at the trade deadline for picks (you know he will)
Hunwick
Stone likes to shoot the puck, and having a relatively defensively-responsible defender in Rielly should give him freedom to contribute offensively. However, he only did alright with Oliver Ekman-Larsson as his partner and is likely better-suited as a 2nd-pair defender, so it might not be a long-term solution. Gardiner - Carrick looked good but only during a small window, so it's an avenue to explore. Zaitsev could also easily displace Carrick. It's still not an ideal defense, but Stone is mostly a known quantity at this point.
3) The Coyotes' defense really takes a hit with the drop from Stone to Corrado. However, I think that Corrado only sort of secured a spot on the Maple Leafs' defense last year, and he might still get relegated to 7th defender this coming season, which isn't good for his development. Giving him a secure spot alongside Alex Goligoski and a mentor from whom to learn how to be an NHL defender would, I think, help him grow as a player.
Also, Schenn's signing signals that the Coyotes want to lessen Zbyněk Michálek's burden. He leads all active skaters in career blocked shots (Nick Schultz has the 2nd-highest total and is more than 60 behind him), and only Dan Girardi has more blocked shots at even strength. His body has insane amounts of miles on it, so he'd probably appreciate the reduced workload.
Good writing on the Yotes and Leafs. Just a few things. Who knows about Bolland's LTIR. If the Yotes are lucky he will medically unfit for three years, but no guarantees that will happen, otherwise maybe the Panthers would have kept him. I really don't like the trade for the Yotes.
Don't really understand why the Yotes bought out Vermette. You think he would have been handy enough to stick with the team. IMO Strome will make the Yotes this year. He is more physically mature than Marner apparently, so maybe his NHL adjustment will be smoother than others.
IMO, excellent chance that Holland will be waived by the Leafs, so he will be available cheap. He certainly isn't a number 2 or probably a 3 centre but what has the Yotes got to lose? Teams with cap issues (most) might be trying to get rid of bigger contracts than Hollands but their might be better players. Either way, I think some competent centres will be avaliable. Yea, Stone would look good on most NHL teams.
Good writing on the Yotes and Leafs. Just a few things. Who knows about Bolland's LTIR. If the Yotes are lucky he will medically unfit for three years, but no guarantees that will happen, otherwise maybe the Panthers would have kept him. I really don't like the trade for the Yotes.
Don't really understand why the Yotes bought out Vermette. You think he would have been handy enough to stick with the team. IMO Strome will make the Yotes this year. He is more physically mature than Marner apparently, so maybe his NHL adjustment will be smoother than others.
IMO, excellent chance that Holland will be waived by the Leafs, so he will be available cheap. He certainly isn't a number 2 or probably a 3 centre but what has the Yotes got to lose? Teams with cap issues (most) might be trying to get rid of bigger contracts than Hollands but their might be better players. Either way, I think some competent centres will be avaliable. Yea, Stone would look good on most NHL teams.
- Craig Morgan, a Coyotes beat writer, says that Bolland's going to LTIR after training camp, so, for now, he can't play for the Coyotes. I mean, they're gonna need him, regardless, because after Datsyuk and Pronger come off the books, Bolland will be able to help them reach the floor. He shoots right, so he could replace Ryan White on the roster beyond this year if he's healthy by then. It's not like with David Clarkson, where the Blue Jackets are super-close to the ceiling and super-need that roster spot for other prospects. Other spots will open up, too; as an example, Doan's contract has "possibly last contract" written all over it, what with the deferred signing and performance bonuses and all. I'm personally okay with the Bolland trade; they got Crouse out of it. Chayka seems to be making pretty savvy moves so far.
- The Vermette buyout was, as far as I can tell, largely to free up slots for prospects, because they don't know the outcome of training camp and how many young players will impress enough to make the NHL roster. Their scouts must be fairly confident that one or two of them will look good enough to fill in the vacated spots.
- Holland might have a low enough perceived value that the Coyotes could simply give up a pick or two for him instead of having to move Stone, which would be better. Maybe Michálek at half salary and a 4th, if the Maple Leafs are keen, for whatever reason, on reuniting the Michálek brothers.
I guarantee Edmonton would give a better offer. Those 2 players are worth very little and your retaining salary on top of that.
I don't see the Yotes making this trade. There's really no need.
Touché. Stone's a pretty highly-valued asset, and Holland and Corrado don't appear to be valued terribly highly. The Coyotes could probably just pay a pick for Holland at this point.
The Oilers would be interesting. I'm sure they'd be interested in Stone; if McLellan likes to play defenders on their correct side, then the Oilers only have 2 RHD in Larsson and Fayne, and Fayne's not great. I would guess that, of McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nugent-Hopkins, Nugent-Hopkins would be the most likely to go in a trade. Maybe Stone and their 2017 3rd for Nugent-Hopkins?
I guarantee Edmonton would give a better offer. Those 2 players are worth very little and your retaining salary on top of that.
I don't see the Yotes making this trade. There's really no need.
Touché. Stone's a pretty highly-valued asset, and Holland and Corrado don't appear to be valued terribly highly. The Coyotes could probably just pay a pick for Holland at this point.
The Oilers would be interesting. I'm sure they'd be interested in Stone; if McLellan likes to play defenders on their correct side, then the Oilers only have 2 RHD in Larsson and Fayne, and Fayne's not great. I would guess that, of McDavid, Draisaitl, and Nugent-Hopkins, Nugent-Hopkins would be the most likely to go in a trade. Maybe Stone and their 2017 3rd for Nugent-Hopkins?
Where's the logic in that? You just went from Holland and Corrado for Stone (50%) to RNH for Stone and a 3rd. I was thinking they'd be able to offer a better deal than Holland and Corrado but asking for Nuge is a bit over the top.
To be honest I'm not sure what the Yotes want in trade right now. They're a bit all over the place at the moment. (Not a insult, just very hard to read). I was thinking Edm could definitely offer a deal involving Yakupov or Nurse + picks if the Yotes were interested.
Frankly any team that has cap space right now would be idiots not to offer a package of picks and prospects for Stone right now if the Yotes are shopping him.
McDavid, Connor
250 000 $)
CapFriendly
CapFriendly