Yesterday, supposedly in the Athletic (though I read about it on Yahoo, not having a subscription), there was an article about Phil Kessel wanting to rejoin his friend Rick Tocchet in Arizona.
With Toronto already paying some of his salary, and Kessel coming off a 90 point season, I'd love for the Coyotes to trade for him. There's not much to really digest here - Kessel is amazing and I'd love if the Coyotes got him (depending on the price. I would not include Strome in a package to get him, that is for sure).
The more interesting point was that the Yahoo article casually mentioned that the Coyotes wouldn't spend beyond the cap floor this year. They said that the Coyotes would not be pursuing the trade 'for financial reasons.'
I find this incredibly hard to believe.
As does John Chayka who called it "terrible reporting" in a denial to Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. (I'll link to both articles at the bottom).
I don't think you really need Chayka's denial to know this isn't true. I am pretty sure that Oliver Ekman-Larsson would not sign in Arizona for eight years if they were going to be a team that spends the absolute minimum.
Do I expect Arizona to max out their cap?
No way.
But I expect that a team that recently has taken on the contracts of Datsyk and Bolland to facilitate trades is not going to operate on the cheap.
The Coyotes have shown a willingness to spend, and I do not believe a Phil Kessel trade would be stopped by financial reasons.
The reason you don't trade for Kessel is that he's coming off a career high and so you'll have to pay a premium for him right as he's turning 30.
Should Pittsburgh eat salary and accept an offer that doesn't include the 5th overall pick, Dylan Strome or Jacob Chychrun, then I'd be interested.
Washington Capitals Blogger • 
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