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Follow @james_tanner123 I have said two things pretty frequently in the last couple of weeks. One of them is that the Coyotes should be using their grotesque amount of cap space in order to acquire assets that can help them in the future. The second is that they need to get a better left-shooting defenseman than Nick Grossmann/Klaus Dahlbeck to patrol the second pairing if they want to avoid a second straight 50 loss season.
It is my contention that they should combine these two fairly obvious ideas into acquiring Dion Phaneuf from the Maple Leafs.
Phaneuf, 30, has been beaten down unfairly for the last five years captaining the gong show that was Brian Burke and Dave Nonis' vision of the Leafs. He has faced some of the toughest players in the league, night in and night out, while being the teams go-to shut-down defensemen, their defensemen who fights, kills penalties as well as their PP QB and most likely also the team bus driver, janitor and cook.
Dion is much better than his stats suggest and he'd look great playing behind OEL on the Coyotes second unit, partnered with Connor Murphy. Utilized in a more realistic role and playing easier, more sheltered minutes should allow Phaneuf to thrive.
Yes, his contract - six more years @ a $7 million cap-hit - is brutal, but that also means he'd cost almost nothing to acquire. If the Coyotes were willing to take him without the Leafs retaining salary then Toronto would likely pay them to take him off their hands.
Taking on that kind of money might seem crazy, but the Coyotes would instantly be a better team, and they'd have two-thirds of their defense settled for the foreseeable future. The fact is, the Coyotes pipeline of defensemen is very weak. Of players not currently in the NHL, there aren't any big-name prospects to speak of and certainly no blue-chippers.
Based on the time it takes to draft and develop an NHL defenseman, the Coyotes will need to acquire the defensemen necessary to eventually compete in trades, so I figure, why not target a player that doesn't really cost anything but money?
Thanks for reading.