Follow @james_tanner123 The Coyotes will play tonight and hopefully lose to the Bruins. Coupled with a Buffalo victory over the Panthers and an Edmonton victory over the Blues, the Coyotes could enter the trade deadline just two points out of the lead in the McDavid sweepstakes.
Ok, so that trifecta is pretty unlikely - although I'll maybe throw five bucks on a Pro.Line if I make it to the store by 3 - but it's still telling of where the Coyotes are right now:
And that, my friends, like your favorite blogger, is in the basement.
So, let's check the situation: the team has $8 million in cap room before they move anyone out, virtually an unlimited amount next year, and they have six pending unrestriced free agents, as well as the (likely) biggest chip of all teams to play in Keith Yandle.
If they do this right, they can set their team up for years to come.
The UFAs
Martin Erat B.J Crombeen Zbynek Michalek Antoine Vermette Andrew Campbell David Moss
Vermette should bring back a decent return, as should Michalek. The other four can still bring lower picks that Maloney should be happy to stockpile. They all must be gone by Monday night.
The RFAs Mikkel Boedker Mark Arcobello Brandon Gormley
The Coyotes likely won't be trading any of these guys. Boedker should be re-signed - they can give him a 1.5 million raise to four million, go six years and get an incredible amount of value from the potential superstar. Sure, he might not make it, but it's a gamble smart teams make all the time.
Coming off his ECL, the temptation to offer Gormley a bridge contract will be strong, but if they bet on their own asset and sign him to a long-term deal, they have a chance to extract maximum value on the player and the contract for a long time. (Look at Florida and their genius contract for Bjugstad).
As for Arcobello, he's put up something like five goals in eight games since being picked up on waivers. I would strongly attempt to move him for a pick, if that's even possible, which it should be. Get enough late round picks and you'll eventually find your Datsuyk. He must be traded.
Must Trades Lauri Korpikoski Joe Vitale Keith Yandle
Korpiskoski flat out sucks. The team should move him as fast as they can for whatever they can. Same with Vitale. Any picks these two overrated stooges bring back are a bonus.
As for Yandle, you can except a strongly worded suggestion of removal regarding Don Maloney and his position as General Manager should Yandle be a Coyote come Monday evening.
Hemskying: [hem-ski-ing] Verb. 1. The act of holding onto a player too long in the attempt to extract the most value for him, but in actuality sabotaging his value. 2. Taking a player with term and waiting to move him until he's a pending unrestricted free agent, thus sabotaging his value.
The Coyotes cannot afford to blow this. At the bare minimum, they have to acquire a single potentially elite player in exchange for their currently elite defensemen.
Dreams Mike Smith
While unlikely that you could trade a below replacement level goalie with four years remaining on a contract that pays him close to a six million dollar cap-hit, you can still dream about it.
Overall, Monday looks to be an intense day for the Coyotes as they could potentially trade nine of the 27 players they currently have counting against their salary cap.
thanks for reading.