Coyotes Trade Dubnyk and Acquire Third-Round Draft Pick

It was just Tuesday night that Devan Dubnyk was doing the press rounds after Arizona Coyotes 3-2 loss, with Dubnyk in goal.

With the Coyotes awfully close to the bottom of the team rankings, it’s come as no surprise that they would start to shake things up and make the necessary changes. So Wednesday when a trade ensued between Minnesota and Arizona, it certainly wasn’t a bombshell.

Wednesday afternoon, the Coyotes announced that Devan Dubnyk was traded to the Minnesota Wild for a third-round draft pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

According to Sarah McLellan of AZCentral Sports, Mike Lee will be recalled from Portland to serve the spot of back-up goaltender behind Mike Smith for Thursday’s game against the Flames.

Mike Lee will be the backup for now. Louis Domingue will also get a look. He’s currently in St. John’s with Portland.

— Sarah McLellan (@azc_mclellan) January 14, 20

Dubnyk signed a one year deal in the 2014 offseason with Arizona, so this upcoming offseason he would be an unrestricted free agent. So chances are, he would have parted ways with the club anyways.

Maloney: “Devan was terrific for us. He was a good player, played very well. Nothing about him or his play we didn’t like.”

— Sarah McLellan (@azc_mclellan) January 14, 2015

Dubnyk was 9-5-2 for the Coyotes this season, registering a .916 save percentage and a 2.72 goals against average. His first matchup against Arizona will be as soon as this upcoming Saturday.

So adding to the waiving of Chris Summers and Brandon McMillan, there’s obviously moves being made for the Coyotes to try to salvage what is still left of their disappointing season.