A Recap of the Coyotes Offseason Moves

(Photo: Alan Sullivan)

The Arizona Coyotes improved its team by bringing in some veteran players in the offseason to add to its core of youngsters.

Their offseason began by acquiring the rights to veteran defenseman Alex Goligoski from the Dallas Stars in exchange for a 2016 fifth round draft pick. Arizona had exclusive rights to the defenseman for a few days, and managed to get a deal done. On June 22, the two sides came to an agreement on a new five-year, $27,375,000 deal with a cap hit of $5,475,000 per season. Goligoski will bring a veteran presence and strong leadership to the blue line.

On the first day of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, the Coyotes acquired the contract of Pavel Datsyuk from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Joe Vitale and draft picks. Datsyuk will likely  never play with Arizona since he is retired from the NHL and signed a deal to play in the KHL, the Russian professional league. They also acquired young defenseman Anthony DeAngelo from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a 2016 second round draft pick. DeAngelo wasn’t going anywhere in the Lightning organization, but he’ll have a shot to make an impact in the Yotes organization.

On day two of the draft, General Manager John Chayka re-signed goalie Louis Domingue to a two-year, $2.1 million contract. Domingue will likely start the season as the backup to Mike Smith, but will certainly have his chances to impress the head coach and management.

The first day off free agency was a busy one for Chayka. The Yotes signed left wing Jamie McGinn to a three-year, $10 million contract that has a cap hit of $3.3 million per season. McGinn should help to bring some secondary scoring and improve the power play. Arizona then signed Ryan White to a one-year, $1 million deal. White will add physicality, and he can also play on either special teams unit. Kevin Connauton signed a two-year, $2 million contract and he should bring some depth to the blue line.

The rest of the moves on day one of free agency were depth moves for the organization. Chris Mueller and Garret Ross signed one-year, two-way deals worth $600,000. Jared Tinordi signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $700,000, while Jamie McBain signed a similar deal worth $650,000. Arizona signed Justin Peters to a one-year, two-way, $600,000 deal which will offers some depth in the goalie position. Klas Dahlbeck signed a one-year, one-way deal worth $750,000.

Shane Doan was re-signed to a one-year, $3,876,134 million deal to remain with the Coyotes for another season. Luke Schenn signed a two-year, $2.5 million contract, which has a cap hit of $1.25 million per season. Schenn doesn’t shy away from playing a physical game on the blue line, and can play on the penalty kill. Michael Stone got a new one-year, $4 million deal, while Connor Murphy received a new six-year, $23.1 million contract, with a cap hit of $3.85 million per season. Arizona bought out the remainder of Antoine Vermette’s deal, and signed Radim Vrbata to a one-year, $1 million contract.

The Coyotes weren’t done yet, acquiring Lawson Crouse and Dave Bolland from the Florida Panthers in exchange for draft picks. And, as a result of his impressive performance in the World Cup of Hockey, Tobias Rieder, an unsigned Coyotes restricted free agent, he was able to get a new deal with a new two-year, $4.45 million contract.

This is definitely an improved Arizona Coyotes team and they may even have a shot at making the playoffs.