Phoenix has tried to sell winning, which didn’t sell very well. Could they sell a star like McDavid or Eichel? That question has to be crossing the minds of the big thinkers with the Coyotes, and while both Carolina and Buffalo won on Sunday night, right now it seems likely those teams will be worse than Arizona and thus draft higher next June.

Unless the Coyotes start off-loading bodies, that is. Keith Yandle’s name is already coming up in trade rumours. Veterans like Martin Hanzal, Sam Gagner, Boedker and Lauri Korpikoski have value. Maybe Mike Smith, too.

-Damien Cox on the Arizona Coyotes. Read more from Cox on this topic at Sportsnet.