Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Arizona Coyotes Cap Talk Plus What To Do With The #3 Pick

06/24/2015 at 7:08am EDT

from Sarah McLellan of azsports,

The Coyotes have only 11 NHLers under contract for next season. Add in the cost of center Mike Ribeiro's buyout (about $1.44 million) and the retained salary in defenseman Keith Yandle's trade to the Rangers ($2.625 million), and the team's current cap hit is almost $34.2 million, according to generalfanager.com.

Last season, the Coyotes spent approximately $56 million and their budget for this season has increased, suggesting the team will easily meet the minimum.

While those budget parameters will guide General Manager Don Maloney's offseason spending, the Coyotes certainly have flexibility within the salary-cap range to maneuver and that could make them an attractive trading partner as some teams try to shed salary to get under the ceiling.

As an example, winger Martin Erat carried a $4.5 million cap hit last season but the Coyotes were on the hook for only his $2.25 million salary following a trade from the Capitals during the 2013-14 season. Deals like this one make sense for the Coyotes because they have the room to absorb higher cap hits while adding a budget-conscious salary.

"When the crunch starts coming where (teams) need to move contracts, that's when I think we'll be in a good position to take advantage," Maloney said.

more

from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet,

As the owner of the pick that comes immediately after Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel are selected at Friday’s draft, Don Maloney essentially controls how the dominoes will fall in the first round.

However, even the Arizona Coyotes general manager isn’t sure what to do with the No. 3 selection.

Had you spoken with him a week ago, he would have told you he was going to use it to take a player. But the appearance of two trade offers — one of them firm, which includes a lower pick in the first round — has forced Maloney to reconsider.

continued

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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