from Craig Morgan of Arizona Sports,

General manager Don Maloney responded to suggestions in the media that he helped orchestrate the trade of John Scott (and defenseman Victor Bartley) to Montreal for Jarred Tinordi (and forward Stefan Fournier) to rid the Coyotes and the NHL of its All-Star Game headache after Scott was voted captain of the Pacific Division.

“I was really surprised (TSN’s) Bob McKenzie suggested we might be working with the NHL to keep John Scott out of the All Star game,” Maloney said via text. “I found it incredible someone might believe this. The NHL doesn’t run our team nor (does it) have any influence on our player decisions.

“We had to create roster room (given our addition of Kevin Connauton) and find a way to add Tinordi’s salary. Scott was the only option Montreal would take to make this deal work.

“I do feel for John, but the harsh realty is that this is the business we are in. He is on an NHL one-way contract. Many players with similar skill sets (eg. Colton Orr) are playing in the minors on a minor-league salary.”

more on the Coyotes...