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.
from Chris Johnston of Sportsnet,
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