It was stated on mynhltraderumors.com and Dennis Berstein of thefourthperiod.com that the Los Angeles Kings are believed to have talked to the Arizona Coyotes about a deal involving centre Jeff Carter and defenceman Alex Goligoski. Goligoski has two years left, compared to Carter’s three, and the Coyotes would save on the cash side of things – $9.8 million compared to $7 million. It seems such an NHL trade proposal may help both teams.
Jeff Carter for Alex Goligoski NHL Trade Proposal
Would such a trade benefit both teams who are probably trying to decide what to do with the two aging veterans and their contracts?
Perhaps.
Jeff Carter
The veteran centre has really slowed his roll of late and has not been the scorer he once was. From the 2012-13 to 2016-17 season Carter threw in 137 goals in 361 games. That’s a 0.38 goals per game average.
Then, he fell off to 26 goals in 103 games the last two seasons. He only participated in 27 games during his injury-laden 2017-18 season. Still, he seems to be healthy now and did participate in 76 games this past season while accumulating just 13 goals, and 20 assists.
An important note here is he scored 51 power-play goals over that span of seasons from 2012-13 to 2018-19. The Coyotes have supplemented their power play prowess by acquiring right wing Phil Kessel and adding Carter would only give it more offensive firepower.
We all know that general manager John Chayka likes centres. He currently has five centres on his roster with Clayton Keller listed as a winger who can play centre. So, why have so many centres? It seems head coach Rick Tocchet likes having them as much as Chayka does simply because of their interchangeability. He calls them “hybrids” and he thinks being able to switch out wingers for centres and vice versa is the future of the NHL.
Simply put, if Carter can come back from a down season his career statistics are nothing to dismiss. He has 365 goals, 340 assists in 980 games. He has added 109 power-play goals. In the playoffs, he has tallied 39 goals, 35 assists in 120 postseason contests.
For the goal starved Arizona Coyotes if he can come back, his offensive assets are something to consider. He is 34-years-old but he still wants to play.
Why not?
Alex Goligoski
The veteran defenceman will turn 34-years-old at the end of the month and has a modified no-trade clause in his contract. There have been rumours that his play is not what the team expects and they could very well consider trading him.
He came to the Coyotes in July 2016 via a trade from the Dallas Stars for a fifth-round draft pick. The Coyotes signed him to a five-year $27.375 million contract. Over his last three seasons with the team, he has had 21 goals, 77 assists in 236 games. His downfall is that he is on the ice way too often when the opposing team scores to the tune of a +/- total of -47. He may be turning into a defensive liability especially when the team is putting their hopes on young defenceman Jakob Chychrun.
They also have Kyle Capobianco who has shown that he may be able to step in and cover a defensive slot if one opens. Capobianco has shown glimpses of a puck-moving blueliner who could easily fill that role. He has had nine goals, 53 assists in 93 AHL games with the AHL Tucson Roadrunners. He has only appeared in three NHL games with the Arizona NHL club.
The Los Angeles Kings could use Goligoski since they traded away Jake Muzzin to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Besides the two veterans in Drew Doughty and Alec Martinez, the remaining members of the Kings blueline are relatively young and inexperienced. Goligoski could step in and provide additional leadership and puck-moving ability.
We don’t know if Goligoski would agree to this trade if presented. Nor do we know the list of teams where he’d accept a proposed trade. The other factor is how motivated are the Kings to send Carter packing? It seems a little likely, since they contacted the Coyotes about this potential NHL trade proposal. Sometimes it takes a while for two teams to culminate a trade. There’s still plenty of time for teams to make some moves.
Will this be one of them?
