Per Arizona Coyotes insider Craig Morgan, (subscription required) the team will not make a qualifying offer to forward Vinnie Hinostroza. He will be free to sign with any team now. And, just announced, the team will be making a qualifying offer to forward Christian Fischer. The Arizona Coyotes qualifying offers are in alignment with the team saving some cap space as Hinostroza was making $1.5 million with an expected raise due. Fischer was making $821,666 in the last year of his entry-level deal.
Per source, the Coyotes will not tender a qualifying offer to RFA forward Vinnie Hinostroza. He will become a UFA.
— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) October 6, 2020
A source confirmed that the Coyotes will tender a qualifying offer to restricted free-agent forward Christian Fischer.
Qualifying offers for RFAs are due by Wednesday at 2 p.m. Arizona time. Those offers can begin to be accepted on Friday, and expire on Oct. 18.— Craig Morgan (@CraigSMorgan) October 6, 2020
Arizona Coyotes Qualifying Offers Announced
Hinostroza Will Not be Getting a Qualifying Offer
It was announced by Craig Morgan, the Coyotes insider that forward Vinnie Hinostroza will not be receiving a qualifying offer to stay with the team. Offers for restricted free agents are due by Wednesday at 2 p.m. Arizona time. This is no surprise as new general manager Bill Armstrong has some decisions to make concerning his roster for next season and beyond. Hinostroza’s salary and lack of production had to be factors. Yet, let it be noted that Hinostroza is only 5′-9″, 173 pounds and will become an unrestricted free agent next April when he turns 27 years old.
Apparently, the Coyotes had no interest in keeping Hinostroza around especially when he would receive a bump in pay for a new contract.
Christian Fischer Will Get a Qualifying Offer
Fischer had been a good prospect whose numbers have fallen off recently. He has had 35 goals and 28 assists totaling 63 points in 213 NHL games. His ice time has significantly dropped from his first full season in 2017-18 to just 11:01 minutes a game. He was a healthy scratch for 14 games, so he now has a chance to show what he can do to improve his offensive numbers. At 6′-2″, 214 pounds it is hoped that he can get more rebounds and screen the opposing goalies to advance his team’s efforts. He has had 382 hits in his NHL career, and needs to continue that physical game.
What This Means Going Forward
This is purely another attempt by the organization to create some cap space. Not paying Hinostroza is part of that, although Fischer has not improved his numbers at all. So, one can deduce that Fischer will be cheaper to keep, plus with his size, they can’t ignore that. The team needs to get bigger and tougher and execute better. Not sure keeping Fischer will alleviate those shortcomings. Armstrong isn’t done yet… stay tuned.
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