It’s that time of the season where NHL trades are being rumoured quite frequently. The trade deadline is April 12th, so teams are evaluating what to do with their rosters. The NHL puts out a trade board similar to what TSN does. There are always rumours surrounding the Arizona Coyotes with Clayton Keller, at #6, and Alex Goligoski at # 22 on the NHL trade bait board.
Two Arizona Coyotes Who Could be Traded
When it comes to the rumours involving the Arizona Coyotes, they seem to be constant throughout the year. The two players on the NHL trade board have one player who is close to the end of this career in Goligoski. Conversely the other, Keller is just in his fourth NHL season at 22 years old. Goligoski’s $5.475 million contract will not attract too many takers. He will likely bring back just a third-round draft pick and perhaps a young prospect.
Goligoski Profile
While Goligoski, 35 is a left shooting D-man, he is able to play on the right side of the blueline just as well. He has played 14 years in the NHL. He has participated in 891 games with 80 goals and 328 assists. “Goose” is a decent possession player with a career 50.4 Corsi For and a 1.3 Relative Corsi For.
Goligoski has 1,008 hits and 1,511 blocks in his career. He also has 189 takeaways and 704 giveaways. He would more than likely need to accept a lower salary if he is traded or goes to free agency. Teams are strapped for salary cap space with the limit looking to stay at the current $81.5 million for a bit now.
There is no doubt that he could help a playoff-bound team’s defence. He is a good puck mover and for some reason, his offensive game has hit the wall this season. He only has one assist in 24 games. His usual point production is 0.46 points a game.
Keller Profile
The 22-year-old converted centre to winger has had his ups and downs. He has had eight goals and 10 assists this season in 24 games to date. That puts him on a pace of 0.75 points per game. That would also project him with about 19 goals, which would be equivalent to 29 goals in a full-length season.
That doesn’t sound like a player who should be traded. Yet, Keller seems to be an asset the team can use to acquire some draft picks. The team lacks them and they also need a good front-line scorer. Keller’s inconsistency where he disappears for games without any points may be a good reason to move him. His size is another. At just 5′-10″, 170 pounds he gets pushed around much like his teammate Conor Garland.
If Garland doesn’t get moved, will the Coyotes look to upgrade their forward line by dealing Keller?
The other issue is Keller’s huge long-term contract. He carries a $7.15 AAV through 2027-28 which makes him difficult to move. In addition, he has a no-trade clause which kicks in starting the 2027-28 season. In addition, any team who may be interested in him would almost certainly require that the Coyotes retain some salary.
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Potential Trade Partner
It seems that the Nashville Predators are looking to blow things up with their dismal 10-14 record and on a three-game skid. Even an attractive forward like Filip Forsberg seems to be on the list of players the team is considering to trade. And, that comes straight from Elliotte Friedman (at the 2:30 mark). If that’s so, could the Coyotes gather Forsberg straight up for Keller? The salaries are only about $1 million apart.
Forsberg, 26 is a nine-year veteran who can flat-out score. In his last six seasons, Forsberg has scored 20 or more goals and tallied 30 or more twice. In 482 games, he has 176 goals and 201 assists for 377 points. Standing 6′-1″, 205 pounds the Swede isn’t shy with his physical game handing out 625 hits.
Forsberg makes $6 million through next season. It seems unlikely that the Preds would move him, but getting a player four years younger in Keller may entice them to make some drastic changes.
Adding Forsberg to the Arizona frontline would be huge and if the Preds would want another player, the Coyotes could offer up a good fourth-line player with size in Christian Fischer. That would make the salaries pretty even up, and the Predators may like Fischer’s physical play.
The Arizona Coyotes always have some interesting rumours and these two players are no different. Only time will tell on what the Coyotes decide to do with these two players.
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