There remains at least five possible Arizona Coyotes trades still floating around. It’s a well know fact that during the NHL Entry Draft, trades happen at an excellent pace. The draft will be held this Friday July 23rd and Saturday July 24th. Better fasten your safety belt because the trading may be fast and furious. According to Coyotes insider Craig Morgan (subscription required) Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Conor Garland, Phil Kessel, Darcy Kuemper, and Christian Dvorak are all players other teams have inquired about.
Rumours For Arizona Coyotes Trades Just Keep Coming
Oliver Ekman-Larsson
According to Morgan the teams interested in OEL are the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, and St. Louis Blues. OEL may have some competition with Alex Goligoski. ‘Goose’ turned down a one-year offer from the Coyotes in the $2 million range which was much lower than his former $5.475 million contract which expired. Both Vancouver and St. Louis have interest in Goligoski as well as OEL. Right now, it would seem that Vancouver may have the inside track to add OEL to their roster. The return is not known, but one could assume that any team accepting OEL’s huge contract will expect the Yotes to retain part of it.
There are those who feel perhaps that OEL could stay and under new head coach Andre Tourigny his game may improve. The problem with that is the organisation made it clear from ownership down that they intend to move on from OEL and his monstrous contract. It just seems he needs to move on and get a fresh start somewhere else. IF that’s the case, we should know something fairly soon, even by the end of the week. The Coyotes would hope to either add to their depleted defensive group, or get a scoring forward to supplement the weak offence.
Conor Garland
Conor Garland has been a fan favourite and trading him has to be a gut-wrenching turn of events for the team. He seems to spark the offence at times when it is needed and shows his excessive energy constantly. So why would the Coyotes consider moving him? He has to be one of their best assets and sometimes you must consider seeing what those assets are worth. Garland has at least eight teams known to have inquired about his availability. Subsequently, the New York Islanders have thrown their hat into the Garland ring hoping to acquire him.
Follow up to previous tweet: One player (among others) the Coyotes are very much trying to move is pending RFA Conor Garland. No contract discussions since end of season, belief is team’s preference is to move him. BOS, TOR, LA, FLA, SEA and more clubs have checked in.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) July 16, 2021
Phil Kessel
For Phil ‘the thrill’, the thrill in Arizona departed when his close tie to former head coach Rick Tocchet ceased. The Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers may want to add Kessel to their arsenal. Don’t forget that Vegas didn’t lose a player in the expansion draft since they were exempt. Additional offence is something the Golden Knights could use. The Panthers are in the same boat, especially if unrestricted free agent Mike Hoffman leaves. The Florida team was highly improved but couldn’t get by the powerful and eventual Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. Not that Phil can do it single-handedly, but he could help. Moving Kessel may need to wait until the trade deadline, but he apparently is open to leaving.
Darcy Kuemper
Kuemper could really help at least a half dozen teams including the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers, and Philadelphia Flyers. The two teams most rumoured to grab Kuemper could be the Av’s and Maple Leafs. The Av’s could have moved on in the playoffs with better goaltending and Philipp Grubauer is an unrestricted free agent, and they don’t look to keep Devan Dubnyk who is also an UFA. So… Kuemper could fit right in there with a team he could have an excellent chance to win a Cup with if he was on their roster.
The Maple Leafs could also use Kuemper’s services to settle down their net and keep pucks out. They would need to resolve some cap space issues, but general manager Kyle Dubas is an expert at that. An outside possibility could also be the Hurricanes who have three goalies, with two being UFA’s and one a RFA. In any case, Kuemper who has already decided he won’t re-sign with Arizona when his contract expires after next season, so he may be headed out of Arizona before then. Arizona Coyotes trade rumours for Kuemper have been going on a while.
Christian Dvorak
Dvorak’s name has burst into the trade rumours recently and he too is gathering a ton of interest from such teams as the Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vegas, Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, and Ottawa Senators. It’s no surprise, he is a consument second or third-line centre who has become an expert at the shootout. He made all four attempts last season without a miss. ‘Dvo’ brings his lunch pail to work and digs right in at the task at hand. The other attractive thing is his reasonable contract at $4.45 million through 2024-25. Now that is a deal, and if the Coyotes trade him they had better get a more than reputable return.
Have heard several teams showing interest in trading for Coyotes Center Christian Dvorak – Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Vegas and Pittsburgh.
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) July 21, 2021
It seems that the interest in Dvorak has been generated by other teams, and the Coyotes are perfectly fine with keeping him. Still, it doesn’t hurt to listen to offers, you never know if it can help move your team forward. It is a certainty that general manager Bill Armstrong will think long and hard about dealing Dvorak. After all, he’s exactly the type of player Armstrong favours… two-way player, great faceoff guy and someone you want on your team going forward.
Trades Can Be Nerve-racking
Every fan of every NHL team hates to see their favourite player traded. Yet, the NHL is a business and to succeed you need talented players who know how to win. If the Arizona Coyotes can make some trades to better the team’s success, they almost must look into it. You can be assured that GM Armstrong is looking out for the best interests of the the franchise when making Arizona Coyotes trades. One thing is certain, this team will more than likely look a lot different come training camp in September. As a fan of the team, that has to excite you.
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