Arizona Coyotes stayed sellers at trade deadline as playoff hopes faded
There was no guarantee of being in the playoff picture this time of year from Arizona Coyotes General Manager Bill Armstrong, but the Coyotes stayed in contention to around the midpoint of the season. That raised questions about how the Coyotes would approach the trade deadline.
That was until the 14-game winless streak that stretched from the end of January through February, and any lingering playoff hopes were dashed. Arizona wasn't going to be acquiring players for a playoff push.
“At this point in the season as a team, you always want to be adding. A little bit disappointed that we weren’t able to do that and had to go the other way at the deadline,” Armstrong said. “I thought we did a good job. We got some players on their way. The great thing about what we did in the summer was not get locked into long-term deals and allowing this young team to grow and breathe and expand and when they do, you got room to put them in the right positions.”
As sellers, the Coyotes remained relatively quiet around the trade deadline and sent forward Jason Zucker, and defensemen Matt Dumba and Troy Stecher for future draft picks.
“It was an important deadline in a sense that we were able to accomplish what we set out to do and there was a transparency with the players that if it wasn’t going our way for the playoffs, then we were going to move bodies,” Armstrong said.
More: Coyotes 2024 trade tracker: Defenseman Matt Dumba goes to Tampa Bay at deadline
The vision for the future was on display as the Coyotes took on draft selections in later rounds in favor of offloading both Zucker and Dumba’s contracts. Zucker’s $5.3 million salary was fully retained by the Nashville Predators for a 2024 sixth-round draft pick that the Predators received from the Dallas Stars. Dumba’s $3.9 million cap hit was taken by Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2027 fifth-round pick.
The Coyotes traded Stecher to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round draft choice and a 2024 seventh-round draft choice (originally from Boston).
After those trades, the Coyotes now have $5.7 million projected cap space with their projected cap hit for the year at $78 million. The Coyotes have $61 million left in actual annual compensation for this year.
For Armstrong, it was more important to start considering how he can make room for the developing talent in the pipeline. Forward Dylan Guenther, who has played in 27 games this season, and defenseman Michael Kesselring, who has played in 47 games, are among those he’s hoping to expand in the future.
But as the veteran players leave the organization, there’s still a role those veterans played in the development of younger players like rookie center Logan Cooley.
“It was different. It was my first time being around something like that. In juniors, there’s trades, but I went to college and there aren’t really trades going on,” Cooley said. “It’s sad seeing guys like Matt Dumba and Jason Zucker go. Zucker has helped me so much in just starting my career and ever since I first got here, he’s been a huge help for me. He’s definitely going to be one of my best friends for life here, so it was nice to have a chance to be on his team and I wish him nothing but the best.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Coyotes were sellers at NHL Trade Deadline
