The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that aren’t taking part in the playoffs plus those that were eliminated early. It’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Arizona.
It was an interesting year for the Coyotes. A team that looked like it was built to bottom out, Arizona actually had a winning record on home ice and even a late-season struggle didn’t drop them into the bottom five of the standings. While there is still a long way to go in their rebuild, there is cause for optimism moving forward. That is, assuming one major item gets checked off their checklist later this month.
Crank Up The Marketing
Generally speaking, a team’s promotion of something wouldn’t be classified as newsworthy. But later this month, Tempe voters will vote on the proposed Tempe Entertainment District. Voters have to vote on three propositions, one to amend the general plan for the property which is currently a landfill, one to approve the rezoning for the project, and one to enter into a contract with the development company. If any one of those three propositions is defeated, the project will fall through and Arizona’s arena search will be dealt a serious blow.
The full project is expected to cost roughly $2.1BB and covers the construction of a new arena, along with high-end retail, upscale restaurants, boutique hotels, and more than 1,900 luxury residential units in the city. While city council is on board with the project, there has been some vocal opposition to it as well, making it far from a foregone conclusion that it’s approved.
Accordingly, the Coyotes are likely to pick up the push to generate some positive momentum for voting which closes on May 16th. A yes vote on all three propositions could help secure their future in the desert, a boon for a franchise that has basically been chasing its financial tail for more than a decade now. Meanwhile, a no vote would call their long-term future into question as there is no financially viable way for them to stay in a college arena, even if it’s one that they’ve enjoyed some early success at.
Shop Schmaltz
Over the past few years, there has been a significant exodus of players from the Coyotes but one player who has lasted so far is Nick Schmaltz. The way his contract is structured has seen Arizona realize considerable savings in his salary relative to his cap hit, $6.9MM over the first four years of the deal. The pendulum is set to swing the other way as he’s owed over $24MM in salary in the remaining three seasons. For a budget-conscious team like Arizona, this is particularly noteworthy.
Their financial situation aside, there’s a hockey-related reason to look into moving the 27-year-old. GM Bill Armstrong admitted back in March that he feels Arizona is nearing the halfway point of its rebuild. (For context, they’ve missed the playoffs three straight years after qualifying for them in the bubble.) With 47 draft picks over the next four years, it stands to reason that they’re still several more seasons away from truly contending. With that in mind, does it make sense to hold onto a player who isn’t likely to be part of their core once they get to the point of trying to contend?
Schmaltz has strung together two straight strong, albeit injury-riddled campaigns. After picking up 23 goals and 36 assists in 63 games in 2021-22, he followed that up with 22 tallies and 36 helpers in 36 contests this season. At a minimum, that’s strong second-line production and a $5.85MM AAV for a capable second middleman is more than reasonable. Of course, his salary could very well deter some other budget-conscious franchises but that shouldn’t stop the Coyotes from generating a strong market for Schmaltz, especially with three years left at that cap hit.
No, Arizona doesn’t have to move Schmaltz now. They could easily hold onto him and revisit things closer to the trade deadline. But if they’re looking to keep payroll costs down as much as possible to offset a lack of ticket revenue (which has played a role in them trading for multiple LTIR players to capitalize on only paying the uninsured portions of their salaries), moving Schmaltz before the puck drops on the 2023-24 campaign would certainly help on that front.
Goaltending Decisions
From the moment that Karel Vejmelka established himself as a viable NHL netminder, there have been questions about his long-term future with the Coyotes. Even after he signed an extension a little more than a year ago, that didn’t do much to quash trade speculation. With two years remaining at a team-friendly $2.75MM AAV, there would be considerable interest in the 26-year-old and this deal would be expiring before Armstrong’s stated intended emergence from the rebuild.
By that logic, it could be inferred that Vejmelka is a strong candidate to be moved this summer. But for all the prospects that Arizona has (and they have a lot of them before even considering the 17 picks in the first two rounds in the next four years), they don’t have a goalie of the future. Accordingly, they might be better off holding onto him and trying to extend him next summer. Armstrong will need to decide what the plan is for his top puck-stopper.
Meanwhile, a decision has to be made on Connor Ingram as well. His first full NHL campaign was a decent one as he posted a .907 SV% in 27 games this season behind a team that wasn’t exactly strong in its own end. He’s a restricted free agent in July and considering his qualifying offer is barely above the minimum salary, he’d seemingly be a no-brainer to be tendered. However, the 26-year-old is arbitration-eligible and with the going rate for a capable backup goalie going up considerably in recent years, it’s possible that the award, should it get to a hearing, might be higher than Arizona is comfortable paying. As a result, Armstrong will likely look into trying to move Ingram’s rights this summer if Ingram’s ask in contract discussions is too high for his liking.
One possible pressure point to factor into these decisions is Ivan Prosvetov’s waiver eligibility next season. While the 24-year-old has been inconsistent in his brief NHL tenure, they feel he could be a legitimate NHL netminder. Will they want to open up a spot for him next season over either carrying three goalies or running the risk of losing him on waivers? If so, that will play a hand in one of Vejmelka or Ingram being moved.
Re-Sign Maccelli
While winger Matias Maccelli didn’t qualify as one of the three Calder Trophy finalists, it doesn’t take away from what was a strong (and surprising) rookie year. A season after recording just a goal and five assists in 23 games, the 22-year-old became an important part of Arizona’s attack, finishing third on the team in scoring with 49 points in 64 contests while leading all NHL freshmen in assists with 38.
Maccelli is set to become a restricted free agent this summer as his entry-level contract comes to an end. He doesn’t have arbitration eligibility and is owed a qualifying offer of just over $874K. It’s safe to say he’ll land a fair bit more than that on his second deal.
In the past, the Coyotes haven’t shied away from signing their core young players to long-term agreements. If they feel Maccelli is going to play at this level or better moving forward, they’d be wise to try to lock him up now. However, with barely one full season’s worth of NHL games under his belt, the safer play would certainly be a bridge agreement. Chances are that’s the path Armstrong will take with Maccelli in the coming months.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Mmm, but there’s some inconsistency here. If Nick Schmaltz is going to be too old to be a viable part of the core by the time the Aeros/Nordiques (alright, Coyotes) have finished the rebuild, Vejmelka — who is all of three months younger than Schmaltz — would be just as old, right?
Goalies tend to take longer to develop but moving Schmaltz as opposed to Vejmelka is more about money than anything else.