Arizona Coyotes 2018 draft pick Jan Jeník remains without a contract for next season and is reportedly seeking a trade to continue his career in North America, according to a report from PHNX Sports’ Craig Morgan.
The Coyotes issued Jeník a qualifying offer before the June deadline and retained his exclusive signing rights as a restricted free agent, but Morgan says he doesn’t appear close to signing with Arizona. The 22-year-old winger was the Coyotes’ 65th overall pick in 2018 and has three years of pro experience under his belt, mainly with AHL Tucson.
He’s put up strong offensive totals on a weak Roadrunners team over the past two seasons, even finishing second on the team in scoring with 17 goals, 30 assists and 47 points in 51 games during the 2021-22 campaign. After more solid play with 23 points in 30 games for Tucson this season, though, he didn’t receive much of an NHL chance – only two games at the major-league level in 2022-23 and just 17 overall over the past three seasons.
Arizona drafted Jeník directly out of the 1. Liga, Czechia’s second-tier pro league behind the Extraliga and not at all a traditional stomping ground for draft-eligible prospects. It was after the 2018 draft that Jeník established some decent stock as a prospect, coming to North America and scoring 86 points in 54 games across two seasons with the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. He looked well on his way to solidifying himself as a potential top-five prospect in the organization, but without much of any NHL experience to show for it and a crowded forward corps next season, it makes sense he’s looking for other opportunities.
He may not get the trade he desires anytime soon, though, as Morgan reports the Coyotes “seem content to let Jeník sit,” given he has very little leverage as an RFA. He’s got a few options moving forward if the Coyotes don’t move him – he can sit out and hope the team folds before December 1, the deadline by which he needs to sign to play in the NHL this season; he can sign in Europe; or he can hope another team signs him to an offer sheet which Arizona opts not to match. Teams do not need to send compensation for signing offer sheets worth less than $1.416MM per season.
It doesn’t seem likely a team would issue an offer sheet of any significance, though, as despite his wishes, few believe Jeník is ready for a full-time NHL role as things stand. Arizona will likely match any offer he realistically receives and send him back to Tucson to start next season.
Not sure why Jenik is playing hardball. He has zero leverage to negotiate.
Homie should be more concerned about improving his game to get to the NHL than fighting for a couple extra bucks.
If you read the article you would see he is not holding out for more money. He is seeking an opportunity to play somewhere that has a clearer path to the NHL instead of wallowing around the AHL getting minimal chances in the show.
If he can’t make the terrible Yotes line-up, where the hell is he going to play? He sucks. He needs to shut up and work on his game.
“he can sit out and hope the team folds before December”
That may happen, but in a different way than this article means.
When you say “hope the team folds before December” I can’t imagine you were referring to them being dissolved as a franchise from the NHL.
If that’s what you meant, that is not going to happen.
I’m not 100% sure but that may be what some people refer to as a “joke”. I’m not an expert on the subject so I can’t say for certain.
Yes, it’s probably a joke. Arizona’s Coyotes are a favorite whipping franchise of fans that predominantly reside in “traditional” hockey markets.
Truth of the matter is, and it’s actually quite ironic.
Like a Cat. The Arizona Coyotes have nine lives
I’m sure what the author means by “hope the team folds” is grant his wish to be traded.
He will rot, Arizona holds every single card in the deck on this kid.
Throwing in some unfounded armchair expertise here:
Playing for the national team is a big thing for most Europeans, especially when the tournament is at home soil.
Maybe Jenik is negotiating a European assignment clause here. That would allow him to play the tournament. In that case he would have some levarage, as he could easily walk away from the NHL and sign with a European team instead of signing a deal with the Coyotes. Remember Krejci sitting out a year to play for Czechia at the World Championships?
A European assignment clause dictates players be sent back to a European league team throughout the season instead of the minors if certain conditions are met. It has no bearing on the player’s participation in international tournaments – especially the World Championships, which take place after the NHL regular season ends
It seems that as he has finished his ELC that he will need to clear waivers.
He could sign with AZ and then hope he gets picked up on waivers to start the season.
Seems like a Ken Holland type player