Coyotes plot off-season moves
David Vest
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 16, 2006 12:00 AM
The Coyotes will skate off the ice after today's season finale at the Savvis Center in St. Louis as a non-playoff team for the third consecutive season.
Changes in personnel are coming.
"The coaching staff has identified what the team's weaknesses are and we're going to go out and try to sign players to fill those gaps," new Chief Executive Officer Jeff Shumway said last week. "If we're able to do that, I think we're a playoff team next year."
Wayne Gretzky, who most likely will return for a second season as head coach, has sidestepped questions about the team's off-season plans, but look for the Coyotes to add a top-end center, a goal-scoring winger and a top-four defenseman either via free agency or a trade.
The Coyotes have committed about $17.5 million to 10 players for next season and would like to re-sign several key players, including Ladislav Nagy, Mike Comrie and Curtis Joseph.
General Manager Mike Barnett said addressing the re-signings quickly is key.
"Before July 1, the first permissible date to sign unrestricted free agents, I hope to have the majority of our own returning players signed to new contracts," Barnett said. "Most of them have arbitration rights that could take us into August, but hopefully they will take the same approach as did Derek Morris and Steven Reinprecht (who re-signed last month). Having our core signed by mid-June would give us certainty on what dollars we have set aside to enter the free-agent market in July."
Other soon-to-be free agents such as Geoff Sanderson, Boyd Devereaux and Oleg Saprykin likely won't be back.
Barnett has said the team will have about $20 million to spend this off-season.
That's good because some of the players the Coyotes are eyeing are going to command lucrative annual salaries.
Coyotes officials can't discuss the free agents they'll pursue publicly, but they're believed to be interested in defensemen Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, Ed Jovanovski, Rob Blake, and Marek Zidlicky and forwards Scott Gomez, Jason Arnott and Slava Kozlov.
Chara is the prize of this year's unrestricted free-agent class, and he'll be highly coveted.
The Ottawa Senators, his current team, and the New York Rangers and San Jose Sharks also are believed to be interested in the big blueliner, who'll likely command an annual salary of at least $6 million.
Jovanovski and Blake likely could be signed for two-thirds or half of that amount and may make more sense for Phoenix.
Tampa Bay center Brad Richards also is likely on Phoenix's radar, but he's a restricted free agent and probably will re-sign with the Lightning, so if Phoenix wants him it likely would have to trade for him.
Shumway said don't expect the Coyotes to sign or trade for aging popular players only to create a buzz.
"We're going to be very unconcerned about creating press releases," Shumway said. "We're not going to sign people because of marquee value. We will go out and try to sign marquee players that fill the need that we have . . . We really don't want to be in the press release business. We want to be in the hockey business and we want to fill our needs and we need some premiere players."
In other words, there aren't going to be any Brett Hull-like signings this summer.
The Coyotes also may need to add a new associate coach or two.
There are several teams who are or will be looking for a new head coach for 2006-07, and Barry Smith said he's heard from two of them.
Smith has two years left on his contract, but he said it does contain "an out" should a head coaching opportunity arise that he wants to take.
Smith said he's leaning toward staying, but that could change if the right opportunity presents itself to Smith, who has never been an NHL head coach.
Meanwhile, associate coach Rick Tocchet's future with the team is unclear.
Tocchet is still on a leave of absence because of his alleged involvement in an illegal gambling ring.
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