The Arizona Coyotes are going to be a team to keep an eye on this offseason. They may be in the worst cap situation of any team in the league and were recently punished by the NHL for the illegal workouts of draft-eligible players. They lost their second-round pick in the 2020 draft and their first-round pick in the 2021 draft.

They’re also going through a general manager change and transitioning with another ownership group. Elliotte Friedman mentioned in his 31 Thoughts that some big-name players will be available:

“We’ll get to the machinations of that decision shortly, but the penalty means no current selections in the first three rounds of the 2020 draft and no first- or third-rounder in 2021. Expect the Coyotes to try and re-stock that. Even with an active goalie market, Darcy Kuemper is a very attractive piece thanks to his impressive playoff performance. He’s signed for two more years at $4.5 million per. Ekman-Larsson has seven years remaining at $8.25 million per season, and the team would like to test his marketplace.”

Friedman went on to mention a few defensemen that could be in the trade market from the Coyotes, such as Nik Hjalmarsson. If they’re looking to restock their draft picks and head into a rebuild of sorts, the Sabres could be in a position to acquire some players off their roster for a good price.

Coyotes Offseason Outlook

2020-21 Projected Cap Space (via Cap Friendly): $1.1 million

Key Restricted Free Agents: Christian Fischer and Vinnie Hinostroza (arbitration-eligible)

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: Carl Soderberg, Taylor Hall, and Brad Richardson

Likely to be Available

1. Oliver Ekman-Larsson | LD | Age 29 | Seven-years, $8.25 million

As I showed briefly above, it appears that the Coyotes captain will be on the move in the offseason. He carries a full no-movement clause, therefore, he’ll have say in where he goes next. 

Ekman-Larsson was one of the best defenders in the league for a few years, but his play has declined in Arizona over the last few years, as you’ll see below in Evolving Hockey’s expected goals above replacement model.

The Sabres do have a need on the left side of their defense but it doesn’t seem wise to pay the price to acquire Ekman-Larsson. Especially when you consider his decline and contract moving forward. Regardless, with the no-movement clause, I wouldn’t expect the Sabres to be a desired landing spot for the Swedish defender.

2. Derek Stepan | C | Age 30 | One-year, $6.5 million

Stepan isn’t a bad idea at all as a short-term solution at center for the Sabres. He’ll likely be on the move with Christian Dvorak, Nick Schmaltz, and Barrett Hayton as the future down the middle for the Coyotes. They need to shed salary and Stepan is a prime candidate.

What that means is that the Sabres could get him a decent price if they’re willing to take on his full salary for one season.

Stepan had a down season this year, but you’re hoping you can get back the offensive impacts he put together in Arizona the two years prior that you’ll see in Micah’s isolated impact charts below.

He’s a player that can bring some veteran experience down the middle behind Eichel and is the type of center that can have success with Jeff Skinner on that second line.

3. Antti Raanta | G | Age 31 | One-year, $4.25 million

Raanta remains my favorite option of realistic goaltending solutions for the Sabres. The Coyotes can’t have two goaltenders on their roster making over $4 million next season. Surprisingly, it could be a situation where both goaltenders are moved, but we’ll save that for later.

The primary concern with Raanta is his injury history. He hasn’t played more than 47 games in a season throughout his career due to injuries. However, when he does play, he’s one of the top goaltenders in the NHL. He makes a lot of sense with Linus Ullmark as a tandem.

I wrote an article about Raanta when we first launched this site, that you can read here if you want more detail about him.

4. Nik Hjalmarsson | D | Age 33 | One-year, $5 million

Hjalmarsson is at the end of his career but was the best defensive defenseman in the league for a long time. He’s naturally a left-shot defenseman but has played on both sides.

The Swedish defender could be a good partner for Rasmus Dahlin on that top pair. He could focus on the defensive aspect of the game and free up Dahlin to be a bigger part of the offense.

The catch here is that he carries a full no-movement clause. Friedman mentioned him as a player that’ll be on the move as the Coyotes head towards a rebuild. It’s unlikely he’ll waive to spend one of his last seasons in the NHL with the Sabres.

5. Micahel Grabner | Winger | Age 32 | One-year, $3.35 million

My interest in Grabner is bringing him on as a fourth-line winger that can add speed to the lineup. The most intriguing part is that he’s one of the best penalty killers in the league. Even at 32-years-old, he would be a huge upgrade to the Sabres penalty kill.

He makes sense as a cheap addition to the lineup that can take the spot that will be vacated by Zemgus Girgensons for a season. That’ll allow players like Arttu Ruotsalainen to develop and not be rushed into the NHL if he’s not ready yet.

Long Shot Options

1. Christian Dvorak | C | Age 24 | Five-years, $4.45 million

Dvorak may have one of the best contracts in the NHL. The 2014 second-round pick had a great season with the Coyotes. They probably see him as their new top-line center moving forward and would want to hang on with him with that nice contract.

On the other hand, if the Coyotes really want to recoup draft picks they lost via trade and from the league punishment, they may need to move one of these players. He’s absolutely a player that the Sabres could consider moving their 2021 first-round pick for if he’s available.

2. Conor Garland | Winger | Age 24 | One-year, $775k

Garland is another one of the hidden gems on the Coyotes. In his second NHL season, he scored 22 goals and 39 points in 68 games. He flashes whenever you watch the Coyotes play and would be an excellent addition to the Sabres top-six if he’s available. Garland is another player that the Sabres should be willing to give up the assets for.

I just don’t see a scenario where the Coyotes move him when they’re looking to shed salary. He’s on a very cheap contract and they have team control with him being an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent when his contract expires.

3. Darcy Kuemper | G | Age 30 | Two-years, $4.5 million

Surprisingly, Kuemper was mentioned by Friedman as someone that could be on the move from the Coyotes. The reason being is he could recoup some of the assets lost if he’s moved.

Kuemper is one of the best goaltenders in the league at this point and would solidify the Sabres in goal for the next three to four years if they acquired him. According to Evolving Hockey, he ranks third in the league in goals saved above expected over the last two years.

The issue is he would likely be a luxury acquisition for them. He’s going to be expensive and the Coyotes may want a first-round pick for him. This isn’t a move the Sabres can make unless they have addressed their other needs at forward.

A lot of different options with the Coyotes the Sabres could explore. We’ll see if they decide to make a run at any of these players.

Data via: Evolving Hockey and Hockeyviz.com

Photo credit: Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images