In a behind-the-scenes move that may point to the imminent purchase of the Coyotes by a group led by Greg Jamison, The Arizona Republic reports that team General Manager Don Maloney plans to sit down next week with the prospective owner to discuss the team's budget for next season, its future operating plans, and to map out a strategy for re-signing key players and coaches.
One of their top priorities will be coming to an understanding on how best to entertain captain Shane Doan on signing a multi-year contract.
Doan becomes an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and can sign with any team after that date.
"I feel we can sign him tomorrow," Maloney said, "but right now, we have a matter with our own team that needs to get resolved."
That would be the Jamison group and its continuing attempts to close on the purchase of the franchise to keep the team at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale. Jamison and Glendale officials are in the midst of finalizing paperwork on a new building management agreement.
Once that is in place, Jamison has told NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman that he will ramp up the remainder of his equity funding and be ready to close on the purchase of the team.
The quicker a deal gets done, the sooner Maloney can begin modeling his roster for next season. That's one reason he's meeting privately with Jamison, to get an idea on payroll flexibility.
"It's just getting a sense of how they plan to operate, where they want to be on a budget," Maloney said. "If it's similar to where we were this year, that's fine. If it's more, that would be more than fine."
Maloney said there are no "gaping holes" on the roster, suggesting the Coyotes may not dive too deeply into free agency this summer. A trade or two, he said, is probably more likely. The real issue is re-signing many of their own players.
An ownership transfer doesn't have to be completed before Maloney starts doing that, but he said it would help. The Coyotes have six players set to become unrestricted free agents. Besides Doan, there are forwards Ray Whitney, Taylor Pyatt and Daymond Langkow and defensemen Adrian Aucoin and Michal Rozsival.
In addition, goalie Mike Smith as well as head coach Dave Tippett will be entering the final year of their respective deals. Maloney also hopes to re-sign goalie coach Sean Burke, whose present contract is set to expire.
Maloney plans to move fast on retaining Burke and said he's hopeful of getting new deals for Smith and Tippett done by July or August.
As for Doan, who has played 16 years for the franchise, Maloney knows time is of the essence. Doan has said his wish is to remain with the Coyotes, but he could be tempted by a richer payday elsewhere.
"If he hits the market on July 1 and we still don't have our situation resolved, who knows what another team could throw his way?" said Maloney, who has one more year left on his own contract. "That could get him thinking.
"Who knows? But Shane's been a terrific player for us, he's been well paid, and he'll continue to be well paid. We're not looking for him to take a major discount in his salary. It's just a matter of how much and how long."
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