DETROIT -- The market is quiet less than two weeks before the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline on March 21.
There are many sellers, especially with 12 points separating the Washington Capitals, who hold the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, from the Columbus Blue Jackets, their closest pursuer.
Many buyers are tight against the $81.5 million salary cap.
"It's kind of defined who's going [into the playoffs] and who's not, and so I think there's kind of been a little bit of a logjam because there's been so many sellers," Arizona Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong said Tuesday before a 9-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena.
"And I think with the salary cap, people haven't been able to take on more money, so everybody's kind of juggling, and it looks like it's going to come down to one day."
The Coyotes can help. Next to last in the NHL standings (17-35-4), one point ahead of the Montreal Canadiens, and early in a rebuild, they're looking for assets as far out as the 2025 NHL Draft to help them develop for the future, and they have much to offer -- cap space, pending unrestricted free agents, even a No. 1 defenseman in Jakob Chychrun if the price is high enough.
They already have been stacking assets. In addition to their own draft picks, they are set to have two first-rounders and four seconds in the 2022 NHL Draft; a third in the 2023 NHL Draft; and two seconds, a third and a fourth in the 2024 NHL Draft. They have a second in the 2025 draft (if they don't take the option of the Toronto Maple Leafs' third in 2023 instead).
"At this point in time, we're kind of satisfied with what we have right there in the upcoming draft," Armstrong said. "We're very fortunate in the sense that we've tried to plan and spread out the picks. So the 2024 draft is almost completed for us, and we're working a little bit on the '25 draft to stock some picks back there to give us some draft capital, get some currency in the bank. That's the whole plan."
Armstrong said if you look at recent Stanley Cup champions, they are built much the same way.
"They're built with impact players that were taken high in the draft, and we're trying to get to the point where we can draft some impact players, and it's hard," Armstrong said. "I think that's the hardest thing. You have to hit when you're there."
Armstrong said the Coyotes have about $30 million in cap space they can use to take contracts from teams in exchange for assets.
"I don't anticipate that we'd be using all that at this deadline," Armstrong said. "It's there, but for us at this point, we'll look to do one or two deals. Unless something comes up that really [knocks our socks off], I think we'll do one or two probably small deals and hopefully get that done. …
"It'll be interesting. It's been a slow market out there. We'll see if it moves."
Arizona has several veterans who each can become an unrestricted free agent after the season, including goalie Scott Wedgewood, defenseman Anton Stralman and forwards Jay Beagle, Loui Eriksson, Alex Galchenyuk, Phil Kessel, Johan Larsson, Riley Nash and Antoine Roussel.
Will anyone be traded before the deadline? It depends on what they're worth to contenders. Will the Coyotes offer anyone another contract? It depends on what they do from now and through the draft -- and perhaps afterward. They might want to preserve cap space so they can take advantage of opportunities later.
"Everybody's in play," Armstrong said. "Everybody's working for a deal, and we'll see."
The Coyotes also have veterans like defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere and forward Andrew Ladd, each with one season left on his contract.
Armstrong lauded the veterans for what they've brought to the locker room, even if they haven't been as productive as they've been in the past.
"I think when you're going through the rebuild, your biggest concern is to provide a really great environment for your young players to kind of thrive and then come to the rink every day to get better, and that takes a special leadership in the room," Armstrong said. "We've been very fortunate with those guys. They're great leaders, they're great people, and they've really, really pushed our group."
Chychrun's name often pops up in trade speculation, but Armstrong said the Coyotes are listening to offers, not making calls. Clearly, they would need a lot to part with him.
Chychrun has scored five goals in 45 games this season, but he led NHL defensemen with 18 goals in 56 games last season. He's in the third season of a six-year contract and turns 24 on March 31.
"Well, if you think about it, he's a No. 1 [defenseman] that's 23 years old with a team-friendly contract and someone that generated 18 goals the year before, so he has a lot of impact on your team," Armstrong said. "You'd be crazy to move him unless it moved your team forward."
If any players are untouchable, it would be those like defenseman J.J. Moser and forward Clayton Keller. Moser is 21, Keller 23.
"Those are guys that have an opportunity to be here when the rebuild's finished," Armstrong said.
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