MELBOURNE, Australia -- Nick Bjugstad won't take credit for the Arizona Coyotes' free agent signings this summer. At the same time, the forward won't not take credit, either.
Bjugstad, who himself was a free agent, went on the offensive in an attempt to convince a crop of friends and former teammates to come to the desert, to sign with the Coyotes, to help with what they are building this season and into the future.
And it worked.
Not only did Bjugstad eventually sign with Arizona, returning to the team from which he was traded ahead of the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, but so did Jason Zucker, Troy Stecher, Alexander Kerfoot and Matt Dumba.
"He called me back a couple times, 'Hey, how's it looking, what's going on,'" Zucker said. "But I ended up signing before he did, so I think that was kind of a middle ground for him. He knew he wanted to, but it wasn't done yet, so he didn't push too hard."
Zucker also spoke with Travis Boyd and Stecher, who he shares an agency with, as he made his decision.
"Everybody had rave reviews, so that was a big part of it for sure," Zucker said.
With the Coyotes in rebuilding mode and having qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs once (2019-20) in the past 11 seasons, it might be a hard sell for some veterans. But it wasn't this summer, not with the young talent Arizona is amassing, with Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther and Matias Maccelli and more on the horizon.
"The team's going to get better," Bjugstad said. "They're trying to sign guys and they did, which is great. Dumba and Zucker and Kerfoot, traded for [Sean] Durzi. Just having the staff, that was a big reason why I came back, and then the bonus of taking the next step as a team will be even more and more fun.
"We've got young guys. We're not too old. I guess me and Zucker are the old guys (each is 31). It's going to be a fun year. We actually believe we can surprise some people. It starts here in training camp."
That training camp began far from home, with the Coyotes traveling to Melbourne, Australia, to take part in the 2023 NHL Global Series with two preseason games against the Los Angeles Kings at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday and Sunday. The games start at 12 a.m. ET and will be available on NHL Network and ESPN+ in the United States, Sportsnet and Sportsnet+ in Canada and 9Go, 9Now, ESPN and the ESPN App in Australia.
Bjugstad knew the Coyotes well; he had 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists) in 59 games for them last season before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers on March 2. He was thrilled with the coaching staff, including head coach Andre Tourigny, a big reason why he wanted to return.
"Bear (Tourigny) and the entire coaching staff was the big thing, how they coach, how they treat the players," Bjugstad said. "That's an important thing for me. Enjoyable work environment while at the same time you can get better, grow your game, even if you're an older guy."
It's what he told Zucker and Dumba, the latter of whom he ran into at a wedding over the summer while the defenseman was still weighing his options. After playing his first 10 NHL seasons with the Minnesota Wild, Dumba was seeking a new address.
"He said in an interview that I put the clamps down on him, which might be true," Bjugstad said. "I was all over him."
Zucker is coming off one of his best seasons after he had the second-most points (48) and goals (27) of his NHL career in 78 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins. And he could see what was happening with the Coyotes, the draft picks stacking up and starting to arrive.
It, too, helped with the decision.
"It's huge," Zucker said. "That's a lot of it. Because when you've been around long enough, you know how hard it is to find good talent in this league. … So, for the Coyotes now it's great to have four or five of those really young, stud players. For us, that goes really a long way."
Ultimately, the signings are a win for both the rookies and the veterans, with the elder players able to help the rookies along and the rookies helping provide the excitement and talent on which the Coyotes' future will be based.
"A lot of it's based on just the young talent that this team has," Zucker said. "It's an intriguing organization with everything that they're doing. They're doing a lot of things right and trying to change the persona around having no rink and things of that sort too. This is a great hockey team. So, on paper we're looking good, we like the team that we have. Now we've got to go out and play."
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