NHL Rumors: Tobias Rieder signs two-year deal with Arizona Coyotes

The Arizona Coyotes have reportedly agreed to a two-year deal worth $4.45 million with Tobias Rieder. 

One of the last things the Arizona Coyotes needed to accomplish this offseason was signing restricted free agent forward Tobias Rieder. At one point, it appeared a deal would not happen. However, according to Sarah McLellan of AzCentral, the two sides have agreed to a two-year deal. Rieder will have an annual cap hit of $2.225 million, receiving $2 million in 2016-17 and $2.45 in 2017-18.

The 23-year-old forward is coming off his best season as a pro. In 2015-16, Rieder had a career high 14 goals, 23 assists, and 37 points. Earlier this offseason, Rieder’s agent reportedly requested a trade. The two sides disagreed about what Rieder was worth. However, it appears Rieder backed down from his initial ask of $2.5 million per season.

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This is huge for the Coyotes. With Rieder, the Coyotes have one of the youngest and fastest lineups in the NHL. Rieder has been an important part of the Coyotes’ penalty kill, scoring three shorthanded goals in 2014-15 and averaging two minutes killing penalties in 2015-16. He has also been one of their best possession forwards, which is important to a Coyotes team that had some of the worst possession numbers in the league last season.

Rieder should see an increase in points as he takes on more roles for the Coyotes. Expect to see him take a more active role on the Coyotes’ power play. The past two seasons, he has played more of a complementary role, but with his quickly improving play, he should see more playing time on the power play. In 2015-16, Rieder finished fourth on the Coyotes in even strength goals (12) and sixth on the team in overall goals (14). Rieder also finished eighth on the team in points with 37 while finishing with just 10 penalty minutes, the lowest among Coyotes skaters with at least 67 games played.