5 offseason moves the Coyotes need to execute
By Nick McAdam
3. Let some depth players walk
Another genius plan coming from the mind of Chayka was the importance of length in contracts. Perfect timing from the young general manager has allowed the Coyotes to potentially let seven players walk this summer and free up some serious room in the cap.
Some might ask why this is a good thing? Well, the term “depth” should be taken with a grain of salt here. Zac Rinaldo and Brad Richardson combined for eight goals this past season and they also add to about $3 million in cap space. It’s just money not well spent.
Kevin Connauton is also a big question mark simply because of whether or not he can replicate his performance from the past campaign. Even then, Connauton cannot be apart of any long-term plan anyways.
The additional space that would be created from letting these players hit the market on July 1 does so much for the structure of the current squad. It gives Arizona a chance to replace the old with the better and new, while freeing some more room to get a deal done with Larsson and Max Domi.
Especially in regards to the defense, it gives the younger players a chance to push through to the NHL lineup.
It’s likely one of the more simple plans that should be done for the summer. A lot can be credited for scenarios like this due to brilliant money management and length terms of the past.