Sarah McLellan

azcentral sports

This year’s NHL draft is still months away and the order of selection has yet to be finalized, but don’t expect the Coyotes to sacrifice franchise defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson for the chance of taking Scottsdale native Auston Matthews with the first overall pick.

“That will never happen,” General Manager Don Maloney told a crowd of approximately 150 fans gathered inside the Renaissance Glendale Hotel & Spa ahead of Saturday’s game against the Flyers.

The Coyotes hosted a town-hall forum to allow Maloney and President, CEO and co-owner Anthony LeBlanc to field questions, and not surprisingly Matthews was mentioned.

Speculation has swirled in recent weeks about the possibility the Coyotes would trade Ekman-Larsson to the team that owns the No. 1 pick at the June draft to acquire Matthews, a local product who’s been tabbed as the consensus top pick for more than a year.

The NHL draft lottery is set for April 30.

Matthews, who represented the Jr. Coyotes and Bobcats in his youth, spent this season in Switzerland where he racked up 46 points (24 goals) in 36 games. The 18-year-old has already been named to the United States’ World Championship roster for this May’s tournament.

“I think I spit my coffee out,” LeBlanc said of his reaction when he read the suggestion.

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Clearly, the team can appreciate what the homecoming would do for their profile – on and off-the-ice.

“Would we on the business side love having a kid who started playing hockey because he went to a Coyotes game? … Of course,” LeBlanc said.

But it doesn’t appear to be enough of an incentive to move out Ekman-Larsson, who is positioned as the team’s best player, a legit No. 1 defenseman and an up-and-coming leader in the game.

“We’re not trading Oliver for a draft pick,” LeBlanc said.

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Hot topics

What the future could look like for the Coyotes was a popular topic at the town hall, including where the team could play once its lease at Gila River Arena expires after next season.

“I’m very confident that we’ll have some kind of announcement out to the community in the next six weeks,” said LeBlanc, who explained it’s “highly, highly unlikely” the team will remain in Glendale long-term.

Expansion to Las Vegas, Quebec City and Seattle was also brought up, sites that LeBlanc ruled out as relocation options for the Coyotes.

“The chances that we’re going to relocate to one of those three markets is the square root of zero,” he said.

LeBlanc reminded the group the Coyotes have been promised an All-Star Game and have pitched hosting an outdoor game.

“It’s fair to say we will continue to push for that,” he said. “I think it would be fantastic.”

Arizona is also exploring third-jersey options, LeBlanc said, and will keep wearing the original Kachina-style uniforms as a throwback look every season.

On the hockey side, the Coyotes are close to signing defenseman Kyle Wood to an entry-level contract, Maloney said, and an announcement could come in the next few days.

Wood was one of the prospects acquired in the Mikkel Boedker trade with the Avalanche at this season’s trade deadline.

The team continues to examine moving its American Hockey League affiliate west.

“That’s what we want,” Maloney said. “That’s what we’re looking to do.”

Maloney also praised captain Shane Doan’s season and mentioned he touched base with Doan’s agent in December. The 39-year-old is in the final season of a four-year deal.

“There’s no question he’s going to play, in my mind, next year, and he’s only going to play in one place and that’s here,” Maloney said.

Scoring change

The second Coyotes goal in Thursday’s 3-1 win over the Stars has been changed from center Martin Hanzal to Ekman-Larsson.

After a shot from Ekman-Larsson from along the half-wall, the puck bounced around in front where Hanzal was posted up before scooting past Dallas netminder Kari Lehtonen.

With the goal, Ekman-Larsson tallied his 20th goal of the season and became only the second defenseman in franchise history to record consecutive seasons of at least 20 goals. Ekman-Larsson tied the franchise record with 23 last season, matching Phil Housley who had the same number in 1990-91 and 1991-92.

The goal also stood up as Ekman-Larsson’s eighth game-winner, which is the NHL record for most game-winning goals in a season by a defenseman.

Reach the reporter at sarah.mclellan@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8276. Follow her at twitter.com/azc_mclellan.