Flurry of trades leaves Coyotes with plenty of options

The plan to deconstruct the Coyotes roster and rebuild it with current and yet-to-be acquired prospects and draft picks was announced a few months ago, giving ample time for pressure to mount on the team's management group to maximize its stockpile at its first opportunity to incite tangible change.

It's too premature to gauge what impact, if any, the pieces added leading up to the NHL trade deadline will have on the Coyotes but solely based on the haul accumulated by General Manager Don Maloney, the organization certainly has a plethora of options to utilize.

"I honestly think it's better than I expected," Maloney said. "To get the assets that we were able to get in a deep draft, to have multi-early picks, is critical to where we're going to take this team."

The Coyotes capped off their activity Monday by shipping veteran defenseman Zbynek Michalek and a 2015 conditional third-round draft pick to the Blues in exchange for prospect Maxim Letunov.

In separate transactions, they plucked forwards Tye McGinn and Craig Cunningham off waivers and made a minor-league deal by acquiring goalie David Leggio from the Islanders and parting with defenseman Mark Louis.

On Saturday and Sunday, the Coyotes added three players and three draft picks (including two first-rounders) to their stable while cutting ties with center Antoine Vermette, defensemen Keith Yandle and Chris Summers and a fourth-round pick.

"To me this is a day of hope and opportunity and excitement for this franchise because I do think if you really look three or four years down the road, you can see the making of a winner here," Maloney said.

The Michalek trade was expected: the 32-year-old was a free agent at season's end and his rugged, stay-at-home style was ideal as a rental for a playoff-bound team. But Michalek has been sidelined with a concussion, and that likely limited the Coyotes' return for him.

The Coyotes will only have to give the third-round pick to the Blues if Michalek isn't able to play at all the rest of the season.

"There was more there if he was healthy," Maloney said.

​​ Michalek's departure was the end of his second stint with the franchise. He contributed 30 goals and 133 points in 539 games and hasn't ruled out a return in the future.

"It's really hard to leave because I played here for eight years and that's a long time, and I couldn't be more grateful and thankful for not only the organization but the people around it in Phoenix," he said. "What they've done for me and my family, I will never forget that and there always will be a special place in my heart for the rest of my life."

What hamstrung the Coyotes from doing more was their inability to retain salary. They kept 50 percent of Michalek's remaining salary and did the same in the Yandle deal. Since they're also on the hook for a portion of David Rundblad's salary from his trade last season to the Blackhawks, they're at the three-contract limit.

Had they had more flexibility, they might have been able to move winger Martin Erat, another impending free agent who was open to waiving his no-movement clause.

"I was ready for it, and it didn't happen," Erat said. "Now I'm still a Coyote."

The Coyotes reconvened for the first time since all this flux Monday in an afternoon practice at the Ice Den in Scottsdale, and the effects of the roster overhaul were still clearly reverberating around the group.

The Yandle deal, in particular, seemed to catch players and the coaching staff off-guard.

"You lose three great people," goalie Mike Smith said. "Yands is the personality in the locker room. That's tough to replace."

In the lead-up to the deadline, players and coaches attempted to keep their focused trained on their on-ice responsibilities but now it's impossible to ignore the steps the organization is taking to hopefully retool for success in the future.

And grappling with that new reality is the next challenge for this group.

"Nobody likes the situation," coach Dave Tippett said. "You don't go into a situation expecting to lose. The start of the year, nobody expected that. It's going to have to sink in here. I understand what we're trying to do and trying to rebuild. I hope I can help out in the process."

Up next

Ducks at Coyotes

When: Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Where: Gila River Arena.

TV/radio: FSAZ/KMVP-FM (98.7).

Coyotes update: Newly-added defenseman Klas Dahlbeck and John Moore have already arrived in the Valley, while McGinn and Cunningham are expected for Tuesday's game. The Coyotes reassigned winger Lucas Lessio to the American Hockey League. They also executed a paper transaction that sent down Dahlbeck, defenseman Brandon Gormley and goalie Louis Domingue and then promptly recalled the players. In order for those players to be eligible to play in the AHL once the Coyotes' season is over, they had to be on the AHL roster by the trade deadline. That means the Coyotes have used three of their four available call-ups issued after the deadline.

Ducks update: The Ducks were also busy before the trade deadline. Chiefly, they added some depth to their blue line by acquiring James Wisniewski, Simon Despres and Korbinian Holzer. On Saturday, they acquired winger Tomas Fleischmann.The Ducks have won four of their last five games and currently sit atop the Pacific Division with 87 points. Center Ryan Getzlaf leads the team with 61 points. Winger Corey Perry has a team-high 27 goals.