Sarah McLellan

azcentral sports

Coyotes winger Tobias Rieder's journey at the World Cup of Hockey was extended Sunday after Team Europe advanced to the best-of-three final against Canada, but don't expect Rieder at training camp once the tournament concludes.

The restricted free agent and the Coyotes have been unable to agree to a new contract, and Rieder will not be attending camp after the World Cup, said Rieder’s agent, Darren Ferris.

“We’ve made them a fair offer at two years at $2.5 million a year, and they’re unwilling to do it,” Ferris said. “Tobi brings a lot of intangibles to that team. I know he’s a fan favorite. He loves Arizona, but it’s disappointing that they’re unwilling to compensate this kid fairly.

“But at the end of the day, we’re not far apart but they’re not willing to do it at all. I would doubt at this point that I could say that anything’s imminent in getting done.”

General Manager John Chayka said he’s not going to comment on negotiation specifics publicly.

Rieder, 23, had a strong sophomore season in the NHL in which he set career-highs in goals (14), assists (23) and points (37) as mostly a fixture in the top-six forward group. He’s coming off a three-year, entry-level contract reportedly worth $2.775 million.

“It’s disappointing,” Chayka said. “He’s a big part of our team, and we like him a lot. We feel like we’ve made him some real considerable long-term offers that are right on par with the longest offers we’ve ever made in this organization. We want him to be here and get engaged with his teammates and join the club. But it’s business, too. He’s not the first guy to go through this and probably won’t be the last.”

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Once the World Cup ends, Ferris anticipates Rieder returning to Europe to train; Rieder is from Germany. The two plan to discuss what’s next for Rieder when he’s done playing. Ferris has mentioned the Kontinental Hockey League as an option for Rieder but made it clear the NHL is Rieder’s first choice.

If restricted free agents aren't signed by Dec.1, they are ineligible to play the remainder of the NHL season.

In the meantime, Rieder is stationed in Toronto where Team Europe continued its remarkable run by outlasting Sweden 3-2 in overtime Sunday to move on to the final; Canada clipped Russia 5-3 Saturday in the other semifinal.

“He loves it,” Ferris said. “He’s having a great time.”

Against Sweden, Rieder logged 10:40 while skating on the team’s fourth line next to the Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl and the Wild’s Nino Niederreiter. Overall, Rieder has tallied an assist while appearing in all four of Europe’s games. The best-of-three set starts Tuesday with the second matchup Thursday; if needed, Game 3 is Saturday.

“He’s playing well,” Chayka said. “His team’s been successful, and he’s been a part of that. Any time guys get experiences like that that are part of our organization, it’s good to see and certainly hope he has a good couple games against Canada and plays well again.”

Rieder isn’t the only unsigned restricted free agent in the NHL with the Flames’ Johnny Gaudreau, the Sabres’ Rasmus Ristolainen and the Ducks’ Rickard Rakell and Hampus Lindholm among the RFAs without a deal.

Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba, another RFA without a contract, made his trade request public Saturday, citing the lack of opportunity to play on the right side as motivation. Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers are ahead of Trouba on the depth chart, and the Jets had been playing Trouba on the left.

Considering right-shot defenseman who can combine size and strength with the ability to play in all situations are difficult to acquire, Trouba is certainly intriguing and the Coyotes do have interest in the 22-year-old, a source said.

Although Trouba has chosen to request a trade to reach a resolution, Chayka doesn’t believe that decision will trigger a similar scenario for the Coyotes.

“Going public like that, it sheds some light on the situation,” he said. “But at the same time, I don’t expect anyone to be influenced by that type of reaction. For us, again, we like (Rieder). If you look at the Trouba situation, they haven’t had a contract discussion in months. They weren’t talking. This (negotiation with Rieder) has been since February, and we’ve made a series of offers and different ways to try to get this done. That’s not the case, so you certainly think it’s two different scenarios, but we’ll see.”

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