Category Archives: Arizona Coyotes

Phoenix Coyotes GM Don Maloney shopping around for deal

Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney has yet to see the 2013 version of his team practice, let alone compete in a game, but that hasn’t stopped Maloney from seeking personnel improvement.

In the days leading up to the start of training camp on Sunday, Maloney thought he might have been able to orchestrate a trade and have it waiting in the hopper to execute once the NHL and players’ association agreed to a memorandum of understanding Saturday night that officially ended the lockout.

Eager Krejci shrugs off trade rumors

David Krejci was back on the ice Friday with his Bruins teammates for the first time since heading over to his native Czech Republic to play for HC Pardubice during the lockout, and the 26-year-old pivot said he was aware of the persistent rumors about a possible trade to Phoenix or Anaheim. But he made it clear, as he did last season when the rumors started, that he wants to remain a Bruin.

“I’ve seen it and I have time to go on the Internet, so I know what’s going on,” Krejci said. “I went through lots of things and saw my name there, but there’s nothing I can control. I am happy here, and I hope I haven’t given them any reasons to trade me. So I can’t control it, and I just want to go out there and play my best.”

Shane Doan chooses between Vancouver and Phoenix Friday; will this affect Roberto Luongo?

Last week, Shane Doan made a solemn vow that he would sign somewhere by midnight on September 15th, although his recent history of extended deadlines made us wonder if this was an empty threat.

Turns out it was. According to a recent report by John Gambadoro, a radio host on Sports 620 KTAR in Phoenix, Doan has once again spurned his own deadline. But here’s the twist: the winger has actually moved it ahead for once. Gambadoro says that Doan will sign somewhere by 2pm on September 14th, because all contracts have to be signed by then.

What’s more, “somewhere” is one of only two places: Phoenix… or Vancouver. (Hey! that’s where we live!)

We’ve been real Debbie Downers about the Canucks’ chances thus far, but if Gambadoro’s report is to be believed, you sort of have to like them now. After all, Doan has said that he needs Greg Jamison’s deal with the city of Glendale to go through before he signs that four-year deal with the Coyotes, but what are the odds of that deal getting completed tomorrow? Heck, the last time someone successfully completed a deal to purchase the Coyotes was in 2005.

But don’t get too excited. (Like, you can get kind of excited. But don’t get excited to excess.) If Doan does join the Canucks, it could mean that the Canucks’ other ongoing saga likely won’t wrap up as neatly.

The addition of Doan is likely to hurt Mike Gillis’s attempts to get market value for Roberto Luongo.

http://vansunsportsblogs.com/2012/09/14/shane-doan-chooses-between-vancouver-and-phoenix-tomorrow-will-this-affect-roberto-luongo/

Reports Shane Doan has signed four-year $21.5 million extension with Coyotes

The Canucks were hoping a gold-medal winning veteran with a cap hit of about $5 million would be reporting to training camp this month.

And it’s true, one is planning to. But he’s the wrong one.

Roberto Luongo may be in Vancouver next week and prepared to report to camp, if camp ever happens. So he’s in. For now. But Shane Doan appears to be out, according to reports which have him agreeing to a four-year, $21.5 million extension with the Phoenix Coyotes, pending the completed sale of the club to Greg Jamison.

The Canucks had tabled a similar offer, though the money wasn’t quite as much, and still believe they have the best chance to be Doan’s Plan B. But that Plan B is disappearing faster than those polar bears on Lost.

Doan represented an opportunity to significantly and instantly improve the Canucks, which explains why they were pursuing him with a courtship which included a dinner at the city’s Italian Kitchen.

Doan kept saying it wasn’t about the money, and it hasn’t been as the Phoenix deal is significantly less than the $30-million contract he was offered.

DOAN SAYS HE HAS DEAL WITH COYOTES, AWAITING JAMISON PURCHASE

In an interview with a Phoenix radio station, Coyotes captain revealed some good news for Coyotes fans.

One, that prospective owner Greg Jamison has secured the money to purchase the Coyotes and two, that he’s agreed to a new deal with the team; he’s just waiting on Jamison to acquire the team to make it official.

“My goal has been to stay here the whole time,” Doan told radio station XTRA 910 in Phoenix. “Don and Tip and the organization have been great. We have a deal worked out that we just want to make sure that the team gets signed and that everything gets done and it gets done before the 15th.”

Doan went on to say that Jamison has the funds to complete the deal to purchase the Coyotes and is optimistic it will go through soon.

“Mr. Jamison has the money. Mr. Bettman has said its all good, according to the NHL, and it’s going to go through. It’s just a matter of getting the lease agreement done now. Obviously that was done earlier. Now there are some things they decided they wanted to change, which obviously can delay things. With that being said, I think that Mr. Jamison and the league have stated it’s really up to Glendale and Glendale, they had it done for a while.”

Report: Keith Yandle ‘Would Love to Play for the Bruins’

The Coyotes locked up Keith Yandle to a long-term extension last offseason, but if they decide to deal the talented defenseman, it looks like he wouldn’t mind going back to where it all started. Yandle, a Boston native, “would love to play for the Bruins,” according to CSNNE.com’s Danny Picard. The news comes amidst speculation that the B’s could look to add a top-pair defenseman to play alongside Zdeno Chara. Yandle, who turns 26 on Sunday, would certainly fit that mold. He’s been an All-Star the past two seasons, and has played in all of the Coyotes’ games the past three years. He recorded a career-high 59 points (11 goals, 48 assists) in 2010-11, and compiled 11-32-43 totals last season while helping Phoenix reach the Western Conference Final. The Coyotes understand how important Yandle is to their success, so they signed him to a five-year, $26.25 million extension last summer. He’s been the subject of some rumors this offseason, though, with the Red Wings reportedly among the teams that have inquired about the defenseman.

Yandle, a Boston native, “would love to play for the Bruins,” according to CSNNE.com’s Danny Picard. The news comes amidst speculation that the B’s could look to add a top-pair defenseman to play alongside Zdeno Chara. Yandle, who turns 26 on Sunday, would certainly fit that mold. He’s been an All-Star the past two seasons, and has played in all of the Coyotes’ games the past three years. He recorded a career-high 59 points (11 goals, 48 assists) in 2010-11, and compiled 11-32-43 totals last season while helping Phoenix reach the Western Conference Final. The Coyotes understand how important Yandle is to their success, so they signed him to a five-year, $26.25 million extension last summer. He’s been the subject of some rumors this offseason, though, with the Red Wings reportedly among the teams that have inquired about the defenseman.

Read more at: http://www.nesn.com/2012/09/report-keith-yandle-would-love-to-play-for-the-bruins.html

Phoenix Coyotes sale back on track as Greg Jamison secures investors

The perpetually on-again, off-again saga regarding the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team is on again.

Prospective Coyotes buyer Greg Jamison has brought investment money and partners back into the fold and could soon close on the purchase of the team from the National Hockey League. The sale would keep the team in Glendale at Jobing.com Arena.

Jamison’s group has been trying to buy the Coyotes since last year.

Two sources with knowledge of the three-year-old Coyotes ownership saga say Jamison now has the investors and partners in place to finally buy the Coyotes and a deal could close very soon.

All that comes as free agent Coyotes captain Shane Doan puts off signing with a new team while Jamison tries to close the deal. The fact that Doan has held off signing with a new team could be an indicator that he is waiting on the Coyotes sale to close.

Doan could re-sign with the Coyotes if Jamison can buy the team. He’s also considering the Vancouver Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers. The Nashville Predators and Los Angeles Kings could also be in the mix if Doan leaves Phoenix.

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2012/08/08/phoenix-coyotes-sale-back-on-track-as.html

Canucks in tough to land Shane Doan despite multi-year offer

It may not have been the big fish Canucks fans were hoping for, but you can bet pumping a 140-pound tuna to the surface in Panama was memorable for a vacationing GM Mike Gillis.

Those tuna are renowned fighters and that was a huge fish. It’s not easy.

Much like trying to land Shane Doan.

The Canucks are in on the Doan sweepstakes, having offered the power forward a competitive multi-year contract that is at least three years in length.

How competitive? Well, it’s relative, but teams aren’t in on Doan if they’re offering one- and two-year deals.

The Canucks offer probably is not near the four-year, $30 million monster an Eastern Conference team reportedly tabled.

But that offer did have a ring of absurdity to it. You could see it coming from the Magical Man who lives in Happy-Land on Lollipop Lane.

Whether it’d be enough to sway Doan remains to be seen. But, remember, this is a player who has dedicated his entire career to the Phoenix Coyotes organization. Could that same player be lured to a situation that doesn’t fit his criteria just because it’s the largest financial windfall?

First and foremost among Doan’s criteria is to stay in Phoenix.

He wouldn’t be rounding into late July without a contract otherwise. And his return to Phoenix became more likely Monday when Glendale formally rejected the petition which was seeking a referendum on the Coyotes lease agreement.

Vancouver Canucks re-sign Mason Raymond, take aim at Shane Doan

Vancouver Canucks left-winger Mason Raymond has avoided salary arbitration but he hasn’t avoided a pay cut.

The 26-year-old forward agreed Monday to a one-year contract for $2.275 million, which represents a $325,000 reduction from his $2.6 million wage of last season. Maybe he’ll even have Shane Doan on his line after Canucks assistant GM Laurence Gilman confirmed the team is pursuing the unrestricted free agent captain of the Phoenix Coyotes.

“I have spoken to Shane Doan on behalf of our organization a couple of times,” Gilman said Monday. “I spoke with him on July 1 to express our interest in bringing him to Vancouver and subsequently followed up with Shane last night. I know from my experience in Phoenix that he has been interested in Vancouver in the past. He’s a western Canadian guy whose wife is from Kamloops. So I think there is interest there. I had productive discussions with both Shane and his agent.”

Gilman was quick to note there will be many suitors for Doan, 35, if he opts to leave the Coyotes and their unstable financial situation.

“Shane is a sought-after commodity and there are a number of teams who would be interested in adding him to their roster,” Gilman continued. “So we’ll see what happens.”

Shane Doan deserves better ending to free agency

C’mon, LA, keep your grubby mitts away, won’t you? Isn’t pilfering one athletically gifted, civic-minded Canadian away from Phoenix enough already?

On the heels of Steve Nash’s departure to Los Angeles comes word that nearly a dozen suitors are courting Shane Doan, including the Kings, according to several reports, should the Coyotes captain choose to leave the Valley.

Swell.

That isn’t the lament of a homer sportswriter. It is the reaction of a journalist who has spent several decades covering the games people play and knows how unique Doan is. Rarely does an athlete come along who spends his entire career with one organization and in the process serves as leader, scorer, mentor, promoter.

Yet his 16-year stay in Arizona is at risk of ending because of an ownership mess that appears to be growing more complicated by the minute. And it’s not just the Kings who appear to have interest in Doan. Eleven teams have inquired about the player, his agent, Terry Bross, said Friday. New York, Detroit and Montreal are among the group, according to various reports.

Doan deserves better.

Phoenix Coyotes, other NHL teams turning attention to trade option

Now that prized free agents Zach Parise and Ryan Suter have settled on a destination, both choosing to join the Minnesota Wild, trade talks are expected to intensify as NHL teams search for other ways to fill out their rosters.

And with a hearty collection of defensemen in their possession, an active trade market is just what the Coyotes want.

“There were so many teams pursuing those two players and where they go,” General Manager Don Maloney said. “Really, there are not a lot of people left on the board. … Discussions will pick up. Whether we see movement in the next two or three days or in weeks and months, I really can’t say.”

The Coyotes have started to turn their attention to the trade option. Six defensemen will crack the opening-night lineup, and aside from the four returning starters and the recently acquired Zbynek Michalek, another six will challenge for a spot.

Happy buyers

The signings of forwards David Moss and Steve Sullivan weren’t blockbuster acquisitions, but the Coyotes were successful in nabbing the players they realistically had targeted.

“We did have discussion on a couple other wingers that had some skill, but we didn’t like the term or dollars,” Maloney said. “One or the other we really didn’t like. I know it’s hard for our fans to understand, but we just need to continue to stay patient. We do have very good financial flexibility.

“At some point between now and when the puck drops next season, we’ll find another good player to help us.”

Jamison lacks cash to buy Coyotes: Report

Greg Jamison, the prospective owner of the Phoenix Coyotes, has not raised enough money to buy the team, sources have told Forbes.

Jamison is having a tough time getting the cash together to complete the $170-million purchase because investors doubt the potential to make a profit — even with a $15-million-a-year taxpayer subsidy.

City council will vote Friday on a deal in which Glendale, Ariz., would sign a 20-year management and lease deal and pay Jamison $15 million annually.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Phoenix/2012/06/06/19846316.html