Vegas Golden Knights Mock Expansion Draft Roundtable
Arizona Coyotes
| Available | Age | 17/18 | Automatically Exempt |
| F Shane Doan | 40 | UFA | F Dylan Strome |
| F Jamie McGinn | 28 | $3.33M | F Lawson Crouse |
| F Martin Hanzal | 29 | UFA | F Max Domi |
| F Tobias Rieder | 23 | $2.25M | F Laurent Dauphin |
| F Brad Richardson | 31 | $2.083M | F Christian Dvorak |
| F Radim Vrbata | 35 | UFA | F Michael Bunting |
| F Ryan White | 28 | UFA | F Dakota Mermis |
| F Anthony Duclair | 21 | RFA | F Conor Garland |
| F Jordan Martinook | 24 | RFA | F Ryan MacInnis |
| F Craig Cunningham (LTIR) | 25 | RFA | F Christian Fischer |
| F Tyler Gaudet | 22 | RFA | F Brendan Perlini |
| F Chris Mueller | 30 | UFA | F Nick Merkley |
| F Garret Ross | 24 | RFA | F Lane Pederson |
| F Peter Holland | 25 | RFA | |
| F Matia Marcantuoni | 22 | RFA | |
| F Mitchell Moroz | 22 | RFA | |
| F Alex Burmistrov | 25 | RFA | D Jakob Chychrun |
| F Branden Troock | 22 | RFA | D Dysin Mayo |
| F Brendan Ranford | 24 | RFA | D Kyle Wood |
| D Anthony DeAngelo | |||
| D Oliver Ekman-Larsson | 25 | $5.5M | D Jalen Smereck |
| D Alex Goligoski (NMC) | 31 | $5.475M | |
| D Connor Murphy | 23 | $3.85M | G Adin Hill |
| D Michael Stone | 26 | UFA | |
| D Luke Schenn | 26 | $1.25M | |
| D Kevin Connauton | 26 | $1.0M | |
| D Zbynek Michalek | 33 | UFA | |
| D Jamie McBain | 28 | UFA | |
| D Jarred Tinordi | 23 | RFA | |
| G Mike Smith | 34 | $5.66M | |
| G Louis Domingue | 24 | $1.05M | |
| G Marek Langhamer | 21 | RFA |
| Ryan | Matt | Suraj |
| 7 – 3 – 1 | 4 – 4 – 1 | 7 – 3 – 1 |
| F Anthony Duclair | F Martin Hanzal | F Anthony Duclair |
| F Tobias Rieder | F Tobias Rieder | F Tobias Rieder |
| F Jordan Martinook | F Anthony Duclair | F Jordan Martinook |
| F Jamie McGinn | F Radim Vrbata | F Jamie McGinn |
| F Brad Richardson | D Alex Goligoski (NMC) | F Tyler Gaudet |
| F Radim Vrbata | D Oliver Ekman-Larsson | F Peter Holland |
| F Alexander Burmistrov | D Connor Murphy | F Alexander Burmistrov |
| D Alex Goligoski (NMC) | D Michael Stone | D Alex Goligoski (NMC) |
| D Oliver Ekman-Larsson | G Louis Domingue | D Oliver Ekman-Larsson |
| D Connor Murphy | D Connor Murphy | |
| G Louis Domingue | G Louis Domingue | |
| *Stone/Hanzal omitted, expected | *Stone/Hanzal omitted, expected | |
| to be traded | to be traded |
Due to a relatively young forward group, many of the Coyotes top players are automatically exempt. That’s good news for a team that may need to protect more than three defensemen. That could, however, change if Arizona decides to trade pending unrestricted free agent Michael Stone.
Protection Lists:
I’ve opted to omit Martin Hanzal and Michael Stone. Chances are that both of these players will be with a new organization by the time March 1st rolls around. One less defender to protect gives the Coyotes a little more flexibility up front with the 7-3-1 scheme. Guys like Anthony Duclair and Tobias Rieder are virtual locks to be saved. I’m also leaning towards Jamie McGinn, Brad Richardson, and Alex Burmistrov, which leaves just one spot. For the time being, I’m going with Radim Vrbata. There’s been some rumors that he could be dealt as a rental piece, but the history hasn’t been great for the Czech winger other one big year in Vancouver. Other than that, Vrbata has done most of his damage with the Coyotes at the NHL level. Because of that, I believe Arizona would be wise to re-sign the 35-year-old pending UFA instead of trading him.
– Ryan Ritchie
Q: Louis Domingue is the logical save between the pipes. Given the state of Coyotes goaltending, do you believe they can continue to roll with Smith, Domingue in 2017-18? Do they need to buy out Mike Smith’s contract, trade for a number one? Or, could they sign a Chad Johnson/Anders Nilsson-type to compete in a tandem? What is the long-term solution down in the Desert?
I do not believe goaltending is the problem in Arizona. They have high-end prospects in the pipeline, but their lack of quality talent up front has hindered their production as a team. They have a promising defensive group, which can be improved, but players like Max Domi and Anthony Duclair were poised to have big seasons. Alex Burmistrov is a nice shot in the dark, and the young Russian can still prove his worth in the NHL. They are either playing catch up, or spending far too much time in their own zone. Until they improve their ability to hold the puck and score goals, goalies will continue to struggle in the Desert.
– Suraj Sukumar