NHL Rumors: Arizona Coyotes have Matt Duchene as their top target
According to the latest NHL rumors, the Arizona Coyotes plan to make Matt Duchene their top priority in free agency this offseason.
The Arizona Coyotes might have missed the postseason this season, but they finished very strong. They were in the playoff race until late March. Armed with a new owner (though we don’t know who it is yet), the Coyotes have been active in the latest NHL rumors. According to a recent report, Arizona plans to make free agent center Matt Duchene their top priority.
This report comes from Darren Dreger in his latest Insider Trading segment. Also, Pierre LeBrun confirmed this in his latest notebook with The Athletic. Dreger said the Coyotes plan to have Duchene “as their top focus”. Meanwhile, LeBrun notes they “plan to be aggressive”.
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Of course, the Coyotes still need to find a new owner. But John Shannon of Sportsnet reported in late May that it’s definitely happening. Depending on who it is, the Coyotes could have more money to spend than they have in recent years.
The Coyotes need scoring, as their 213 goals in 2018-19 ranked 27th out of 31 teams. Duchene has scored at least 20 goals in six of his last seven seasons. During the 2018-19 season, he set a career high with 31 goals split between the Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets. Duchene also tied his career-high with 70 points.
However, the Coyotes would probably have to clear some cap space to get something done with him. They currently have about $8.6 million of cap space, according to CapFriendly. Should the Coyotes add Duchene, they’d have 11 forwards under contract. It would likely take them most of, if not all of, that $8.6 million to sign him.
The Coyotes have several options. They could trade backup goalie Darcy Kuemper. The Coyotes likely wouldn’t have much trouble finding a suitor for him, as he’s a quality backup goalie and has a cap hit of just $1.85 million. Plus, they have young goaltender Adin Hill in the minors. He has NHL experience.
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Other players who could be traded include forward Christian Dvorak (who has been linked to the Minnesota Wild) and defenseman Alex Goligoski. It’s worth noting the Coyotes also have to start thinking about Clayton Keller‘s next contract, which could be a significant one.