A Look At Lawson Crouse’s Contract Extension With The Arizona Coyotes
By Justin Perez
Heading into this offseason, the Arizona Coyotes weren’t expecting to make any big moves regarding NHL players for obvious reasons. However, they had to make a decision on one of their own players and if they wanted to resign him.
That player was Lawson Crouse. Ever since being drafted in the first round of the 2015 draft, Crouse hadn’t done much. If anything, he had become a huge target of criticism and was regarded as a bust by many people.
A Look At Lawson Crouse’s Contract Extension With The Arizona Coyotes
He was originally selected by the Florida Panthers with the 11th overall pick that year. He never even came close to cracking the Panthers roster and in September of the next year he was dealt.
The Panthers sent him and Dave Bolland to the desert for a third-round pick in 2017 and a conditional second-round pick in 2018. For Crouse, getting traded to an organization that was rebuilding at that time was a win.
The Panthers were coming off of a playoff appearance the year before, and there wasn’t a spot for him to play. He would play consistently for the Coyotes. However, ever since making his debut with the team in 2016-17, Crouse has done little to make Florida regret trading him in a cap dump move.
From 2016-21, the now 25-year-old struggled mightily. He dealt with constant injuries and many thought he was a lost cause. Another part of the problem that might have caused his stagnated development was his lack of good coaching. Dave Tippett had a system that didn’t resonate well with the players in the locker room and Rick Tocchet failed miserably.
The most amount of points he ever recorded in a single season was 25. Needless to say he desperately needed help to resurrect his once-promising NHL career. In came new coach André Tourigny for the 2021-22 season. Although the franchise suffered their worst season ever, several players on the team were able to raise their game under Tourigny. Clayton Keller re-found his scoring touch.
Shayne Gostisbehere could once again become a good offensive contributor from the point. Nick Schmaltz had the best year of his career. Travis Boyd scored 17 goals. And then there’s Crouse. In the 2021-22 campaign, Crouse put his career high in points with 34 in total. He became a 20-goal scorer for the first time ever. And now he finally proved to himself and others that he could do what everyone thought he could.
Now since he had the best year of his young career, the sky is the limit for the youngster to keep improving. The Coyotes and their young players have bought into the system that Tourigny is trying the put in place, and it’s working wonders for them. He has become a good power forward in the league.
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He has become the type of player that a team would want. He plays the body, finishes his checks and is aggressive. Because of his newfound success in a Coyotes sweater, him and the organization solidified the vision shared between the two. He has been on the record saying that he is open to the rebuilding process and is happy to be with the franchise. He had officially become a legitimate piece the franchise can build with and can do great wonders with the team.
His hard work to get to where he is now, and his strong qualities as a player and person make his latest contract extension feel deserved. His extension goes on for the next five years with a total of $21.5 million.
The AAV on his contract is $4.3 million per year. Now that might seem like an overpayment at the moment. However, if he keeps continuing to grow as a player as well as improving his overall offensive output and mentoring the young players coming through, this deal could end up being a bargain for Bill Armstrong and his crew.
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