MVN - Most Valuable Network

Coyotes Ink D-Man David Hale to 2-Year Deal

The Phoenix Coyotes, still trying to re-build their defensive corps after trading away Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton last month, signed former Calgary defenseman David Hale to a two-year contract today.  The signing represents another “value” signing by GM Don Maloney who insists he will sign no free-agent over the age of 33 and is notoriously shy from signing high-dollar free agents.

The 26-year-old Hale is in a similar mold to Kurt Sauer, signed by the Coyotes earlier in the week.  Hale is a former first round draft pick (22nd overall by New Jersey in 2000).  He was traded in February to Calgary along with a 5th round pick to obtain Calgary’s third round pick in this year’s draft.  In four seasons Hale has no goals and 11 assists.

Nothing to get too excited about.  Hale is young for a defenseman and no-doubt Maloney is betting on his continued development.  I still expect the Coyotes to sign another D-man before the season starts because if Hale and Sauer are it then we are going to be counting on a number of guys to have career years in order to replace Ballard & Boynton.  That or Ilya Bryzgalov better keep his head on a swivel because the shots will be coming fast and furious next season.

Free Agency Begins: Coyotes Sign D-Man Kurt Sauer & LW Todd Fedoruk

The Phoenix Coyotes began the 2008 free agency period by making a pair of ‘value’ signings to help fill-out the roster.  The Coyotes signed blue-liner  Kurt Sauer (who played last season for Colorado) to a 4-year deal worth $7 million to help fill the void created when the team traded Keith Ballard and Nick Boyton to Florida for Olli Jokinen.  They also signed LW Todd Fedoruk to a 3 year deal worth a reported $3.1 million.

Sauer is a big (220 lb, 6′ 4″) stay-at-home defender who plays a smart positional brand (read:  Gretzky) of hockey.  He is not overwhelmingly fast but will become one of Ilya Bryzgalov’s best friends with his puck-clearing abilities.  Most notable in his 2007-08 stats was a +/- of +17 (career high).  Sauer’s size will help add some bite to the Coyotes defense though some have commented that he does not hit as much as you might expect from a player his size.  Said GM Don Maloney:   “We see him as someone who can match up against top forwards and handle a lot of ice time.”  Sauer was second on the Av’s in ice time, averaging 19:22 per game while notching 1 goal and 5 assists in 54 regular season games last season.

It is no shock the Coyotes went after a defenseman and knowing Don Maloney, no shock they went for more of a value player like Sauer who earned $719,000 last season.  The 27 year-old Sauer is just entering his prime and has upside but he is closer to a replacement for Nick Boynton than Keith Ballard.   I hope there is a bigger fish yet to be landed.

Fedoruk is another big player (6′2″, 240 lb) who will help fill-out the Coyotes checking line.  Last season he recorded 6 goals and 7 assists.

Coyotes’ Center Jokinen Ripped by Former Team

Vince Marotta over at AZ Sports Hub blogs today on a report in the Miami Herald of a letter going out to Florida Panther season ticket holders that asserts former Panther and current Coyoter center Olli Jokinen was a choker who lacked heart and leadership.

“Olli is a great player, but he has shown no leadership or improvement, and he never came through for us when we needed him the most. As a stat, Jokinen scored 5 goals in the last 24 games, this is not acceptable for a Captain of an NHL organization. He played with little heart or passion and never had the determination to reach the playoffs. This move was done for one reason only, to make the postseason and return the passion and energy into this arena.”

Panther management was quick to distance themselves from the brewing scandal, with Florida’s chief executive officer Michael Yormark describing the letter as “not the kind of communication we condone and is unacceptable”. Of course Yormark failed to call the comments untrue or to apologize to the former Panthers’ captain. Yormark simply told the Herald that “we’ve addressed the issue with the individual. Not only with the individual, but with the entire staff. I can assure you this is not the kind of communication you will see in the future”. So a slap on the wrist but probably only because they got caught.

You have to remember that this was written by a Panthers’ account executive who was trying to appease fans upset by the trade. But it is highly unlikely that this letter went out without the knowledge of some higher-ups in the organization. It is telling of the type of dysfunction within the Florida organization when the person who wrote the letter was not immediately fired and an apology issued to Jokinen. To call out someone’s character is perhaps the most damaging thing you can say about a professional athlete. When someone is your teams leading all-time scorer and you lambaste them like that you are showing an incredible lack of character yourself. Why not just say ‘thanks for your contributions but we believe it is in everybody’s best interest, including Olli’s, that we move in a different direction at this time’?

It should also give pause to teams who might be thinking of making trades with the Panthers in the future. What does it tell Coyotes season ticket holders about the job GM Don Maloney is doing if the Panthers are bragging to their people about how they got over on Phoenix by shipping them a choking player who lacks heart for a fan favorite like Keith Ballard? It certainly will not help sell tickets at Jobing.com Arena — already a tough gig.

Obviously we will have to wait six to nine months to really put a value on the trade but face value right now says the Coyotes flat-out stole Jokinen. The Panthers management did such a bad job with their star player that he wanted out and it made them look bad so they have to take this blatantly biased tack to their ticket base. I come from sales so I know for a fact what scumbags sales people can be but this is a low-water mark in professional sports marketing. While the Coyotes are improving their team with swift aplomb the Panthers remain a wreck of a team, overloaded with defensemen with no inkling of an offense on the horizon. Good luck selling boring defensive hockey — worse — boring defensive losing hockey to south Florida where there are only 5,000 other things people could be doing in the winter. It is that reality that caused the Panthers’ to use Jokinen as a scapegoat.

When asked for a response to the letter Jokinen text-messaged his reply to the Herald:

“Of course I’m disappointed if somebody has said that, I honestly tried my best in all areas, whether it was on ice or outside the rink.”

Hopefully Ollie will take that letter as a personal challenge and use it to help fuel him to a career best year that returns the Coyotes —at long last— to the post-season.

Coyotes Acquire Enforcer McGrattan

The Phoenix Coyotes acquired right wing Brian McGrattan from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a 5th round pick in the 2009 draft.  The 6′4″ 245 lb McGrattan has played three seasons in the NHL (all for Ottawa) while compiling 2 goals and 8 assists along with 287 PIM in 143 games.

With last Friday’s trade of Nick Boynton the Coyotes had lost their “backup” enforcer after Daniel Carcillo so the acquisition of the moutainesque  McGrattan fills a hole for Phoenix.  The price was right and McGrattan will give other teams pause to mess with our speedy forwards, in particular center Kyle Turris and newly drafted Mikkel Boedker and Viktor Tikhonov.

“We thought with the youth of our team going forward we needed someone of Brian’s talents,”  — Coyotes GM Don Maloney on the acquisition of tough guy Brian McGrattan

McGrattan’s role should be clearly defined since he is not blessed with particular skating or scoring ability.  He did break the AHL single-season penalty record by notching 551 PIM during the 2004-05 season.  So look to see a lot of McGrattan this season with his gloves thrown to the ice and his fists pummeling some unlucky Coyote opponent.  This will allow Carcillo, who had 13 goals last season, to reduce his PIM which stood at a stout 314 last season, and work more on developing his skills as a scorer.

McGrattan’s fate in Ottawa was sealed after GM Bryan Murray informed him that he would not be brought back next season.  The reason given, according to a report in the Calgary Herald, was collateral damage related to the dismissal of volatile goalie Ray Emery.  McGrattan was Emery’s best friend so in the interest of a clean-break, Murray decided to offer McGrattan the minimum salary required in order to retain his rights as a restricted free agent and then trade him for whatever he could get.  That, as it turns out, was a fifth round pick.