The cost for the Arizona Coyotes to land the rights to Auston Matthews, plus updates on Kevan Miller and Jhonas Enroth in your NHL rumor mill.
Acquiring Matthews’ Rights Could Be Costly For Coyotes.
Could the Coyotes try to acquire the rights of top prospect Auston Matthews?
SPORTSNET: Mark Spector addresses a popular rumor kicking around of late suggesting the Arizona Coyotes could make a pitch to acquire the rights of Arizona-born top prospect Auston Matthews if another club win this year’s NHL Draft Lottery. The speculation has the Coyotes offering up their own first-round pick plus a very good player for the first overall pick, or perhaps a package offer for that selection and use their own first rounder to address the lineup hole left behind.
Spector notes there are holes in this theory, including the assumption the Coyotes will part with top defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, the possibility other prospects (like Finnish forward Patrik Laine) might be better than Matthews, or that a team winning the draft lottery could use Matthews to address their own weakness at center.
For the sake of conversation, Spector looks at the possible trade partners for the Coyotes under this scenario. He rules out the rebuilding Toronto Maple Leafs, who need a center to build their forwards ranks around. The Winnipeg Jets are another club that could retain Matthews, perhaps trading Bryan Little to a team that needs help at center. The Edmonton Oilers could be a trade partner, but Spector believes they’ll want Ekman-Larsson in return. The Coyotes could also seek one of the Oilers’ young bluliners (Oscar Klefbom or Darnell Nurse) as part of the deal. It could prove too difficult to pry the pick away from the Columbus blue Jackets. Ditto the Vancouver Canucks, Buffalo Sabres and Calgary Flames.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Coyotes swinging a deal to land the first overall pick in order to draft the hometown boy Matthews makes for interesting conjecture, until one actually breaks it down as Spector did. By the way, we’re not related or the same person. You wouldn’t believe how often we’ve been confused for each other over the years. Anyway, I concur with his take.
I would also include the Montreal Canadiens on this list, as their ongoing free fall in the standings could also improve their draft lottery odds. Just like most on this list, I doubt they’ll part with that pick. The Habs haven’t had a true first-line center in over two decades and Matthews could address that need.
The Oilers are the only logical trade partner because they’re already loaded at forward, especially at center. However, I don’t see the Coyotes giving up their best defenseman to get him. In other words, whoever wins this year’s draft lottery will retain that pick.
Updates on Miller and Enroth.
THE BOSTON GLOBE: Fluto Shinzawa reports defenseman Kevan Miller could be the odd man out among the Bruins blueline free agents this summer. He’s a UFA this summer and the Bruins must also re-sign pending RFAs Torey Krug, Colin Miller, Zach Trotman and Joe Morrow.
Shinzawa also notes Los Angeles Kings backup goalie Jhonas Enroth could end up hitting the UFA market. The Kings have limited cap space and hope to re-sign power forward and fellow UFA Milan Lucic.
Sabres would trade #1 for Oliver E-L even with draft in Buffalo.
Any team that woukd trade a top 10 pick plus a D like OEL for another draft pick deserves to be disenfranchised. Imo
Yotes just might do that for a hometown kid who would be their #1 center for a decade or so. If I were the Sabres and they approached me with OEL and a #1 I would make the deal in the heartbeat.
Any team that wouldnt would be…I think Mathews looked great at world juniors but, his number in a leagie like Switzerland…dont exactly jump off the page, I am starting to wonder if that was the right path for development….not that the numbers are bad but not what they should be and I just think he would have been further ahead to play college or in the CHL.
Shticky, a lot of people out there disagree with that assessment, I’m hearing just the opposite, he’s playing against men and will be better suited for his arrival to the NHL next season. Personally I don’t know and we’ll all know soon enough.
i agree caper playing against men will only help his game
Its a third teir mens league that only has a few teams and 39 games… npw Im not saying it has or he will be a bust or anything of the sort but pplayig 72 games in the CHL would be harder competition, than playing 39 games against men who the vast majority are not good enough to play in Sweden the KHL or American Hockey league. Again I am not saying he wont develop in to a great player but I think for the team that drafts him there is a far greater risk than say drafting an Eichle McDavid Ekblad or some of the early picks recently….Funny big near isnt playing in Sweden the very reason yousaid Nylamder proved nothing amd ot doesnt mean a thing?
playing against men is a lot better competition than playing against kids its just that simple numerous hockey guys have stated it was a better move for him…. but you know more than everybody so what the point in arguing?
Right but those same people said the same about Nylander who played in a more competitve leagues as an 18 yearold in the SEL and AHL as an 18 uear old and has been playing in mens leagies since he was 17, so why 8s yoire opinion different then than now? Also himdsight is a beautiful thing and all but 8f we are comparing jist on the basis of players at 17 and 18 years old, who do you think goes first overall this year just based on junior age type numbers Yakupov Drouin Galyenchuk Mathews? I am not as sold on Mathews as some of these guys if you take hindsight away, they were all supposed to be great the others are good players too but no team in their right mind is giving up that much to aquire the first overall pick when ot may only be a difference of 1 moving up only a few spots and 2 its just a draft pick in a mediocre draft. But I guess you will yell me you knew how those guys would work out all along right?
shticky we are talking about Matthews!! when you know your wrong you start throwing out totally different players its really funny! lol
Firstly, I’m a big believer in the CHL. I think Matthews would have benefited playing with Everett in the WHL from a statistical standpoint considering he scored at over a point per game in the Swiss A league.
Make no mistake, he’s playing against high quality competition and grown men, we’re not talking about beer league hockey here. A simple search through the rosters and you’re going to find a handful of guys more than capable of playing in the AHL and KHL respectively. You’ll see past NHLers also making a living playing in the NLA as well. Granted, these guys may not cut it on an NHL roster here and now, but they’re not far off.
There’s a compact schedule of 50 games (not 39 as you had mentioned) in most instances you are playing with/against/for guys with top flight experience and pedigree. Now I’m not saying it’s the best league in Europe, nor do I believe Matthews is going to become the next great phenom. It’s far too early to tell. One thing I can say with complete certainty is that it’s a great place to play and live. You’d be surprised the amount of guys that choose to play there over the AHL/KHL respectively.
Simply put, it’s completely ignorant to discount this league in any form especially pertaining to a teenager’s development.
Mathews played 39 games this year, and noo ,atter how you look at it the swiss league is not as prone to development as the SEL KHL AHL as far as competition as fa as playing against men go, compare the players to come out of those leagues, and I agree as far as junior hockey the best development league in the world is the CHL, he chose his path purely based on the desire to be an NHLer as quickly as possible, not because he thought that the Swiss league would better prepare himself.
Matthews after deciding to go play in the swiss league ” playing against men in the swiss league and a nhl coach in mark Crawford will better prepare myself for the nhl rather than the chl or college hockey also both great leagues”
K so if the Swiss league is such a great league to develop in compared to Sweden Finland Russia or North America where are the great prospects that have developed there? I dont see any Forseberg Lidstrom Malkin Selanne Barkov or any of the type of guys that have developed in North America, I am not saying that will make or break Matews I am saying I domt think the Swiss premiere league is at the level of any others as far as development, and until you can mention some players that have turned out to ne anywhere near the caliber of the prospects produced by other leagues I dont know if its a great place to develop. Its a third teir league that he could go that would be the best way for him to get drafted and avoid playing in the CHL next year if he didnt make a team hos first year…in otherwords he would be getting paid to play hockey was his motivation not because it was helping his game.
ok go tell him that!!? lol Im sure you could tell him names of other guys that didn’t go that route maybe you could change his mind and he could go back and play junior for a year?
You really do need meds big bear.
lol good one
Maybe if it was Ekman-Larsson and number 3 overall for Matthews and Bogosian.
I’ve said it before & I’ll say it again. Arizona isn’t moving OEL for the 1st overall pick or anything else for that matter. If in a few years when he’s approaching his UFA status & not interested in signing with Arizona then certainly but until then he’s way more valuable than this 1st round pick. He’s a franchise Dman, a top 10, #1 NHL Dman, the hardest commodity in the NHL to acquire.
I agree striker to hard to find dmen like oel
Depends on how much they want Matthews if they don’t get him in the lottery. as a franchise, AZ is different than most.
Wonder who will take the next Kings back up and make them a starter…Enroth looks like je has had a pretty good year. Little bit small but…
As a Hab fan myself Lyle, the team does have a bona-fide number one centre. Unfortunately, Michel Therrien allowed Alex Galchenyuk to “develop” as a winger instead. Only time will tell how wise that the decision was, however, I would have used him as the number one centre no later than the beginning of the 2014-15 season. At least he’s finally getting his chance now in this lost cause of a season, possibly only because Desharnais is injured.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see Matthews in a Canadiens jersey, however, if a package of OEL (or for that matter Anthony Duclair) and Arizona’s first round pick comes a-knockin’, then it should be seriously considered.
As a fellow Habs fan, I totally agree. Why give up a lot to get a #1 centre when you may already have one in house (Galchenyuk) and then can use your pick on another need? Certainly that needs to be the gamble the Habs take, no? If it worked, it would speed up how quickly they fix their top 6
Matthews’ value to Arizona goes beyond just his value as a hockey player. He’s a headline, feel good story, that will resonate amongst Arizonians and put fans in the stands long before the team proves to be competitive for a cup. Plus his story will tilt public opinion in the Coyote’s favour in their ongoing legal battles with city hall. Hence Arizona should be willing to “loose the hockey trade” if it means bringing Matthews home.
I also disagree about the Leafs’ need for a center. The leafs will have Stamkos, Nylander and Kadri as their top 3 centers so they won’t need Matthews as much as Spector thinks. Domi plus Arizona’s first would work for the leafs and coyotes management.
hey don’t need Matthews-they have Fred Gauthier, who is going to be a stud #1 Centre.
Like Sean Couterier right?
lol
@Dino-don’t forget about that bust Brayden Schenn
How could we he is putting up Matt Read rookie year type numbers, Scheen was just way over hyped but that trade with LA looks like flat out robbery now.
Philadelphia Flyers traded Mike Richards and Rob Bordson to the Los Angeles Kings for Brayden Schenn, Wayne Simmonds and a second-round draft pick in 2012.
Lol stamkos plays for Tampa not the Leafs, not sure its a good idea getting your hopes up, Stamkos to TO makes no sense from Stamkos’ point of view if he wants to win, if all he wants is a payday then ya could see him going to TO. But, if he actually wants to compete on a relevant team, no way he signs in TO.
Toronto is the most relevant team in the entire NHL they are up there as far as North American sports teams go.
It’s not about what Stamkos wants its what Shanny and Lou can sell him. After watching these kids come and play Toronto isn’t going to be that horrible for that long.
I can’t disagree that Toronto makes a lot more money than most NHL teams. But I don’t necessarily think that equates to being relevant. As far as N. American sports teams, they are on the top 50 list, but closer to the bottom than they are the top.
What are you basing that on? If you look at fan base and media coverage which would equate to relevance Toronto is Top 3 (Montreal, Chicago (Which had the highest attendance last season)) if not #1 in the NHL.
I’m talking sports, not NHL alone. Yankees, Cowboys, Dodgers, Redskins, Steelers, Redsox, etc.
Now you’re just confusing someone whose entire sports “life” centers around pucks.
The problem with this theory is most Arizonians , aren’t native Arizonians. They’re transplants from everywhere else. So I don’t think you’ll see a huge outcry to draft a hometown boy.
It all depends with where Arizona picks and who they`re trading with. Obviously the farther back Arizona picks the higher it`s gonna cost them. If I`m Toronto I`d take Strome and their pick. It gives both teams what they need and the price is reasonable for moving up to the 1st pick.
There was an interesting scenario discussed on sports talk radio last week (TSN 1050 if I’m not mistaken). Purely for discussion purposes, with no basis in fact, the Leafs would offer up Matthews to ‘Zona, in exchange for Dvorak and the Yotes pick, which would be used to select Tkachuk. Now, since they already have Marner, the Leafs would be possession of one the most prolific scoring lines in recent junior hockey history.
With O’Reilley, Samheart and Eichel at center. I can see Buffalo trading the first overall. BTW you know its a slow day when Kevin Miller makes the discussions and no he won’t be back in Boston. He’s physical but not physical.
My thoughts exactly on Buffalo’s center situation, throw in Girgensons too.
Reinhart is playing wing for Buffalo, not centre.
The thing I dont understand is the Coyotes have both Strome and Dvorak, I haveseen the Knights quite a few times this uear and am un sure who feeds who more Dvorak or Marner but Dvorak has somewhere in around 125 poimts in 60 games with the nights and is really good so is Strome , so aside from a bit of marketing and publicity (which only works out if Mathews does) why would you mortgage a guy like OEL for a center when you have 2 stud center prospects? Its crazy talk I cant see the Coyotes and a guy like Maloney doing a deal like that. Best I could see is maybe Dvorak (a center to replace Mathews as a center) and Arizonas pick for first over all Maloney has jever been a desperate gm thru alot of lean years, I doubt he 8s going to start now that the team seems to have turned a bit of a corner.
If Arizona trades OEL for Mathews, the owners fingerprints will be all over it. With more pieces going back and forth, it could happen. But that trade would be done for financial reasons first not hockey.
I agree OEL won’t be part of any deal. But I think you underestimate the value of marketing and publicity. Hockey is a business after all. To us fans all that matters is winning. To players and owners it’s about money more than anything else. They only pay lip service to winning in order to placate us fans.
As such I think it would take more than Dvorak and Arizona’s first. But not much more. Maybe Dvorak +Arizona’s 1st plus NYR’s 1st.
Its only great marketing if he works out, you wouldnt mortgage the success of your hockey team on marketing it is all I am saying, what if instead of Eichle Mathews turned into a yak amd the cost of it was a player 2 plauers that turned out to be superstars 1 of them has potential to possibly be a norris candidate…thats not great marketing, and what could be great marketing is a freakimg kevin Spacey t shirt amd winning hockey games…I wouldnt get wrapped up in the Coyotes making a move like that nased on 1 guys long term marketability.
It’s easy to tell who feeds who more. If you strip out 2nd assists and normalize for the number of games played, Marner is way ahead of Dvorak. And Dvorak is 1.5 years older than Marner.
Now that I think about it Dvorak plus a 1st won’t get you Matthews. It would have to be Domi plus Dvorak. And Arizona would make that trade just for the instant arena sell outs that having local hero Matthews in the line-up would bring about.
Still too much of an overpayment, and I am not sure strippimg out secomdary assists cou ts when you compare who takes more important draws when comparing these 2 players. Alot of those points come or on the flip side wouldnt come if the Knights were not in possession of the puck to begin the play in the first place. Tough to say but I see your train of thought…good point, just my opinion of watching them.
No they wouldn’t. They are a rebuilding team, there not going to give up 2-3 great assets for 1 at this point.
Ok Lyle, I gotta ask. Why the nickname Spector?
Goes back to my days with AOL 20 years ago.
I agree with Neil above, the Habs already have a nascent #1 Center, whose development has been retarded by our rather dim Head Coach. But we could use a really good # 2.
Should the Habs win the Lottery, for me the price for Arizona to switch their own #1 pick (currently #8) would be the inclusion of their other #1 pick (obtained from NYR) and Dylan Strome.
Matthews is a franchise player, beyond being a Phoenix homie. They’re expensive.
If that’s a no, then there will be deals possible elsewhere. And I do not exclude the Leafs, who need someone like Matthews to build around. I do not consider Stamkos a good fit for the Leafs, from either sides’ point of view.
Failing that, it’s not exactly a loss to draft him ourselves.
I talked to my AZ friend the other day on possibly trading for Matthews. It depends who has the #1 pick but he thinks there’s no way AZ trades OEL who many believe will be the next captain once Doan retires. OEL has stuck with them through thick and thin and loves living in AZ, plus he’s a top 10 dman. However, if trading Strome, Domi, or Duclair plus a first gets it done then there’s the possibility. A new arena could be built in a couple years in Tempe (ASU) or Scottsdale (Matthews hometown) so the marketing will be monstrous. How do you Leafs fans feel about trading the #1 overall for Domi and AZ’s #1? Both hometown heroes could help boost morale for fans, what say you?
Depends, on where Arizona picks if a good D was available with the pick perhaps but the need for a cemter outweighs the need for another winger but I cant see why Arizona would do it. If its Strome in a heart beat, bit again cant see Maloney doing such a thing. He is a very good GM.
One thing is for certain, the Leafs aren’t making any decisions based on what the fans like. Toronto won’t trade away the number one pick if they get it. Matthews is too good and will immediately become their best centre prospect.
He definitely strengthens a position of weaknes but based on the question orthought above, does he do it better than Strome and another very hogh pick?….not so sure about that they jave traded down before.
I would keep Kevan Miller over Trotman and Morrow.
I know a lot of Bruins fans bash Miller but I like his play,he’s physical and has been playing pretty good lately. I would rather move Chara and Siedenberg in the off season if possible.
I agree sign Miller for reasonable money and trade Sieds. Miller brings toughness and heart to a team who lost a lot of that in Thornton and Looch.
looks like anton rodin might coming back to play with the canucks next yr after a breakout season in the nhl! the sedins will help him come into league
Some of the leaf fans in here are going to be really disappointed thinking all their draft picks are going to be nhl players.
that should read shl not nhl
TO would have to consider Mathews for Ariz’s 1st, Strome and OEL even if they have to send something back like a 2nd pick, or a good prospect (like Percy, Harrington, etc), or even Bozak.
TO gets their top center prospect, a very good defenseman, and a pick for whatever they can get.
Ariz gets their home town hero and a prospect. Both teams win?
I would still bet on the Oilers winning the lottery. They are so good at it.
keep dreaming
Leafs could be interested in trading first overall to Coyotes if pachage includes Strome. Leafs might be interested in younger Nylander. He could be available by Coyotes first pick. Probably Strome and Coyetes first for Leafs first. Other picks or players could also be included
OEL to OIL for mathews and nurse fits both rebuilds.
They will not trade nurse who is going to be a stud and leader on this team at a position they need to upgrade,mathews and somebody else for that type of d man if they win it maybe.
This is at Schticky,
I did a little research into the Swiss A league and of the dozens of NHL’ers currently playing there 14 of them are former 1st rounders DEVELOPED IN THE CHL. Half of which were top 10 picks.
The bigger question is how will the NHL ride out the PR embarrassment if EDM takes #1 yet again?
The league will be the brunt of thousands of jokes. A lot of fans are going to think about just walking away if that happens. Bettman is an idiot by ignoring the possibility.