Vejmelka signs extension with Coyotes
When the dust had settled after an active two days of trading right up until the clock struck noon on Monday, the most immediately impactful transaction the Coyotes made was a contract signing.
After the surprising trade late Sunday of goaltender Scott Wedgewood to playoff-contending Dallas, in exchange for a 2023 third-round pick if the Stars make the postseason and a fourth if not, the Coyotes started Monday making sure they wouldn’t lose their revelation of a goalie this season by agreeing to a three-year contract extension with Karel Vejmelka.
Vejmelka signed for $2.725 million per year, according to the CapFriendly salary database. The rookie has
outplayed all expectations of him after surprisingly making the NHL roster out of training camp, with 10 wins, a .905 save percentage and the potential to get better at only 25 years old.
Then Armstrong swung a deal, with more than enough salary cap to do so, to acquire 22-year-old center Nathan Smith from the Winnipeg Jets developmental system, the price for doing so a fourth-round pick later this year and having to take on veteran Bryan Little’s big contract. Even though Little hasn’t played for the Jets since the 2019-2020 season.
Smith is a hard-nosed center from Minnesota State-Mankato who tallied 49 points this season in college. He joins high-scoring another prospect, center Jack McBain from Boston College, a 2022 Canadian Olympian whom the Coyotes obtained from Minnesota for a second-round pick this summer.
Clearly, Smith and McBain were the prizes of the deadline for the Coyotes, who sought talent and production at center.
“When you go through the rebuild you want to keep moving forward, and I felt in a lot of cases we were able to get bigger and better and younger and were able to add two top-notch prospects with McBain and Smith. It’s exciting for the franchise,” Armstrong said.
Smith will need a new contract, but Armstrong said both will have a chance to come in and play for the Coyotes next season.
The Coyotes traded injured forward Johan Larsson to the contending Washington Capitals for a 2023 third-round pick, then claimed Finland Olympic gold medal-winning goaltender Harri Sateri off waivers from Toronto.
“Mixed emotions on those,” Armstrong said of the trades of Larsson and Wedgewood. “You’ve got to have a heart, but your head’s got to rule it.”
When ready to report, the 32-year-old Sateri could be the Coyotes’ second goaltender. But for now, the team called up Josef Korenar from AHL Tucson on Monday afternoon to fill in for the departure of Wedgewood.
“We felt like it was a great opportunity for us to see what he looks like. Even though he’s an older goaltender, we’re excited about getting him,” Armstrong said of Sateri, who will need to go through immigration before being allowed to play.
“And it allows us... to keep our goaltenders playing and developing in the minors.
“It was a good deadline for us. I felt like we moved the franchise forward with some prospects,” Armstrong added. “Due to the flat cap and COVID, the Yotes have made out rather well because of it, so we’ve taken advantage of it.”
In one more move Monday, the Coyotes traded center Riley Nash to the Tampa Bay Lightning organization for future considerations. Well before the deadline they’d traded two players, Ryan Dzingel and Ilya Lyubushkin for already productive forward Nick Ritchie and what could be a second-round pick in 2025.
Two Coyotes thought to be trade candidates did not get dealt on Monday. The Coyotes didn’t get a team to meet their high price for defenseman Jakob Chychrun, and Armstrong said teams shied away from forward Phil Kessel because of his high salary cap number.
Armstrong said Kessel had asked to be traded but a suitable deal with a contender couldn’t be agreed to.
Kessel gets to play out the season in Arizona, remain in the area with his newborn daughter and continue his consecutive games played streak before becoming a free agent in the offseason.