The Arizona Coyotes made some moves, and are expected to make further adjustments to get this team to the playoffs.
The problem is: so have the other teams in their division and conference, and some are major upgrades.
Look what other Pacific Division teams have done.
Vancouver Canucks:
Loui Eriksson signs six-year contract with Canucks.
Calgary Flames:
Troy Brouwer signs contract
Chad Johnson signs contract
Edmonton Oilers:
Milan Lucic signs seven-year contract with Oilers
San Jose Sharks:
Mikkel Boedker signs four-year contract with Sharks
David Schlemko signs four-year contract with Sharks
Now, here's what the Central Division have done:
Nashville Predators:
Minnesota Wild:
Eric Staal agrees to contract with Wild
Chris Stewart agrees to contract with Wild
Other free agents who went elsewhere were:
Kyle Okposo signed with the Buffalo Sabres. He could have been a good addition to the Coyotes' front line, as mentioned in a previous post here.
Thomas Vanek signed with the Detroit Red Wings.
So, now GM John Chayka needs to make some moves, and he had better hurry before the available free agents are gone.
Wanted: right wing and defenseman
A couple of areas he wants to fill is at right wing, and adding a right-hand shooting defenseman.
One nice player still out there is right wing Jiri Hudler of the Florida Panthers. At 32, he's a seasoned veteran whose stats fell off this past season from when he had 31 goals, and 76 points during the 2014-15 campaign with the Calgary Flames. Last season he fell to 10 goals, and 35 points before he was dealt to the Panthers where he had six goals, and 11 points in 19 games. Add his total performance for last season where he had 16 goals, 30 assists and an excellent 14.7% shooting percentage, and it is apparent he is a valuable player. His salary cap hit is $4 million.
Another right wing who is a free agent is Kris Versteeg, 30, who netted 15 goals, 23 assists for the Los Angeles Kings, and Carolina Hurricanes. His salary cap hit is much more reasonable at $2.2 million.
Finally, there is a familiar face in Radim Vrbata of the Canucks. He had a fantastic 2014-15 season with 31 goals, 63 points playing with the Sedin brothers, but fell off that performance considerably this past season. With only 13 goals, 27 points, he struggled. At 35, he could be considering retirement, but is a free agent at the moment.
Moving on to defensemen, Justin Schultz of the Pittsburgh Penguins is a possibility as a right-hand shooting blue-liner. He had four goals, 14 assists, and won a Cup with the Penguins. His playoff performance was outstanding with four assists in 15 playoff games. He is only 25, and has a good future. His cap hit is $1.95 million, and he is 6' 2", 193 pounds.
Luke Schenn, 26 is a huge defenseman at 6' 2", 229 pounds, and loves to just use his physicality to be a shut-down defender, who also blocks shots well. He split last season with the Philadelphia Flyers and Kings. He's not an exceptional skater, but gets the job done. He would be an addition to the already big size defensemen on the Coyotes. All the blue-liners are at least 6' 2" or taller, and 200 pounds or more. Schenn could be a nice pickup for the Yotes. His $1.8 million cap hit is more than affordable for the cap rich Coyotes.
Matt Dumba of the Minnesota Wild is another right shooting D-man who received a qualifying offer from the Wild on June 25th, but is still a free agent. He had a good season with 10 goals, 16 assists and is only 21. His cap hit is a reasonable $894,167. It's unlikely the Wild will let him go.
Jacob Trouba's name has been thrown around the rumor mills for a bit now, and he would be an excellent acquisition for any team. His numbers are similar to Dumba's with six goals, 15 assists. He is 22, and contributed nicely to the Winnipeg Jets blue-line. He had 144 hits, and 177 blocks in 81 games, so he can be effective. His cap hit is a mere $894,167. At 6' 3", 202 pounds, he fits the requirements as a NHL defenseman.
So, the choices are there, and it's a guarantee that GM John Chayka is looking at all of them in detail. If he can add a couple more players to this young, fast team, the playoffs can be within sight.