Where would any of us be without good friends.
The kind of friends who hold the stash while we get patted down.
The kind of friend who looks older and gets away with buying the beer.
Or the one who takes a unlit-million dollar player contract off your hands so you can develop some cap space to pick up a player who may one game this coming season score a goal to beat you and keep you from the making the playoffs.
Yeah, that kind of friend.
That happened this week when the Arizona Coyotes completed a seven-player trade with the Chicago Blackhawks that included the last three years of a contract between the Hawks and Marian Hossa.
Hossa will reportedly never play NHL hockey again because of a debilitating skin condition and the side effects of the drug therapy. He is also allergic to the equipment and padding necessary for playing.
What the Coyotes got from the deal was sought after forward Vinnie Hinostroza and Chicago defenseman Jordan Oesterle in the deal.
The entire deal was about Hinostroza for Arizona.
“You get the question a million times, ‘What have you learned from [the] Vegas [Golden Knights]? What have you learned from Vegas?'” Arizona general manager John Chayka said. “It’s obvious there are a lot of players in this league, when given greater opportunity, can really perform and make an impact. As a staff, we tried to evaluate the most undervalued players in the League. These two guys that we got are guys that we spent a lot of time talking about in scouting meetings, really breaking them down, analyzing them and researching them.
“… [Hinostroza] is a right shot, he’s got some versatility, he’s got a ton of speed and skill to fit in with our system and what we’re trying to do. … Getting Oesterle, a pick swap, those are the things that add up and make sense for our group.”
Chicago reacquired Marcus Kruger and also picked up Jordan Maletta, defenseman Andrew Campbell, the rights to unsigned draft pick MacKenzie Entwistle.
Hossa signed a 12-year deal with Chicago in 2009 and promptly helped the Blackhawks to three Stanley Cups; no one is begrudging Hossa for the deal or the condition of his health,.”Today is another example of the leadership Marian has displayed as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks organization,” the Blackhawks said in a statement. “When we approached him to discuss the idea of him waiving his no-move clause to allow us to make this move, it became clear this was a difficult thing for him to consider.
“After the success he has had in a Blackhawks jersey, the friends he has made throughout the organization and the fact his heart will always be in Chicago, the thought of disassociating in any way from the team he has come to love was not something he really wanted to give any thought to at all. But as the consummate team player, he did what he has always done. He did what the team needed him to do in order to succeed.”
Hinostroza, 24, had seven goals and 25 points last season in 50 games with Chicago.
“In Chicago, there are just so many of those guys that are already established in the city and the organization,” Hinostroza said. “I’m really excited about the opportunity that I’m going to be given and I’m going to keep earning with hard work. I’m not going there thinking anything is going to be given to me.”
Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury recorded his second shut-out of the series – Photo by Jack Lima
So, now the Coyotes have taken the cap hit for Chicago and gained a quality forward for a team that may surprise some this coming campaign.
“Cap space is a very valuable asset,” Chayka said. “Our ability to use it and leverage it has gotten us players like Jakob Chychrun, Lawson Crouse, and obviously this deal is a big part of that. That was one element of it.”
Elsewhere this week, Marc-Andre Fleury agreed a three-year contract extension with the Vegas Golden Knights, to take effect in the 2019-20 season worth $21 million.
“I’m really excited,” Fleury said. “My family and I really love Vegas, the organization, my teammates, and I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to keep playing in front of you guys for another couple years.”
Fleury, 33, was 29-13-4 in the regular season and posted four shutouts. He was the mainstay in net for the Golden Knights’ Cup run to the Final.
Fleury would have been an unrestricted free agent at the end of this coming season.
“It simply eliminates a potential distraction,” general manager George McPhee said. “We know what we have in the player and the person. We know we want him to finish his career in Vegas, and we know he can give us very good goaltending for four more years.”
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