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Phoenix acquired 6 more players, but none are expected to make a huge impact this coming season.
Greg Jacina - Jacina is a steady reserve player, who could play a role somewhere in the roster during the Phoenix rebuilding process but with that said he is expected to spend 07-08 either in the minors or in europe.
Rory Fitzpatrick - Mr. Popularity has landed in Phoenix, but right now may start the season on the bench, however with Phoenix willing to sacrifice talent for salary cuts, Fitzpatrick may work his way into a regular shift by the quarter mark of the season if Phoenix does indeed move Rachunek and/or Miller.
Bryan Muir - Muir is another player that has the potential to play solid hockey, but may start the season on the bench due to depth issues that will be cleared when Rachunek and/or Miller are traded. Phoenix went from a depth of 6 defencemen to 12 defenceman in comparison from the start of the summer to the end of the summer, so they now have the depth to move defensemen, and some teams are in great need for a defenceman or two.
Sean Burke - Burke is a proven netminder, and given the contract amount its clear that Phoenix wants to stay cheap but experienced untill they can find a legitimate full time netminder, untill this happens it is expected that fans of the Coyotes will be seeing a Ed Belfour/Sean Burke tandem this year, this also gives Phoenix the goaltending depth to deal Theodore, Thibault, and Gerber for extremly cheap, which could benefit a team that wanted to hold onto them as a potential re-rate if their play picks up, or even a netminder, as some teams are lacking in the goaltneding department, and a 6th or 7th round pick may be fair asking price for those netminders.
Michael Leighton - it is rumoured that Leighton is an acquaintance of the Coyotes GM which may have motivated this signing alittle, but Phoenix really feels that leights has NHL starting goaltender potential, maybe not all-star potential but definate starting potential if put in the right situation, this season he will be down in the depth chart, but as Belfour, Theodore, Thibault, and possibly Gerber move on Leighton will see his role increased in the organization
Tomas Zaborsky - Zaborsky, was passed over in his final draft eligible year Coyotes Gm was quoted as saying "I had Tomas right near the top of our list going into the final 2 rounds, but we just ended up grabbing the 2 guys ahead of him, I was fortunate enough to scout Tomas in person a few times, and he is a real legitimate prospect with goal scoring potential, we really like what we saw, and especially the improvements Zaborsky made to his adaption to the North American game by the end of the season compared to the start of the season."
With that said it appears enevitable that trades will be on the horizon in Phoenix, only question is where will some of their veterans be moved.
Greg Jacina - Jacina is a steady reserve player, who could play a role somewhere in the roster during the Phoenix rebuilding process but with that said he is expected to spend 07-08 either in the minors or in europe.
Rory Fitzpatrick - Mr. Popularity has landed in Phoenix, but right now may start the season on the bench, however with Phoenix willing to sacrifice talent for salary cuts, Fitzpatrick may work his way into a regular shift by the quarter mark of the season if Phoenix does indeed move Rachunek and/or Miller.
Bryan Muir - Muir is another player that has the potential to play solid hockey, but may start the season on the bench due to depth issues that will be cleared when Rachunek and/or Miller are traded. Phoenix went from a depth of 6 defencemen to 12 defenceman in comparison from the start of the summer to the end of the summer, so they now have the depth to move defensemen, and some teams are in great need for a defenceman or two.
Sean Burke - Burke is a proven netminder, and given the contract amount its clear that Phoenix wants to stay cheap but experienced untill they can find a legitimate full time netminder, untill this happens it is expected that fans of the Coyotes will be seeing a Ed Belfour/Sean Burke tandem this year, this also gives Phoenix the goaltending depth to deal Theodore, Thibault, and Gerber for extremly cheap, which could benefit a team that wanted to hold onto them as a potential re-rate if their play picks up, or even a netminder, as some teams are lacking in the goaltneding department, and a 6th or 7th round pick may be fair asking price for those netminders.
Michael Leighton - it is rumoured that Leighton is an acquaintance of the Coyotes GM which may have motivated this signing alittle, but Phoenix really feels that leights has NHL starting goaltender potential, maybe not all-star potential but definate starting potential if put in the right situation, this season he will be down in the depth chart, but as Belfour, Theodore, Thibault, and possibly Gerber move on Leighton will see his role increased in the organization
Tomas Zaborsky - Zaborsky, was passed over in his final draft eligible year Coyotes Gm was quoted as saying "I had Tomas right near the top of our list going into the final 2 rounds, but we just ended up grabbing the 2 guys ahead of him, I was fortunate enough to scout Tomas in person a few times, and he is a real legitimate prospect with goal scoring potential, we really like what we saw, and especially the improvements Zaborsky made to his adaption to the North American game by the end of the season compared to the start of the season."
With that said it appears enevitable that trades will be on the horizon in Phoenix, only question is where will some of their veterans be moved.
