The Arizona Coyotes have settled their outstanding debts with the city of Glendale, according to Renata Clo of the Arizona Republic, which means they can continue to use Gila River Arena until their lease expires on June 30, 2022.
With the immediate off-ice matters handled for now, we can turn our attention to the team itself. Arizona is in the early stages of a rebuild that has garnered praise from pundits such as James O'Brien of NBCSports.com.
The Coyotes have already accumulated a ton of assets, including as many as eight picks (depending on how various conditions shake out) in the first two rounds of the 2022 draft. That's a fantastic start for general manager Bill Armstrong, who has plunged into this organizational teardown headfirst.
He likely isn't done yet. According to CapFriendly.com, Arizona currently has around $11.3 million in cap space, which it could use to help broker a trade between two other teams. The Coyotes also have a handful of players on their roster who could be attractive to contending teams.
Here, we've come up with a handful of fits for said vets and teams across the NHL.
Phil Kessel to the New York Rangers
It's been clear that the New York Rangers need a top-six forward since Sammy Blais tore his ACL in mid-November.
Blais will be back eventually, so general manager Chris Drury probably isn't looking to add to his team's core. Instead, he could go shopping for help via a rental, which is precisely what Phil Kessel would be.
The Rangers have accumulated a 19-7-4 record and are tied for the third-best points percentage in the NHL, but they could use some more scoring. Their 2.83 goals scored per game ranks 17th in the league, but their attack has more in common with the bottom-tier teams than the top ones.
They've scored 85 times in 30 games, but almost a third of those tallies have come from Chris Kreider (18) and Artemi Panarin (9). Kessel would be an immediate upgrade on the right side, where Kaapo Kakko and Dryden Hunt are currently rounding out the team's top six at that position.
Kakko and Kessel have identical goal totals on the year with five, but the veteran has a track record of clicking with strong centers. The Coyotes don't have anyone to get Kessel the puck, but the Rangers do.
Arthur Staple of The Athletic recently described Kessel as a "wild card" whom the Rangers could pursue if they decide to look for offensive help via trade. They might be willing to part with one of their 2023 draft selections, which, along with a mid-tier prospect, might be enough to get a deal done with Arizona.
A general lack of sellers at this stage of the season could drive the price on Kessel up, though. Investing a boatload of assets for a few months of Kessel probably wouldn't be a prudent move for Drury, but this is till an intriguing fit and possibility.
Lawson Crouse to the Pittsburgh Penguins
While a Lawson Crouse deal wouldn't be as headline-snatching as a Phil Kessel or Jakob Chychrun trade, this is the kind of move both the Coyotes and Pittsburgh Penguins could be looking to make once NHL rosters are unfrozen.
The emergence of Evan Rodrigues has made Jason Zucker and Kasperi Kapanen expendable, and the Penguins have a handful of free agents whom they need to re-sign this offseason. Kris Letang, Bryan Rust and Evgeni Malkin are all set to become unrestricted free agents.
This is where the Coyotes and their wide-open cap sheet come into play. Zucker has $5.5 million cap hit both this season and next, but he's averaging less than 16 minutes per game. Pittsburgh would be better off with a player like Crouse, who carries a cap hit of only $1.5 million this season.