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This morning the Coyotes signed a One-year deal worth 2.25 million dollars with free agent Defenseman Adrian Aucoin. Formerly with the Calgary flames, Aucoin should be able to eat up ice time which others like David Hale and Ken Klee were never really able to do. In Calgary he was getting 20+ minutes a game. He also fills the leadership hole on the defense that not signing Ken Klee creates. Aucoin can help out a little on the offensive end going 10-24-34 last year in the regular season.

All in all I'm pretty happy with the signing since we can't go after any of the big names right now. Aucoin won't have to be "the guy" but fills a hole on the defense. Here's what our defensive pairings should look like with him now on the team.

Michalek - Sauer

Vandermeer - Jovanovski

Aucoin - Yandle

Hale

While some would say that Aucoin and Vandermeer might work better since they were in Calgary together, a Jovo-Yandle pairing would be awful. Both of them like to jump in the play too much. As for Michalek and Sauer, I wouldn't recommend breaking up the top shot blocking pairing in the league. Now we just need one more decent center...

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So Dany Heatley totally screwed his own team last night. After demanding a trade he found out that the Sens had worked out a deal with Edmonton. He turned his nose at that, killing the only team willing to wait for him. In the process he managed to cost the Senators 4 million in bonus money. There's a guy you want on your team for sure... Moral of the story? It doesn't pay to be a whiney little git in a sport that punishes diva behavior. Now he'll be stuck on a team he demanded out of and hated by the guys that actually want to play there. Way to be. I'm glad we're big on the character players like Shane Doan instead.

Anyhow, we're on to day 2 of the festivities and a lot of the big names got taken. Who am I kidding though, we're not getting the Gaboriks and Havlats or Hossas, we're looking in the value section again this year. No problem with that, but it makes for less excitement. Who could we still be looking at?

Derek Morris: He still lives here in the valley and while he had a lower than average production he's still a solid player. His price tag could be a little higher than GMDM is willing to pay though.

Travis Moen: Has a good first name. Is a younger guy with plenty of talent. Not sure what kind of pay he'd be looking for either. He may not be the offensive minded guy we're looking for right now though.

Taylor Pyatt: Another solid winger in the middle age range that we're looking for. 10-9-19 in 69 games last year. A change of scenery could be good for the guy too.

Chad LaRose: Decent Centerman but cold be looking fora bit to much money. Decent at faceoffs and was 19-12-31 las year so he can pitch in offensively.

Those are just a few of the names we could go after, but we'll likely see players even further down the money list. hopefully GMDM can come through with at least one bigger name over the days to come...

Jason LaBarbera

#30 / Goalie / Phoenix Coyotes

Height: 6-3

Weight: 225

Born: Jan 18, 1980

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2008 - Jason LaBarbera	28	1446	8	10	6	0	67	2.78	674	607	.901	2

The Coyotes announced just a little while ago that they signed Jason LaBarbera to a two year deal worth 1 million per year. This gives the Coyotes an actual backup goalie to Bryzgalov instead of rushing Tordjman or Montoya up to the big league. LaBarbera was traded to Vancouver from LA last year to back up Luongo. He didn't do a terrible job there, but he did go 3-3-2 with a .915 sv% after going to Vancouver. So maybe if our boys can play a bit better than the Kings were he could do alright.

What he likely wont do is chase Ilya Bryzgalov from the starting spot, or really challenge him or push him at all. Bryz could use someone with that ability to get him to the next level and Jason isn't that guy. I'm glad it's a relatively short and cheap deal though as Montoya could be ready very soon.

Vernon Fiddler

#0 / Left Wing / Phoenix Coyotes

Height: 5-11

Weight: 204

Born: May 09, 1980

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Vernon Fiddler	78	11	6	17	-13	24	1	2	2	0	114	9.6

The Coyotes signed Vernon Fiddler, previously of the Nashville Predators to a 2 year, 2.2 million dollar deal. Fiddler is a Left Wing / Center that's not going to get top line minutes. Dirk from On the Forecheck, SBNation's Preds Blog, did a profile of him here. Basically look for Fiddler to get a lot of PK time and to get some chances in shootout situations is what it boils down too. Hopefully GMDM has a few more tricks up his sleeve over the next couple of days.

Most of NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly’s visit to the Valley yesterday focused on the legal battle to determine the new owner of the Phoenix Coyotes. While he fielded question after question about who exactly is in charge of the team and thoughts on the Jerry Reinsdorf bid he did take a few minutes to discuss something of a much more positive nature for hockey fans of the Valley.

Daly let the media and the fans in attendance that the NHL will definitely bring the All Star Game to Glendale. While he was not prepared to announce which year the NHL’s showcase of talent would be at the Jobing.com arena speculation is that the team and city will host the 2011 game.

The League had promised the 2006 All Star Game to the Coyotes but due to the leagues work stoppage and collective bargaining agreement the 2006 game was never played.

We had a chance to head down to the Ice Den yesterday afternoon and hear NHL Deputy Commissioner, Bill Daly speak about the state of the Phoenix Coyotes as well as fielding various questions from the local media. We here at Fanster.com have captured the entire press conference for you. If you have any interest in the Phoenix Coyotes and their chances (now a lot better) of staying in Phoenix, check this out:

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The Coyotes today extended qualifying offers to twelve Restricted Free Agents ahead of the July 1st start of free agency. Details of the offer sheets have not yet been released, but here are the players we made offers to:

Scottie Upshall: Yay! No way we let him go after how he performed for us after the trade from Philly.

Keith Yandle: No question he would be staying with how weak we are on D.

Enver Lisin: Kept the speedster around. We really need to work on his defensive skill set, but the kid can flat out fly.

Daniel Winnik: Solid 3rd line center but needs to pick up his game to what it was a couple seasons back if he wants to stay in Phoenix instead of riding the bus.

Nigel Dawes: From what I heard from the team they hadn't been all that impressed with him, but maybe this is just to keep an asset rather than getting noting for him.

Dave Spina: A locally grown kid who could finally be the first native Arizonan to play in the NHL. The fans here love him and he's a solid guy.

Josh Tordjman: He can compete with Al Montoya for either the Starting spot in San Antonio or possibly the backup spot if we can't find someone to backup Bryzgalov.

Alexander Nikulin: Protecting an asset as I think we've already heard rumors of him going to the KHL.

Stefan Meyer, Shaun Hushka, Sami Lepisto: The new guys we aquired in the Reinprecht deal and trading picks at the draft.

The Coyotes did not extend qualifying offers to the following restricted free agents:

Alex Bourret, Garth Murray and Joakim Lindstrom.

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The Coyotes are going to be one interesting team to watch on the free agency market come Wednesday. No one is sure what they're going to do, what position they'll be in or what the budget is. I'm not even sure the front office really knows what's up.

Pending UFAs: Dmitri Kalinin, Ken Klee, Brian McGrattan, Jeff Hoggan, Ryan Lannon, Steven Goertzen

We should really be worried about our UFAs getting poached. Yup. We'd be seriously screwed if any of those guys get taken. Irreplaceable that lot is... Yeah. Not really worried about any of them. Kalinin is probably going to the KHL, McGrattan isn't getting signed, Klee is a maybe, but he's getting up there in age. The other three might be able to stay if they don't mind being in the AHL.

Pending RFAs: Scottie Upshall, Enver Lisin, Keith Yandle, Alexander Nikulin, Nigel Dawes, Daniel Winnik, Josh Tordjman, Joakim Lindstrom, Garth Murray

The RFAs are where we have our work cut out for us. Upshall, Lisin and Yandle are the ones we need to get signed and get signed quickly. They're quality players that we counted on last year. Upshall and Yandle are the priorities but if someone else comes in after Lisin we can't go paying too much for him when his defense has been terrible. Nikulin is likely KHL bound as well, Dawes might be able to stay but if someone else offers him he's gone, Winnik, Murray and Lindstrom if they'll take two-way deals. Tjordman will get re-upped if no one else wants him.

Salary Cap space: 26.322 Million (according to NHLNumbers) 6.55 Million to reach the floor.

No one knows what we'll be able to do for free agency. Will we be at the floor again? Will the NHL let us spend a little bit of money to get the free agents we need to be a bit more competitive? I don't know, the experts don't know, I'm just hoping that the front office knows at this point.

Option 1: Most likely we still go a close to the floor as we reasonably can. We get the most important RFAs signed up as fast as possible. We know that we're already in arbitration with at least one of them but we don't know who it was. We sign a couple of cheap free agents to fill the gaps but no one that makes an impact.

Option 2: We're able to spend at least a little bit of cash to get some mid-range guys to come in. I'd love to be able to get someone like UFA Steve Montador or another decent defenseman. It's possible we could get him or someone similar anyways, but it depends on how much we have to spend on the RFAs. Getting another center has also been discussed by the team but I'm not sure of anyone that we could grab for a decent price. I'm sure Don Maloney knows better than me. Nik Antropov would be nice, but it's not going to happen.

Option 3: Spend the Cap! Yeah, not happening. Maybe next year once Reinsdorf owns the team

So who can we go after?: The mid rangers. We can't afford any big names and even the guys in the middle we might have to overpay for thanks to the uncertainly surrounding the team. The cupboard is a little bare on those types right now on the UFA Market. Montador, who I mentioned is one guy I'd like to grab. Mike Komisarek is a possibility, but should be up for a raise. Manny Malhotra is a decent Centerman that can grind like GM Don Maloney likes. After that it may be benficial to target RFA heavy teams like San Jose, Tampa Bay and Washington if they have players we like at a low price in terms of cost and picks. Maloney has to get creative to get the guys he wants.

What do the Enemies need?

Los Angeles: Rudy Kelly has his cheat sheet here. Basically they're already close but could use another piece or two at center and at defense.

Anaheim: A time machine. Seriously they're old.

Dallas: To stay healthy. They're got talent, but they needed their own wing at the hospital last year and played with half an AHL team.

San Jose: Something to get over the hump. Here's Fear the Fin's look at things. No matter what they do they'll be in the playoffs, but something has to give to get them to the Conference Finals at Least...

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Hey Howling Fans,

We have been informed that NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly will be at the Alltel Ice Den in Scottsdale tomorrow (Tuesday) at 5:10pm to meet with the media. He is here to promote hockey in the Valley! We'd love to see as many fans as possible at the Ice Den at that time. If you are available, please come out & bring your friends!

Folks have been complaining about having no offical word, no words from the NHL, nothing from the team. Well this is as good as it gets, short of Gary Bettman calling a town hall at the arena or something. You got questions? You want to hear the deal from the horse's mouth? Come on out and be heard, be counted and do some listening for yourself.

This is our time to prove that there ARE hockey fans in the Valley. We need as many people out there in Coyotes gear as possible. Wear your jerseys, hats, t-shirts, and BRING SIGNS!!! Lots of signs! :) This is our chance to also show the NHL we appreciate all that they are doing to keep hockey in the Valley and to tell Jim Balsillie he needs to keep his hands off OUR TEAM!

Please ask everyone you can to be there and forward this info to your friends. It's our time to shine, Phoenix! Let's make the most of it! If any additional information becomes available, Heather will post updates at SaveTheCoyotes.com.

I look forward to seeing you all there!

The event was as much about selling tickets as it was a group therapy session for both the organization and its fans. It was the first chance the team had to tell there supporters that they appreciated them and the first chance the fans had to tell the team directly how they felt. Fans toured the Coyotes’ locker room, took pictures with Howler, got autographs from players and ate free food.

The slogan for the night was “Game On Arizona”, and it was the fans in Maricopa County and beyond who stepped up their performance.

One fan, Lori Kahlhase, summed it up best. “Who said there aren’t hockey fans in Arizona? I’ve been a season ticket holder for 12 seasons and am excited to have them stay.”

Other fans reported that an hour prior to the event, there was a line that wrapped around the Jobing.com Arena.

The night was more than a gathering of die-hard fans like the Save The Coyotes Rally was. It was a statement by hockey fans of all ages that the NHL is truly wanted in the desert. From the die-hard fans with faux coyote pelt hats on, to the casual hockey observer there to find out more about the team in their own backyard, the event, in the team’s eyes, was a great success.

While the event was a good therapy session to repair the damage, it’s just the start. Fans will need to continue to show up at events and games and the team will have to continue to reach out to the community in order to prove hockey can work in the Valley. But for a Thursday night in June, 3,000 fans showing up for a gathering is a good start. Are you paying attention Jerry Reinsdorf? You just might be getting a steal.

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When talking to other hockey fans about the Phoenix Coyotes one of the questions that is always asked is if the defense will be strong enough in the future. 

Until recently I would be asking the same question. The departure of Keith Ballard in the Olli Jokinen trade was a huge blow to the future blue line. With the drafting tendencies going towards forwards with talent, the organization has been forced to draft blue-liners late in the draft and hope for the best, leaving a depth chart on the back end that is not exactly a star studded cast. 

However, that all changed when the Coyotes went to Montreal for the 2009 NHL Draft. Their first pick was spent on the skilled Swedish defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson who played for Leksand over in Sweden. He will return there for the coming season but his skill set is very high on both ends of the ice. He is highly praised for his offensive abilities with passing as one of his strong points. He can skate very well and always seems to be in position. He may need to add size but the Coyotes certainly are not going to rush a prospect who has been compared to a poor man's Nick Lidstrom. Some even went as far to say that he will end up better than fellow countryman Victor Hedman. 

Larsson really shined at the World Junior Championships for Sweden as he had eight points in six games for the Tre Kronor. He was one of the best defenseman at the tournament and raised his draft stock with his performance.

However, Larsson was not the only player at the WJC that impressed the Coyotes. Maxim Goncharov of Russia had his coming out party in Ottawa. His six points, five of them goals, at the WJC for Russia were critical to him getting on the map. What was even more impressive, and more exciting for the Phoenix Coyotes, was his defensive zone play. He was highly praised and was considered one of the top defenseman at the tournament.

With the development of these two young players, the blue line of the Phoenix Coyotes will only get stronger. Add them to a supporting cast of young defenseman like Keith Yandle, Zbynek Michalek, Chris Summers, Nick Ross, Jonas Ahnelov, and more, the Coyotes blue line could become very formidable. Combine this group with the forward corps of Kyle Turris, Mikkel Boedker, Peter Mueller, Martin Hanzal, and others, the Coyotes could be well on their way to being a contender in the West. 

Prust goes back to Calgary and maybe I’m just getting used to this trade thing or maybe he wasn’t around long enough to get to know; but I’m not too distressed over it. In keeping with my my whole “trades are like breakups” analogy, I guess I am just not that in to him.

Other picks over the weekend Mike Lee (goalie), Chris Brown (Right Wing), Jordan Szwarz (Right Wing), Evan Bloodoff (Left Wing) and Justin Weller (surprise! Defenseman)

Good luck guys, prepare to work hard and see ya soon!

As always, Go Yotes!

Image courtesy of www.phoenixcoyotes.com

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Updating with information on the 2nd through 7th rounds:

Pick #36 Overall - Chris Brown - Center - US-U18

Pick #91 Overall - Mike Lee - Goalie - Fargo (USHL)

Pick #97 Overall - Jordan Szwarz - RW - Saginaw (OHL)

Pick #105 Overall - Justin Weller - D - Red Deer (WHL)

Pick # 157 - Evan Bloodoff - RW - Kelowna (WHL)

Pick #187 - Traded to Vancouver for Defenseman Shaun Heshka

We've also traded our 5th Round pick in 2010 for Sami Lepisto from the Washington Capitals. Seems to be a decent Defensive prospect. He's 25 and after moving here from Jokerit he played great in the AHL with 4 goals and 41 assists. He got in 7 games at the NHL level but was only able to record 1 assist over those 7.

More Trades: Coyotes trade forward Brandon Prust to the Calgary Flames for defenseman Jim Vandermeer. Jim is a 6/7 defenseman who is 18-57-75 in 312 NHL games with Philadelphia, Chicago and Calgary.

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With their first pick in the draft th Phoenix Coyotes took Oliver Ekman Larsson. I wanted Jared Cowen, but Ekman-Larsson is a solid defenseman and was second on my list. The Coyotes reportedly spent more than 300 hours scouting the kid. I didn't get to see much of him in the World Juniors, but he was second on the Swedish National Team with 2-6-8. He had the highest plus/minus rating in the Swedish Allsvenskan League, which is just below the SEL, at a +44. He was first in points with players under 18 with 39. He's another really fast skater on a team that already has speedsters like Mikkel Boedker and Kyle Turris. One thing analysts said he needed to work on was using his size as more of an advantage. I'll get more up about him later when I'm not sitting in the middle of the Coyotes Draft party (as mentioned by Don Maloney at the draft..)

Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago Bulls of the NBA and the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball, has officially submitted an application to buy the Phoenix Coyotes for $148 million and keep them in Arizona.

Today was the deadline for such offers to be submitted.

Balsillie had a solid offer of $212.5 million to purchase the team and relocate them to Hamilton, Ontario.

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Well we're now just a couple hours away from the draft and finding out who the Coyotes will take with the #6 pick. I say Jared Cowen, but it's possible that we could move down and grab some other DMan if he's not the one we want. Brayden Schenn is also a possibility unless the Leafs move up to the 5th to take him first. It's really anyone's guess at this point since there are rumors that Tavares won't be the #1 pick anyways. It's the Draft it's crazy! We're also waiting for the announcement on the Reinsdorf offer to come in. We probably won't hear anything until at least 5pm Arizona Time since the attorneys will be milking every possible billable hour out of this. It's possible we won't hear until tomorrow since I'm not even sure the deadline is 5 o'clock. So long at it's in before midnight I think we're still good. Here are some resources and stories to take a look at in preparation for the draft.

Hope to see all the Coyotes fans at Buffalo Wild Wings as well to watch the festivities. I'll be blogging and twittering away in a corner somewhere.

Coyotes Links

• Reuters outlines the fact that the Reinsdorf offer is due to come in today. They didn't say when that would happen either.
• The Phoenix Business Journal talks about how more than 3000 fans showed up at The Job last night in the biggest Open House the Coyotes have ever had. Crickets from barely good enough to be used for bird cage liner Arizona Republic. Seriously, they trash the team but can't report when something good happens?
• Former Coyotes player Claude Lemieux became a citizen of the United States today in Phoenix. He said he just "wants vote in the country he has called home for 20 years."

Around the Nation

Too Much going on on all the blogs, but we've got some bloggers on the floor at Bell Centre in Montreal with press passes that you should be sure to follow on Twitter. @mlse @PensBurgh @DefendingbigD @diebytheblade @mirtle @BroadStHockey @2ndCityHockey @felixpotvin

For all of the rest of your League-Wide coverage needs be sure to check out the NHL Draft Hub that gets everything in one easy to find location.

Useful Draft Resources

• NHL Numbers to figure out all those goofy trades that will be rumored all night tonight and into tomorrow.
• Bob McKenzie's Draft Board of the best players in this year's draft. Pretty much the end all be all of draft rankings.
• SBNation's NHL Mock Draft. Gotta compare it with what happens after right?
• Here's a list of all the picks for each team #1 to #211