WASHINGTON -- The Arizona Coyotes know they are going to be sellers before the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline at 3 p.m. on Friday.
Defenseman Matt Dumba and forward Jason Zucker, who are eligible to become unrestricted free agents after this season, are the most likely players to be moved as potential rentals. How many trades the Coyotes make beyond that is to be determined, but general manager Bill Armstrong is firm on the approach they will take.
"There's people calling on everything right now," Armstrong said before the Coyotes defeated the Washington Capitals 5-2 at Capital One Arena on Sunday. "So, you just go through the process and our goal is to go through this deadline and keep our core together here and move forward and take another step. That's the biggest thing."
The Coyotes have seen young players like rookie forwards Logan Cooley, 19, and Dylan Guenther, 20 and rookie defenseman Michael Kesselring, 24, establish themselves this season and join a group that also includes forwards Clayton Keller, 25, Matias Maccelli, 23, and Lawson Crouse, 26, and defenseman J.J. Moser, 23, and goalie Connor Ingram, 26.
"We've got some good pieces that we like … and we want to take a step with those guys," Armstrong said. "So, you can start to see the core coming together. It's an exciting time for us in a sense that our core is starting to come together, and we'll continue to bring young players in every year."
The Coyotes (25-31-5) were contending for the Stanley Cup Playoffs before losing 14 consecutive games (0-12-2), a slide that ended with a 5-3 win at the Ottawa Senators on Friday. They're 17 points behind the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators, who are tied for the first wild card from the Western Conference. That's made it easy for them to decide to try to add more pieces for their future rather than, potentially, holding onto veterans such as Zucker, 32, and Dumba, 29, for a playoff push.
"I've always said from the get-go that our team has led us in the direction we're going," Armstrong said. "Obviously, we'll see what transpires on that day and the days before that. We'll see what we can move and where we can gain some assets."
Armstrong said Zucker and Dumba, "know where they're at" as far as potentially being traded. Defensemen Troy Stecher, Travis Dermott and Josh Brown are also on expiring contracts and eligible to become unrestricted free agents.
"I think there's been some transparency and some openness all the way through not only with the players, but also with their agents," Armstrong said.
Arizona is at the stage of its rebuild when it is open to acquiring younger players or draft picks that may be used in future trades for a player who could provide help sooner.
"It depends on what you deal," Armstrong said. "Sometimes there's a deal with a team and, I'll give you a couple examples, where it's just like a straight pick. Sometimes the team doesn't have the (higher-round) pick and you have to say to them, 'OK, well, listen, we'll take a lower pick, but a player.'"
As an example, Armstrong pointed to the Coyotes trading forward Nick Bjugstad to the Edmonton Oilers before the Deadline last season for Kesselring and a third-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Bjugstad subsequently signed a two-year contract with Arizona as an unrestricted free agent July 1.
"So, there's different ways to do it," Armstrong said. "For us, picks are great. We put them in the bank and use them later either to go buy players or draft players, but we'll see what goes down (from) now until the deadline."
