Phoenix Coyotes Hockey on AZ Vibe

Here’s a breakdown of the deals that the Coyotes have made so far today along with trade analysis. I’ll be adding to the analysis of all the trades as the day goes on.

8:24 AM – Coyotes acquire Boston Defenseman Derek Morris from Boston for a conditional fourth round pick

This was a salary dump by the Bruins as they are looking to acquire a scoring forward for their roster. Good to have Morris Back!

10:44 AM – Coyotes acquire Wojtek Wolski for Kevin Porter and Peter Mueller

Problem player for problem player is what this deal boils down to. According to the Denver Post:

- Wolski has 2 goals in last 25 games. One was an empty netter.
- 4 PP goals in his last 150 games.
- Wolski has been in the doghouse of every coach dating back to Quenneville and Granato

According to the Denver Post, Wolski is “a Jeff George-type of hockey player. He puts up good numbers, but never in the clutch and never in the tough areas.”

11:20 PM – Coyotes acquire Mathieu Schneider for Sean Zimmerman and a conditional 6th round draft pick

According to Jason Botchford of the Province (out of Vancouver), the conditional pick is dependent on Schneider clearing waivers.

This is a pretty bad deal for the Coyotes as they have someone who has been a locker room cancer in Vancouver and burned his bridges with the team so badly, that NO ONE in the Canucks organization, from the top on down, wanted him back this season.

Here’s an article I wrote about Schneider from earlier this season that breaks down the deal:

http://bit.ly/4PbpyQ

Schneider has a lot to prove if he clears waivers and makes it to the Coyotes.

1:05 PM – Toronto Trades Lee Stempniak to the Coyotes for defenseman Matt Jones and 2010 4th and 7th Round picks

Stempinak brings a 30 point campaign (14 goals and 16 assists) to the Coyotes.  Averaging around 17 to 19 minutes a night he’s been marginally average on a Maple Leafs team that lacks chemistry.  In 2006 27 goals and 25 assists for 52 points but hasn’t been able to match this point production ever since.

2:30 PM – Phoenix trades Chad Kolarik to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Alex Picard

Forward Alex Picard is a former first round draft pick in 2004 (#8 overall) that the Blue Jackets have pretty much given up on.  Given how the Jacket’s screwed up Gilbert Bule’s (another Blue Jackets first round draft pick) development I’m not going to jump to any conclusions just yet.

Hockey’s Future has a GREAT Breakdown of Kolarik as a player:

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/alex-picard

Update: 4:04 PM

The Coyotes sent out a note saying that Picard will report immediately to the San Antonio Rampage.

2:46 – Phoenix sends D Anders Eriksson to the New York Rangers for goaltender Mikka Wiikman and a 2011 7th round draft pick

Highway Robbery. That is the only way to explain this deal over a player that Don Maloney signed from free agency for a player that was the #1 goalie on the Rangers AHL farm club. In 2007-2008 he had a 21-18-4 record with a 2.70 GAA over 43 games for the Hartford Wolfpack, the Rangers AHL affiliate. This season he saw limited action with the Wolfpack this season starting only seven games with a 2-4-0 record and a 4.20 GAA. Wiikman also spent time with the ECHL Charlotte Checkers playing 17 games with a 9-3-1 record and a 2.84 GAA.

It seems that since an injury earlier this season, Wiikman’s value with the Rangers has slipped and Matt Zaba has moved up on the organizational depth chart.  Wiikman seems to have the skills and its looking more and more like a change of scenery to a Coyotes team that lacks organizational depth is a perfect fit.

This is the second of the rangers top prospects that General Manager Don Maloney stole from the rangers.

Here’s a scouting report of Wiikman:

http://www.hockeysfuture.com/prospects/miika_wiikman

2:48 PM Phoenix acquires RW Petteri Nokelainen for a 6th round draft pick