Nearly a year after signing his big five-year deal worth $26 million with Phoenix, the Coyotes appear to be looking to deal their star defenseman Keith Yandle.
After a career year in 2010 where the 25-year-old had 59 points while playing in all 82 games, Yandle's numbers dropped this past season. He had only 43 points in the same number of games without a single power play goal after having eight the previous two seasons.
Along with his declining offense numbers, Yandle struggled on the defensive end at stretches during the year. He had several costly turnovers in the Coyotes zone and after having a +28 rating the previous two seasons, he was only +5 this year.
Before the NHL Draft took place on Friday evening, rumors were swirling that Yandle was part of a deal that would have brought over 24-year-old center Jordan Stall from the Pittsburgh Penguins. The rumors soon died down and Staal has since been dealt to the Hurricanes to join his brother Eric in Carolina.
Over the weekend, another rumor was going around that Yandle was being shopped for another young center, this time Sam Gagner of the Edmonton Oilers. The 22-year-old former first- ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Kevin Bonneville
Time Is Right for Phoenix Coyotes to Deal Keith Yandle
June 26th, 2012 by Kevin Bonneville Leave a reply »
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