Arizona Coyotes Sign Luke Schenn to Two Year Deal

The Arizona Coyotes signed defenseman Luke Schenn to a two-year contract on Saturday. 

Schenn, 26, put up four goals and 12 assists between the Los Angeles Kings and Philadelphia Flyers last season. Selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs, fifth overall in the 2008 National Hockey League Draft, he has scored 28 goals and 100 assists in 566 NHL games. 

Coyotes general manager, John Chayka said, “We are very pleased to sign Luke to a two-year deal. He is a good, young defenseman and we feel we can optimize his performance here. He will be a solid addition to our blue line.”

 

The six foot two, 229-pound defenseman has played at least 70 games in six of the eight seasons he has played in the NHL. After the Kings acquired Schenn from the Flyers, on January 6, he was able to pick up his play. With Los Angeles he was able to use his size and defensive abilities better than he was able to do with Philadelphia, who rely more on skating in their style of play.

The shutdown defenseman, plays the position well and is willing to be a good shot blocker that plays a good physical game and can make the good pass out of the zone, while having enough skating ability to recover, without having to take a penalty, if he gets beaten. 

While he has that hard point shot, his offensive abilities prevent him from becoming much more than a shutdown defenseman. 

He found comfort after the trade, helping to deliver Los Angeles the type of hockey they were looking for. Even though he will never be considered the star play on a roster, he is still an asset to a team that does not need him to do more than he is capable of doing.