The Arizona Coyotes and defenseman Connor Murphy agreed to a
six year, 23.1 million-dollar contract on Thursday.
This past season, Murphy set career highs of six goals and
11 assists in 78 games from the blue line for the Coyotes. His average ice time
of 20:30 was ranked third on the team, amongst the defensive core.
During the 2016 International Ice Hockey Federation World
Championship, this past spring, he helped the United States capture a bronze
medal. His three goals in Team USA’s 10 games, were tied for first amongst the
blue liners.
Murphy said, “Honestly,
I had no expectations going into this process. When the Coyotes threw that as a
possibility, it was kind of an easy decision to go down that route. From day
one, being drafted by Arizona, it has been first class to be a part of it and
to be brought up into this team. It is a place where I want to play and want to
be a part of. I just thought of that as a reason and no need to throw around
shorter stuff.”
He added, “I want to
be a part of it and it is easy to have that decision when you have the trust in
the organization and we have the team going forward. It is going to be a lot of
fun.”
This past season the Coyotes have made some improvements to
their lineup, with the acquisitions of Alex Goligoski and Luke Schenn shoring
up the defense and Jamie McGinn up front. With the emergence of their younger
players, like Max Domi, Anthony Duclair and Dylan Strome, they could make a
serious run for a spot in the Western Conference Playoffs.
Murphy said, “It has
been great and exciting to see guys that we have added that way. Just knowing
these guys from around the league and the reputations they have as such good
defenders and veteran guys. It is cool to know that they will be with us next
year and helping in so many ways.”
He went on to say, “Just
knowing that we have such a solid group of D-men, I would not say that there is
a weakness in any area. It is exciting and it is going to help us push each
other. That is what we are going to need: good depth and be able to get more
wins and get into the playoffs and try to accomplish our ultimate goal.”
The Coyotes selected Murphy 20th overall in the
2011 National Hockey League Entry Draft. In 181 games with Arizona, he has put
up 11 goals and 21 assists.
Coyotes general manager, John Chayka said, “He is a guy we think can be a part of our
leadership group for a long time moving forward. He is a good young player that
was set back by injuries that have been resolved, no issues with those. As we
move forward, we are not paying for past performance we are paying for future performance.
We wanted to get ahead of things and be proactive.”
He added, “We hope it
is a deal that is fair and equitable for Murph but if we can get him to
outperform that contract, certainly that is the kind of what we are hoping for.”
The Coyotes also agreed to a one-year deal with defenseman,
Michael Stone on Thursday as well. The financial details of Stone’s contract
were not released by the team, but Rogers Sportsnet believes it is worth around
four million-dollars.
Stone, 26, who was scheduled to have an arbitration hearing
on August 4th, scored six goals and 30 assists, in 75 games this
past season, for a career high for him.
The Coyotes selected him in the third round, 69th
overall, of the 2008 NHL Draft had his season cut short after suffering an ACL
injury on March 26 against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Stone said, “I am
feeling really good actually. I think my knee is coming along nicely. I am back
in Arizona and I will continue the rehabilitation and get ready for training
camp. I think [we are on the timeline].”
He added, “I have never
had a major injury before so I am going to go through this new and not really
understanding what is going to happen. Whenever I am ready to go, I will be
ready to go. I am working hard to get back as soon as possible.”
No comments:
Post a Comment