Coyotes acquire Chris Pronger's contract
By Liam McGuire
The Phoenix Coyotes needed to reach the cap floor, so they came up with a creative way to do so.
The Coyotes on Saturday traded Sam Gagner and a conditional draft pick to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Nicklas Grossman and the contract of Chris Pronger – and no, that last bit is not a typo.
Pronger currently works for the NHL, but he hasn’t technically retired, as he’s obviously inactive due to concussion issues. He carries a $4.9 million cap hit, which is why the Coyotoes wanted him in the deal. The Coyotes also get Grossman, a serviceable yet unspectacular defenseman, who carries a $3.5 million cap hit (with the Flyers retaining 500k).
Philadelphia general manager Ron Hextall told Katie Strang of ESPN that the move was good for both teams.
“It’s the type of deal that works for both teams. I don’t think Arizona’s going to be up against the top and we are, and it’s a deal that they get a good player and finally we get some cap relief, so it’s one of those deals that works for both teams, and it certainly gets us going in the right direction.”
It will be interesting to see if the Flyers keep Gagner. In the same report Strang mentions Hextall hasn’t yet made a decision whether to keep Gagner, but a buyout seems likely. Gagner counts for a $3.2 million cap hit, and if Philadelphia can get him to wither that number down a bit more, I suspect we won’t see him in a Flyers uniform.
If he hits free agency, he represents an excellent buy-low candidate.
While Arizona could use a player as good as Pronger was in his prime, this is nothing more than a cap move. He may be on the Coyotes' payroll, but he’s not coming back to play.
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