Keith Yandle and Antoine Vermette were principles in the Coyotes' two biggest trade deadline deals this season. They're also two of a handful of former Coyotes till standing in the chase for the Stanley Cup.
The Coyotes didn't make the playoffs, so we decided to check in on former Coyotes from the past two seasons to see how they fared in this season's playoffs.
We could have gone farther back, but the list started getting long and our editor started getting angry, so we cut it off at two years. That meant eliminating Chicago defenseman Michal Rozsival, who suffered a horrific, season-ending injury (fractured left ankle) in the Blackhawks' series clinching win against Minnesota. It meant ignoring Ottawa center Kyle Turris' uninspiring playoff series against the Canadiens.
But hey, we just slipped them in anyway. Here's a look at the playoff stats, playoff status and contract status of a dozen Coyotes from the past two seasons.
Position: Defenseman
Current team: New York Rangers
Contract status: Yandle is signed for one more season at $5.75 million, but the Coyotes retained 50 percent of his salary to make the deal work for cap-strapped New York.
Playoff stats: Yandle has four assists and is even in plus-minus rating through 12 playoff games. He is averaging 17:23 of ice time, which ranks a surprising sixth among Rangers defensemen.
Playoff status: The Rangers will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final beginning Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
Comment: Yandle hasn't had the type of impact the Rangers imagined when they acquired him and Chris Summers for Anthony Duclair, John Moore and their first-round pick in 2016. He's been somewhat exposed defensively, and the Rangers' power play is operating at 15.8 percent; worst among the remaining four playoff teams and 11th of the 16 teams in the postseason. Yandle has just one power-play point (an assist) in the playoffs.
Position: Center
Current team: Chicago Blackhawks
Contract status: Vermette is due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Playoff stats: Vermette has one goal and two points in eight playoff games. Vermette is winning 64.4 percent of his faceoffs -- tops on the Blackhawks and tops in the NHL of any player who has taken more than two draws. He is averaging just 12:56 of ice time per game.
Playoff status: The Blackhawks will face the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference Final beginning Sunday at Honda Center.
Comment: Vermette was a major disappointment following this acquisition. He struggled offensively with just three assists in 19 regular-season games and was a healthy scratch for the Blackhawks' first two playoff games against Nashville. He's been very effective in the faceoff circle and defensively since returning to the lineup, but his offense hasn't picked up despite playing with skilled forwards Teuvo Teravainen and Patrick Sharp.
Position: Defenseman
Current team: St. Louis Blues
Contract status: Michalek is due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Playoff stats: Michalek had no points and was a minus-2 with four blocked shots in six playoff games. He averaged 16:21 of ice time, which ranked fifth among Blues defensemen.
Playoff status: The Blues were eliminated in the Western Conference quarterfinals by Minnesota, 4-2.
Comment: Michalek did exactly what was expected of him on a team with high playoff hopes. He provided depth as the fifth defenseman, he blocked shots, and he was sound in his own end. He's still a valuable player in that role, though his days as a top-four defenseman are likely over.
Position: Goalie
Current team: Minnesota Wild
Contract status: Dubnyk is due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Playoff stats: Dubnyk had a 2.53 goals against average and a .908 save percentage with one shutout in 10 postseason games.
Playoff status: The Wild was eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals by Chicago, 4-0.
Comment: After spearheading Minnesota's torrid second-half run, Dubnyk faltered noticeably in the playoffs. He finished 16th in playoff save percentage and 13th in goals against average. Given its goaltending issues of the past few seasons, Minnesota will almost certainly re-sign him, but what does a contract look like for a goalie with little more than half a season's worth of proof on his resume?
Position: Defenseman
Current team: New York Rangers
Contract status: Summers is signed for one more season at $625,000.
Playoff stats: Summers has not appeared in any playoff games.
Playoff status: The Rangers will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final beginning Saturday at Madison Square Garden.
Comment: Summers is in the same role he filled with the Coyotes: a depth defenseman who will shuttle back and forth between the AHL and NHL as needed.
Position: General manager
Current team: Calgary Flames
Contract status: Treliving has two years remaining on the three-year deal he signed last summer. His salary is unknown.
Playoff status: The Flames were eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals by the Anaheim Ducks, 4-1.
Comment: Treliving could be the best offseason acquisition from the Coyotes that any team made. Calgary was projected to finish last in the Western Conference by many analysts; out of the playoffs by all of them. Instead, the Flames made the postseason and won a series, ousting the favored Vancouver Canucks. If Calgary gets off to another good start next season, it would not be surprising if talks began on a contract extension for Treliving. Stability would help a franchise where the GM shelf life has not been very long recently.
Position: Right wing
Current team: Vancouver Canucks
Contract status: Vrbata is signed for one more season at $5 million.
Playoff stats: Vrbata had two goals (one on the power play) and four points in six playoff games.
Playoff status: The Canucks were eliminated in the Western Conference quarterfinals by Calgary, 4-2.
Comment: Vrbata had a terrific bounce-back season in Vancouver, scoring 31 goals (63 points). He benefitted from playing alongside the Sedin twins for much of the season, but he was still productive when he was moved to the team's second line to provide scoring balance. He was named the team's MVP and also won the Pavel Bure Award as the Canucks' most exciting player.
Position: Center
Current team: Nashville Predators
Contract status: Ribeiro is due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Playoff stats: Ribeiro had a goal and five points in six playoff games. He finished plus-two in the Predators' series against the Blackhawks but won just 45.8 percent of his draws.
Playoff status: The Predators were eliminated in the Western Conference quarterfinals by Chicago, 4-2.
Comment: The Coyotes will be paying Ribeiro for five more seasons per terms of his buyout, but this was still a contract year for him, and he probably earned a good payday by putting up 15 goals and 62 points for resurgent Nashville. Ribeiro appears to have his life back on track, but he's still dealing with the fallout from several previous missteps.
Position: Goaltender
Current team: Pittsburgh Penguins
Contract status: Greiss is due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Playoff stats: Greiss did not appear in any playoff games.
Playoff status: The Penguins were eliminated in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals by the New York Rangers, 4-1.
Comment: Greiss signed with Pittsburgh because he thought he'd have the opportunity to compete for a No. 1 job and play more games (he also got a little more money), but Marc-Andre Fleury had a terrific year, and Greiss ended up playing fewer games in Pittsburgh than he did the year before in Arizona.
Position: Defenseman
Current team: Calgary Flames
Contract status: Schlemko is due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Playoff stats: Schlemko had an assist and was plus-one in 11 playoff games.
Playoff status: The Flames were eliminated in the Western Conference semifinals by the Anaheim Ducks, 4-1.
Comment: The Flames claimed Schlemko off waivers from Dallas in March (he was waived earlier by Arizona), and he gave GM Brad Treliving more than he ever could have bargained for. With captain and top defenseman Mark Giordano on injured reserve, Schlemko averaged 14:05 of ice time in the postseason, which ranked fifth among Calgary defensemen.
Position: Left wing
Current team: Vancouver Canucks
Contract status: McMillan is due to become a restricted free agent on July 1.
Playoff stats: McMillan had a goal in two playoff games.
Playoff status: The Canucks were eliminated in the Western Conference quarterfinals by Calgary, 4-2.
Comment: McMillan, 25, is a hustle player with good speed and a willingness to engage opponents physically. For those reasons, he'll probably hang around the fringes of the NHL for a while.
Position: Defenseman
Current team: Chicago Blackhawks
Contract status: Rundblad is due to become a restricted free agent on July 1.
Playoff stats: Rundblad has not appeared in any playoff games.
Playoff status: The Blackhawks will face the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference Final beginning Sunday at Honda Center.
Comment: Chicago GM Stan Bowman loved the younger version of Rundblad, but coach Joel Quenneville doesn't share Bowman's admiration, and it's doubtful anyone in the organization is high on Rundblad now. He will have to play in the Western Conference Final due to Rozsival's injury. The Hawks have traded away much of their organizational depth the past few years (including Klas Dahlbeck to Arizona). Quenneville has a notorious mistrust of rookies, so Stephen Johns is probably not an option unless Rundblad struggles and the Hawks aren't convinced Kyle Cumiskey can fill the void. Rundblad is mobile and moves the puck well, but he's a liability in his own end.
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