SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Coyotes are holding their prospect development camp, with on-ice sessions taking place Tuesday through Thursday at the Ice Den in Scottsdale. All on-ice sessions are from 2:15-3:45 p.m. and are free and open to the public.
Among the prospects expected to attend the camp are first-round draft picks Brendan Perlini (2014), Max Domi (2013) and Henrik Samuelsson (2012). In addition, 2014 second-round pick Ryan MacInnis, 2013 second-round pick Laurent Dauphin, 2011 seventh-round pick Zac Larraza and 2013 sixth-round pick Brendan Burke will participate. Tyler Gaudet, who signed with the Coyotes as a free agent in 2013, along with the Coyotes' other 2014 draft choices, will attend the camp.
Coyotes assistant to the general manager and goalie coach Sean Burke was the main force behind planning the camp. Here is the full camp roster:
Restricted free agent forward Brandon McMillan opted for salary arbitration after the Coyotes tendered a qualifying offer of $744,975 before the June 30 deadline (the deadline for team-elected salary arbitration is July 6). Hearings will be held in Toronto July 20-Aug. 4, with the specific dates to be set soon.
McMillan played in 22 games last season, scoring two goals and adding four assists.
The prospect camp will feature a number of players whose fathers played in the NHL, including Henrik Samuelsson (Ulf), Brendan Burke (Sean), Max Domi (Tie), Ryan MacInnis (Al), Jackson Playfair (Jim) and Brendan Perlini (Fred). Oliver Ekman-Larsson's brother, Kevin, will also take part in the camp.
While the Coyotes anticipate being in the middle third of NHL teams when it comes to cap hit (somewhere between 18 and 20), they still expect to spend a similar amount to the 2013-14 season on actual salaries. That number is believed to be between $55 million and $57 million.
With 23 players under contract, the Coyotes are spending about $53.195 million, with a cap hit of about $56.434 million, according to capgeek.com and other sources. This list includes Max Domi and Lucas Lessio, who are the most likely of the team's prospects to make the club.
Arizona isn't likely to carry eight defenseman on its opening-day roster. The team is more likely to carry 14 forwards and seven defensemen. While Brandon Gormley or Connor Murphy could start the year in Portland of the AHL, both are expected to make the roster, which could mean the Coyotes could expose Chris Summers to waivers to re-assign him or the team could make a trade.
If McMillan and the Coyotes reach a tenable solution on his salary arbitration, he could be the 14th forward, which would increase spending and the cap hit slightly over what Summers makes but be a near-wash with what Gormley or Murphy makes. There also exists the possibility that the Coyotes could change their forward group through trades.
Here is a look at the Coyotes current cap and salary situations.
Arizona Coyotes 2014-15 player salaries
| Forwards | 2014-15 cap hit | 2014-15 Salary |
| Shane Doan | $5,300,000 | $5,050,000 |
| Martin Erat | $4,500,000 | $2,250,000 |
| Antoine Vermette | $3,750,000 | $3,750,000 |
| Sam Gagner |
$3,200,000 | $3,200,000* |
| Martin Hanzal |
$3,100,000 | $3,250,000 |
| Mikkel Boedker |
$2,550,000 | $2,800,000 |
| Lauri Korpikoski |
$2,500,000 | $2,300,000 |
| B.J. Crombeen | $1,150,000 | $1,150,000 |
| Joe Vitale | $1,116,667 | $950,000 |
| Kyle Chipchura | $875,000 | $875,000 |
| Rob Klinkhammer |
$625,000 | $650,000 |
| Max Domi | $894,167 | $925,000#% |
| Lucas Lessio | $830,833 | $867,500#% |
| Defensemen | ||
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson |
$5,500,000 | $4,000,000 |
| Keith Yandle | $5,250,000 | $5,500,000 |
| Zbynek Michalek |
$4,000,000 | $4,000,000 |
| David Schlemko | $1,187,500 | $1,275,000 |
| Michael Stone | $1,150,000 | $1,200,000 |
| Connor Murphy | $863,333 | $832,500% |
| Brandon Gormley | $840,000 | $810,000% |
| Chris Summers | $600,000 | $575,000 |
| Goaltenders | ||
| Mike Smith |
$5,666,667 | $6,000,000 |
| Devan Dubnyk |
$800,000 | $800,000 |
| Totals | $56,434,167+ | $53,195,000+ |
* -- The Edmonton Oilers retained about one-third of Gagner's salary.
# -- Max Domi and Lucas Lessio will each be paid $92,500 signing bonuses that will count against the cap and real spending if they make the NHL roster.
% -- Domi, Lessio, Murphy and Gormley have various performance bonuses that are not included in these figures.
+ -- Mike Ribeiro's buyout will cost $1,944,444 million against the cap and in real dollars spent.
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