The Arizona Coyotes have re-signed winger Lawson Crouse to a five-year contract with a $4.3 million cap hit.
“We are very pleased to sign Lawson to a long-term contract,” said Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong in a statement on the signing. “He is a big, strong, skilled power forward and we look forward to him being a big part of our future.”
Crouse was a restricted free agent after finishing up a three-year contract with a $1,533,333 cap hit. He was scheduled for an arbitration hearing later on Monday, so the two sides managed to reach an agreement before having to resort to the hearing.
Crouse had a career year in 2021-22, with 20 goals, 14 assists and 34 points in 65 games, all either tying or setting career highs. Originally the 11th overall pick of the Florida Panthers in the 2015 draft, he joined the Coyotes as part of a trade that saw them take on the contract of Dave Bolland.
While Crouse’s offensive output was more from a high shooting percentage of 16.13% than any repeatable skills, he did take a bit of a step forward as a solid defensive winger in 2021-22. He still had pretty ugly underlying numbers, with a 44.96% shot attempt share and 45.52% expected goal share at even strength, but that was more the effects of playing for a tanking Coyotes squad. His relative numbers look a bit better, with a +1.7% shot attempt share and +4.11% expected goal share.
While you can argue that the deal is on the pricey side for the Coyotes, it likely won’t have too many long term impacts for a team that’s (still) on the rebuild. The Coyotes have over $20 million in cap space, so even in the later years of the deal, they probably won’t have any issue building around it. They still have Barret Hayton to re-sign, as he’s coming off his entry-level contract.
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