On Monday, the Arizona Coyotes continued an offseason trend in helping teams offload bad contracts in exchange for picks when they announced they had acquired defenceman Anton Stralman from the Florida Panthers.
In order to unload Stralman, who has one season remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $5.5 million, the Panthers were also forced to give up prospect Vladislav Kolyachonok as well as a 2024 second-round pick, while in return they received just a seventh-round pick in 2023.
This was a fairly heavy price for the Panthers to pay, but one that was necessary given their salary cap situation. With the move, they now have just under $12 million in cap space and are still needing to work out a deal with restricted free agent Sam Reinhart, whom they acquired from the Buffalo Sabres this past weekend. They will also likely be looking to shore up their blueline in free agency given that they are set to lose Brandon Montour, who himself is set to test the free agent market.
With the move, Stralman’s short two-year tenure with the Panthers has come to an end. He and the team agreed to a three-year, $16.5 million deal in the 2019 offseason. At the time, it appeared to be a good signing as he was a highly regarded shutdown defenceman who had excelled for many years with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Where Will Stralman Fit in Arizona?
Unfortunately, the now 34-year-old has begun to slow down as of late, particularly this past season where he averaged just 18:57 in ice time, his lowest total in eight years. It is unclear how the Coyotes tend to utilize him this season, but assuming he remains with them he will be one of many castoffs they ice in 2021-22, as they have also taken in players like Andrew Ladd, Loui Eriksson, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Antoine Roussel this offseason.
While it remains to be seen how Stralman’s on ice play will be this season, his veteran presence alone should be beneficial to some of the younger Coyotes players. The veteran has suited up for 856 career regular season games where has managed 270 points, and has also played in over 100 postseason contests.
More must-reads: