Sportsnet: Coyotes receiving trade interest in goaltender Mike Smith
Jun 4, 2017, 4:01 PM | Updated: Jun 5, 2017, 11:32 am
Arizona Coyotes' Mike Smith, left, makes a save on a shot from Minnesota Wild's Zach Parise (11) as Coyotes' Connor Murphy (5) looks on during the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, April 8, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The Arizona Coyotes are reportedly receiving significant trade interest in veteran goaltender Mike Smith, writes Rory Boylen of Sportsnet.
The Canadian sports website listed the 35-year-old netminder in their “Rumour Roundup” and said the Coyotes could have reason to ship him out of town.
They wrote:
Smith is making $5.66 million against the cap for this season and next before his contract expires and is coming off a season in which he posted a .914 save percentage. With Ben Bishop signing in Dallas and Scott Darling signing in Carolina, the number of goalies who can make a difference for a team are starting to dwindle. Smith has reached a conference final with the Coyotes, so he’s proven capable of leading a team deep in the playoffs before.
Smith is an 11-year veteran of the NHL and is entering what will be — barring a trade — his seventh season in Arizona.
He’s also played fewer than 40 games in two of his five most recent seasons, due to injury. But as Sportsnet explained, Smith is a veteran goalie who has shown success in playoff runs.
‘A lot of teams are asking Arizona about Mike Smith,’ Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos said. ‘Mike Smith of course wants to win now. The feeling in Arizona is they might go much younger. Talk is the salary cap might force them to be bottom-feeders, which means they might finally be ready to move Mike Smith.’
The Coyotes have Louis Domingue behind Smith on their goaltending depth chart. Domingue has three years of NHL experience and owns a career .910 save percentage in 77 games.
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