Martin Hanzal’s value could be rewarded in offseason
Mar 25, 2016, 5:26 PM | Updated: 9:36 pm
Arizona Coyotes center Martin Hanzal, left, of the Czech Republic, has his shot stopped by Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov, of Russia, in the third period of an NHL hockey game Monday, March 7, 2016, in downtown Denver. Colorado won 3-1. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
GLENDALE — Two reporters were interviewing Martin Hanzal in the hallway outside the Coyotes locker room on Friday when coach Dave Tippett walked past.
“Do a story on a guy who only plays games and dominates,” Tippett said, chuckling.
The quip was in reference to another maintenance day for Hanzal, who missed practice for the second time this week. It was intended as a mild ribbing from his coach, but Hanzal will probably always hear that criticism from a segment of the fan base that doesn’t live in the trenches he inhabits.
Hanzal recorded his 100th and 101st career goals in a 3-1 win over the Dallas Stars on Thursday, but he has never scored more than 16 goals in a season and he has missed 133 games in his career.
“If you know the game well enough then you can appreciate my job,” Hanzal said. “Probably, the fans don’t see I play against the top lines, on the faceoffs, in front of the net. Those are small things but it’s part of the game and I think it helps.
“Teammates, the staff, all around the team, they know what I do and I know what I do. I know how hard it is to play like that every night; be physical, be hard on the faceoffs, be hard in front of the net. It’s a hard job.”
Hanzal could be rewarded for that job this summer. GM Don Maloney said recently that he’d like to open discussions on a contract extension for Hanzal when the season ends. Hanzal has one year left on a deal that will pay him $3.5 million next year.
Maloney said he fielded numerous calls at the trade deadline about Hanzal, but they never got past the initial exploration stage.
“We know that we can win with Marty,” Maloney said. “It would take a pretty special deal for us to part with him.”
There is an argument to be made that Hanzal’s trade value will never be higher than it is now with one year left on a reasonable deal. The Coyotes are in need of one, or perhaps two defenseman for their top six.
When next season ends, Hanzal will be looking for a bigger deal as an unrestricted free agent when he is 30 years old. A history of back problems and missed games are concerns. Hanzal hasn’t played more than 65 games in a full season since 2009-10.
The flip side to that argument is that nobody does what Hanzal does for the Coyotes, most notably matching up against the big centers of the Western Conference like Anaheim’s Ryan Getzlaf, L.A.’s Anze Kopitar and Chicago’s Jonathan Toews.
Even if Dylan Strome and Christian Dvorak make the roster next season, neither is suited to that role and Antoine Vermette lacks the size to match the aforementioned players physically.
Maybe that’s a short-term view for a team whose best days are farther down the road, but Maloney and Tippett are in agreement that Hanzal’s value would be too hard to replace.
“He’s a real force out there at both ends of the ice,” Tippett said. “It’s great to see him rewarded with some goals because he spends a lot of time around (the net).”
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Flyers at Coyotes
When: Saturday, 7 p.m.
Where: Gila River Arena, Glendale
TV: FOX Sports Arizona Plus
Radio: ESPN 620 AM
Season series: Philadelphia leads 1-0
Probable goalies: Flyers — Steve Mason. Coyotes — Mike Smith.
Injury report: Flyers — D Michael Del Zotto (wrist) and G Michal Neuvirth (lower body) are out. Coyotes — G Anders Lindback (Achilles) and RW Joe Vitale (concussion symptoms) are out for the season.
Scouting the Flyers: Philadelphia staged a much-needed rally for a win on Thursday in Denver. The Flyers are fighting for their playoff lives and enter Saturday’s game tied with Detroit for the final Eastern Conference wild card spot with a game in hand on the Red Wings. … Rookie D Shayne Gostisbehere has jumped into the race for the Calder Trophy since being called up in November. Gostisbehere is sixth in points (40) among rookies despite playing just 55 games. … F Claude Giroux leads the team in points (62). … G Steve Mason has a.955 save percentage during the first three games (2-0-1) of the four-game road trip.
