ESPN writer: Leading scorer Vrbata Coyotes’ most difficult choice in 2017 free agency
Mar 22, 2017, 8:23 AM | Updated: 11:27 am
Arizona Coyotes right wing Radim Vrbata, left, receives a silver stick from Coyotes general manager John Chayka, honoring Vrbata for playing his 1,000th NHL hockey game, before the Coyotes played the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, March 18, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. The Blues won 3-0. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
It’s been nearly a decade since the Arizona Coyotes had a player lead the team in goals, assists and points, but Radim Vrbata will likely change that this season.
The 35-year-old veteran, who recently played in his 1,000th career NHL game, has a two-goal lead (17) on Tobias Rieder (15), a double-digit lead in assists (34) over Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Alex Goligoski (24) and that adds up to a 16-point gap in the scoring column between Vrbata (51) Ekman-Larsson.
Shane Doan’s 31-42-73 line in the 2008-09 season was the last time a player led the team in all three categories, making Vrbata a valuable piece for the Coyotes going forward despite his age.
ESPN’s Craig Custance believes the Coyotes should extend Vrbata’s third stay — he signed a one-year deal last summer — in the Valley.
That Vrbata is still with the Coyotes was one of the trade deadline’s biggest surprises, but the Coyotes weren’t willing to just give him away. They like him, and he likes playing in Arizona, where he’s put up 51 points in 71 games. He’s a proven offensive producer, but he’s also getting to an age where production could start to decline fairly steeply.
Verdict: Bring him back on another one-year deal if he’s willing. But maybe not another one with playoff bonuses that make him harder to move at the trade deadline.
The production Vrbata has brought this season is rare for the Coyotes, who have been desperate for numbers from forwards like his in the Dave Tippett era.
Since Tippett arrived in 2009, six forwards have accounted for 50 points or more in the eight seasons: Vrbata (three times), Shane Doan (three times), Ray Whitney (twice), Matthew Lombardi, Mikkel Boedker and Max Domi.
After having a duo of players hit the mark in Tippett’s first three seasons in Arizona, the Coyotes haven’t had two players do it in the same season since the 2013-14 season, when Vrbata (51) and Boedker (51) both broke 50.
Vrbata is comfortable playing in the Valley, and his current contract doesn’t exactly break the bank. The winger is earning $1 million in base pay this season and has already earned bonuses based on his production.
