Arizona Coyotes sign 3 free agents to 2-way contracts
Jul 1, 2019, 12:35 PM
Andy Miele #21 of the Phoenix Coyotes skates against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on September 20, 2011 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
The Coyotes announced Monday on the first day of NHL free agency that they had signed three players to two-way contracts: forwards Andy Miele and Beau Bennett and defenseman Aaron Ness.
Miele and Ness were signed to two-year deals, while Bennett’s contract was for just one year.
The signings present options for Arizona as it looks to fill what will probably be one open roster spot within its forward group. The defenseman Ness will give the Coyotes some organizational depth on their blue line as seven defensemen are already under contract with the NHL team for next season.
Bennett played five games in the KHL last year for Dinamo Minsk but had 200 career NHL games before that — the most of these three players. He’s played six NHL seasons from 2012 to 2018 with the Penguins, Devils and Blues, recording 24 goals in that span. The 27-year-old also has 19 goals in 104 career AHL games.
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Miele returns to the organization for whom he once played 15 NHL games across three seasons from 2011 to 2014. The 5-foot-8, 176-pound forward has 420 career AHL games with 119 goals and 249 assists for 368 points. The 31-year-old spent last year in the KHL playing for Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, recording 16 goals in 61 games.
Ness was with AHL Hershey last season, playing 71 games and scoring 5-50-55. The 29-year-old has played parts of five seasons with the Islanders and Capitals, and in 2013-14 played a career-high 20 games with New York to record a goal and two assists.
