Arizona Coyotes Roster Additions on Free Agent Frenzy Day

It didn’t seem like general manager Bill Armstrong was joking when he said he wanted size on his roster going forward. Arizona Coyotes roster additions on free agent frenzy day show his pledge to make it difficult to play against his team. Size was the key. He added two forwards, three defensemen, and a goalie to his team on a busy day of deals happening in the NHL.

Size, Size, Size…

It was quite apparent that the rebuilding Coyotes weren’t going to make a big splash in free agency, and that came to fruition. In fact, adding Patrik Nemeth from the New York Rangers at $2.5 millon through the 2023-24 was the most they laid out in contracts. Still, they are $2.6 million BELOW the cap basement, but will get there easily when they sign Lawson Crouse and Barrett Hayton.

The key seemed to be that if the Coyotes got bigger, they would be much more difficult to play against. That doesn’t mean they would necessarily win more games this upcoming season. It doesn’t seem that will happen, nor is it the objective. Three of the players Armstrong added are at least 6-foot 3, or taller, and weigh 215 pounds or more.

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Player Rundown – Defense

Armstrong is making a statement with his addition of three defensemen. While blueliners like Cam Dineen (34 GP), Janis Moser (43 GP), and Dysin Mayo (67 GP) filled in admirably, the biggest guy in that group is Mayo at 6-foot 2, 195.

• Josh Brown  – Standing 6-foot 5, 220 pounds Brown will hit most anything that moves and Armstrong wants that physicality to protect his smaller players. But, when you compare his size to other players they all seem “small.” He is a stay-at-home blueliner who can fill in nicely with Anton Stralman being a free agent. Brown has only tallied four goals, 13 assists in 171 games, but he can sure clear out his crease area from opposing players when the need arises. He has collected 134 penalty minutes to show he won’t take anything from another player. Brown has 346 hits to prove it. He carries a $1.275 million contract through 2023-24.
• Troy Stecher – At 5-foot 10, 186 pounds, Stecher is not big for a defenseman but still plays a physical game. He has had 388 hits and 391 blocks in his 359 career NHL contests. Stecher is a right-hand shot so he can step in with either Shayne Gostisbehere, or Jakob Chychrun. His NHL experience is key here and he will be a good addition to the Yotes blueline.
• Patrik Nemeth – Listed by NHL.com as 6-foot 4, 230 Nemeth is another big body to fortify the Coyotes blueline. Nemeth’s playing style is that he has blocked 703 shots in his 429 career games and handed out 630 hits. He gives the Yotes that Niklas Hjalmarsson/Ilya Lyubushkin shot blocking ability, which only helps his goalie. He was obtained in a trade with the Rangers. Arizona sent young defenseman Ty Eberson to New York, while they received Nemeth plus a second-round pick in the 2025 Draft and a conditional pick second rounder in 2026. The Coyotes could choose to take the Rangers’ third-round pick in the 2024 Draft instead if they so desire – depending on how they feel that draft class is looking.

Player Rundown – Forwards

• Nick Bjugstad – A bottom-six forward, Bjugstad has size as well. He is 6-foot 6, 215 pounds and signed for one-year at $900,000. While he did score 24 goals back in 2014-15, his offensive skills have deteriorated. He adds the size to the roster and his physical game is there too with 828 hits in 540 games. He can make strong moves in the crease too.

• Laurent Dauphin – A familiar face in Arizona, Dauphin (nicknamed ‘Flipper’) was with the team back in 2015-16 until the 2018-19 season. He has been bounced around to several teams including Chicago, Nashville and Montreal. He may be a good player to have in the AHL Tucson Roadrunners where he had played previously. He could make the Arizona club or be a good backup in case of injuries.

Finally a Backup Goalie for Coyotes Roster Additions

While the Yotes are satisfied with the play of starter Karel Vejmelka, they needed a backup netminder. They signed Jon Gillies to a one-year $750,000 deal. He has little NHL experience with just a 7-15-3 record carrying a .893 save percentage and a 3.31 goals-against-average. We’ll see how this turns out. There were lots of backup goalies who signed elsewhere.