The Arizona Coyotes have signed defenseman Klas Dahlbeck and forward Jordan Martinook to new contracts on Monday.
Dahlbeck’s one-year, two-way contract is worth $597,667 and Martinook’s two-year, two-way contract is worth $632,500, according to Hockey’s Cap.
NEWS: #Coyotes Sign Dahlbeck & Martinook http://t.co/ruGtXnjvCH
— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) July 20, 2015
The 24-year-old Dahlbeck was acquired by the Coyotes last season in the trade that sent Antoine Vermette to the Chicago Blackhawks at the trade deadline. Dahlbeck made his NHL debut last season, playing four games for Chicago and then another 19 for Arizona after the trade.
Martinook, 22, also made his debut last season, playing eight games for Arizona, scoring a single assist in that time. He was originally a 2nd round draft pick (#58 overall) for the Coyotes in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
It’s not clear based on the short deals and the players’ upside that Dahlbeck and Martinook are a part of long-term plans for the team as they enter a critical year of their rebuild. Coyotes GM Don Maloney has said that he wants prospects who are ready to play in the NHL to play in the NHL, but guys like Martinook can provide a safety net if players like Anthony Duclair, Max Domi, or Dylan Strome, among others, prove themselves unready for the pace of the NHL.
That the ‘Yotes had Dahlbeck as a key piece of the Vermette deal may indicate that the team views the one-year term as something of a “prove-it” contract light. If he can prove himself worthy of regular time this season, he could be worthy of a longer deal next summer and is of an age where he may be a cheaper end veteran once the team begins to come of age under the presumed leadership of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Mikkel Boedker, Domi, Duclair, Strome, Christian Dvorak, Brendan Perlini and the rest of their talented pool of prospects.
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