Zbynek Michalek Will Return to Arizona

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The Arizona Coyotes have signed defenseman Zbynek Michalek to a two-year contract with an AAV of $3.2 million, according to The Hockey News.

Zbynek Michalek
(Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports)
The Coyotes started last season with Michalek on the roster, but traded him to the St. Louis Blues at the deadline. In return the ‘Yotes got prospect Maxim Letunov, the Blues’ 2nd round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft. Now that Michalek is back in the fold, the Coyotes really won that trade, giving up just a conditional 3rd round pick and improving their prospect pool.

Michalek was out of the lineup with a concussion at the time of the trade and played in just 15 regular season games for the Blues, in addition to all six playoff games in another first round exit for St. Louis.

Michalek is a veteran of 737 NHL games and will turn 33 this season. He’s a nice depth addition for the team and the two-year term helps them to field a team this year that isn’t entirely miserable, but keeps them from having any long-term deals with veterans while they work through a serious rebuild with an increasingly impressive prospect pool.

Keep up with all the free agent signing with The Hockey Writers’ Deal Tracker.

RELATED: Coyotes Are One of the 2015 Draft Winners

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