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Coyotes Offered Two First Rounders for Third Overall

By Marisa Ingemi

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The talk of the NHL draft might be the Arizona Coyotes third overall pick. It is certainly drawing attention, and the team has been front and center announcing they would be willing to move it.

The front runner appears to be the Columbus Blue Jackets, but reports indicate that two teams have offers in o the Coyotes. NBC Sports and Pro Hockey Talk reported today that the Coyotes are leaning towards trading the pick.

Bob McKenzie from TSN reports the two front runners are the Blue Jackets and the Winnipeg Jets. Darren Dreger, also from TSN, reports the Boston Bruins could be on it as well. Speculation has it that the Bruins could trade restricted free agent Dougie Hamilton for the pick and replace the defenseman with Boston College blueliner Noah Hanifin.

The talk before the Hamilton rumor has been Arizona wouldn’t trade for a player that would help them next season, but for a defenseman like that to fall on their lap, they might just take it. They have plenty of cap room to retain the restricted free agent as well.

Comcast Sportsnet New England’s Joe Haggerty mentioned recently via Twitter that if the Bruins were going to ship Hamilton to Arizona, the Coyotes might want to take on Marc Savard’s contract to hit their salary floor, similar to what Toronto did acquiring Nathan Horton from Columbus this past season.

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“I guess I am surprised at the type of names presented for trades, outright,” general manager Don Maloney said to Fox Sports Arizona. “These are people that would fit into our future plans; existing NHL players. It speeds up your development timeline a little bit, so they are offers you really have to stop and consider.”

One report indicated that an offer Arizona has received was two first round draft picks. If that was the case, it was likely Winnipeg who made that offer since they have two first rounders; the 15th and the 24th overall picks. The Jets have been expressing interest in moving up in the draft as well, according to Yahoo! Sports.

Some of the options with the third overall pick include Hanifin, Mitch Marner, and Dylan Strome. One way or another, the third overall pick will draw much discussion today, whether it’s the Coyotes making the selection or not. In fact, the biggest news with this selection will likely come before the team picking is on the clock.

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