Neutral Zone: Coyotes avoided summer’s RFA turmoil, but what about their next RFA crop?

John Chayka didn’t have a crystal ball to predict the current contract impasse between a number of high-profile restricted free agents and their teams. With the 2019-20 season visible on the horizon, however, there is a sense of relief that the Coyotes avoided the delays created by what appears to be a significant restructuring of the market.

Toronto’s Mitch Marner, Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point, Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen, Vancouver’s Brock Boeser, Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk, Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine, Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov, Boston’s Charlie McAvoy and Columbus’ Zach Werenski headline a massive group of RFAs without contracts as training camp looms.

One of the theories posited by league executives is that one or more of those dominoes must fall before the market is set and some deals are reached. Fortunately for the Coyotes, they don’t have those problems.

“I don’t think it was being clairvoyant or anything like that,” said Chayka, the Coyotes president of hockey operations. “There was a number of top-end players all coming due at a similar time so it felt like there was a good chance there would be a logjam. We didn’t want to be caught in it so we did deals we felt were fair — good for the player and good for the team. We viewed it as a partnership so we weren’t trying to win any deals as much as get good deals done and continue to grow.”

Last August, the Coyotes signed center Christian Dvorak to a six-year, $26.7 million contract extension 11 months before his entry-level deal was set to expire and make him an RFA. In November, they signed defenseman Jakob Chychrun to a six-year extension worth $27.6 million just 6½ months before his entry-level deal was set to expire and make him an RFA. In March, they signed center Nick Schmaltz to a seven-year, $40.95 million extension three months before he was set to become an RFA.

There is risk in all of those deals. All three players have missed time with significant injuries and none has established himself as a bona fide point producer just yet. Chayka acknowledges that risk, adding that there is risk in every deal, but there was a reasoned approach to his method.

“We’re looking to build out a core with players that can be around for a long time,” he said. “When you’ve got players with whom you feel that’s the case, as you wait it just gets more expensive. That’s just the nature with the salary cap increasing and more cap getting allocated to young players.

“If there’s an opportunity to be proactive, that is what we have looked to do. Plus, having those contracts done and in place going into the offseason allows you to better plan for the future. When you look at all of these unsigned RFAs, it makes it difficult. It hamstrings you when you’re trying to build out your team.”

The Coyotes may have some tight hamstrings soon. Forwards Clayton Keller, Vinnie Hinostroza and Christian Fischer can all become RFAs after this season (so can defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin). The comparison to the three prior players isn’t perfect because Dvorak, Chychrun and Schmaltz all play premiums positions — center, defense and center. The next wave of RFAs are all wings, even if Keller and Hinostroza have played a little center in the past.

That fact aside, at least Keller, and perhaps all three are considered core pieces of the Coyotes’ future. Contract discussions are already underway with all three, but Chayka did not term any of those discussions as advanced.

“I always want to be having good discussions with our players or their agents and understanding each player’s mindset in terms of their careers and their goals and their opinions on our team or our staff or our direction and vision,” he said. “Sometimes, those things line up and sometimes, a lot can be learned from those discussions.

“With those specific players, they are obviously going into their contract years so we are having those types of discussions. Very exploratory is the best way to state it. You’re always having those types of discussions, talking about the market, talking about the players and that’s the stage we’re at right now.”

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Chayka said there are three key elements the Coyotes examine when considering contracts:

• Premium positions and the ability to drive value from those areas

• The character or culture piece as they try to build a team around the types of people they want to have in the organization

• The scarcity argument: How rare is this player and the things he brings to the table? How easy or hard is it to find those elements on the open market?

“A case can be made for all three of those guys in different ways,” Chayka said. “Clayton is obviously a productive forward and I think his mindset for the game is elite. He’s a very creative, very smart, cerebral player.

“Vinnie brings that speed element with competitiveness. That blend is very tough to find. And Fisch is a big body that gets to the net and scores goals around the net. Looking at playoff hockey, we all know that those types of players are valuable and we don’t have enough of them, quite frankly.”

What Chayka cannot predict yet is how the market may shift after the aforementioned elite crop of RFAs has signed its next deals, and how that shift might impact negotiations with Keller, Hinostroza and Fischer.

“You’re aware of the macro environment,” he said. “You live in it so you’re always considering it, but I think we have to do what is right for the Coyotes. At the end of the day, the only deals that we can be responsible for are the ones we do. We’re trying to build the team our way. That’s not to say the larger environment doesn’t exist and have an impact, but ultimately, we’ve got a blueprint of how to build our team and allow ourselves to be competitive year after year and I don’t think the outside market has influence on that.

“Sometimes, you’re proactive and it leads to something early. Sometimes, you’re proactive and still end up waiting. I don’t think we’re predisposed to doing one or the other. If it’s a deal that makes sense and is fair, then we’re looking to do those deals.”

Assuming nobody sustains an injury in the next few weeks, Chayka said the Coyotes will report to camp nearly fully healthy, a welcome change after last season’s unending string of injuries. The only question mark right now is defenseman Kyle Capobianco, who is still rehabbing from ACL surgery in February.

Capobianco has been taking part in parts of the informal skates at the Ice Den Scottsdale, but he has not been cleared for contact. He will visit his surgeon before training camp begins to see what, if any limitations may still be placed on him before camp begins, seven months after his surgery.

“You’ve got to take it skate by skate, try different stuff, try and go a little harder and a little faster and more game-like, and then keep adding different elements like contact and harder shots,” Capobianco said. “There are no limitations at this point.”

Chayka expects Capobianco to be ready for camp, but it may be in a limited role as the team errs on the side of caution.

“The discussions we’ll have will be more risk-reward discussions,” Chayka said. “Are there certain positions we’re going to put him in that he hasn’t been in for a long period of time? Is that the right call to put him in those positions or is it the right call to wait a little longer? Having said that, looking at him on the ice and the way he’s skating and moving, I don’t anticipate there being any restrictions. The rehab process is ultimately determined by the person himself and he’s an extremely responsible person who is progressing extremely well.”

Chayka said he has not ruled out having players come to camp on professional tryouts (PTOs) in the right circumstance, but it is not viewed as a significant need.

We made a commitment when we bought Tucson (AHL) that we were going to develop our depth and we have a number of players down there that had good years so we want to give them the best chance in training camp to show what they can do,” Chayka said. “In camp, you are always looking for competition. It makes everyone better. If you don’t have that competition then a PTO is an external way of creating that competition.

“I think we have it already but we are going to meet with the coaching staff this week and walk through all the details of camp. We’ll review it and look at lineups for exhibition games, but I think we have a number of good players that can make a push and give us what we need in camp.”

A lot of readers have asked what the personnel grouping will look like on the first-unit power play. The only answer right now is that it is undecided. Coach Rick Tocchet knows he will have Phil Kessel working the half wall on his off-wing (left side) while Nick Schmaltz works the other half wall. He will also have Oliver Ekman-Larsson up top.

The rest will be a product of experimentation in camp. Tocchet wants to take advantage of Jakob Chychrun’s shot so the Coyotes will try to find ways to free him up. They also want Clayton Keller to play a significant role on the power play, but the Coyotes also need net-front presence, which could come from a variety of players including Christian Fischer, Lawson Crouse, Derek Stepan and Carl Söderberg.

New assistant coach Phil Housley is taking over the power play from John Maclean so he may add some wrinkles as well. The evolution of the power play will be one of the key storylines to watch in camp.

The Coyotes have added five new scouts to their staff. Chris McDonald will be the director of European scouting. Tyler Bilton will cover Sweden. Kevin Thacker will cover Quebec and Boston. Teal Fowler will canvas Finland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland and Slovakia, and Mat Milberry will scout Quebec.