The Arizona Coyotes had a major proponent of their dream crushed last week when their arena in Tempe got voted down.
Now, their franchise player may give them some more bad news.
Keller Gives the Coyotes an Ultimatum
Per Elliotte Friedman, Coyotes star forward
Clayton Keller had made it clear to Coyotes management that he need
direction before making a commitment to move forward with the team.
Clayton Keller gave Arizona a month or so to provide him with direction about the future, on and off the ice.
On is much easier: the Coyotes were more competitive than expected and are loaded with draft picks. There is no desire to move backward. Another team's manager says
GM Bill Armstrong has a line: "They can't stop us from drafting."
Off...well, who knows? It's all guesswork and God knows if there's any way to figure it out in 45 days. To this point, Keller is not asking for a trade. But, stay tuned. If he's available, there will be a first-day Guardians of the Galaxy 3 style lineup. Think they are also being asked about
Lawson Crouse.
It is definitely safe to say that the on-ice performance of the team isn't what is worrying Clayton Keller, who at 24-years-old is definitely yearning to win, but the pressure of a fragile market may be fuel for him to request a trade.
As a point-per-game forward on a bottom-ten team, he will definitely have many suitors. Keller has five more years on a deal that pays him $7.15-million annually, and has no trade protection until 2024-25.
DO YOU THINK CLAYTON KELLER WILL REMAIN A COYOTE? MAY 24 156 ANSWERS |
YES | 36 | 23.1 % |
NO | 120 | 76.9 % |
LIST OF POLLS |