From Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic:
It wasn’t a spectacular foray into free agency, but General Manager Don Maloney gets a B-plus for nabbing two solid defenseman, Kurt Sauer and David Hale, and an enforcer, Brian McGrattan.
The dark horse pickup is forward Todd Fedoruk, a tough customer who could provide more of a contribution than many think right now.
True, the Coyttes lost potentially high-scoring Radim Vrbata, but the trade for Olli Jokinen, plus the upside of several young players could more than make up for that.
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I have to disagree with Gintonio here. If the grade was for off-season transactions, then a B+ is a fitting grade. But Gintonio gives Maloney & Co. a B+ for signing David Hale, Todd Fedoruk and Kurt Sauer and trading for Brian McGrattan.
While the Fedoruk and McGrattan moves add toughness to the line-up, I think having the two on board is redundant. The Sauer signing was Maloney’s best free agent work; while there is nothing particularly special about bringing David Hale on board. In fact, I’d prefer some of the younger defensemen in the organization taking that ice-time instead.
All in all, Maloney probably deserves a solid B for his work.
A look at the projected lineup with all the latest game info.
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Good insight from number 37.
The Jets put their latest win behind them and turn focus to the Utah Hockey…
The Winnipeg Jets pushed their winning streak to three on Sunday.