The Coyotes addressed two key needs on the first day of the NHL free agency period: defense and toughness.
The signing of Kurt Sauer from the Colorado Avalanche helped shore up a defensive gap created when the Coyotes traded Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton to the Florida Panthers for center Olli Jokinen. And with left wing Todd Fedoruk, the Coyotes get a physical player who amassed almost 140 penalty minutes last season with the Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars.
The Coyotes lost two players Tuesday, forwards Radim Vrbata (Tampa Bay) and Craig Weller (Minnesota) but also signed their two first-round draft choices for three years.
And although the team was not involved in any blockbuster deals, General Manager Don Maloney said he was happy where things stood.
"Simply, the market for defensemen went really high, and we were able to get Kurt Sauer under contract to a reasonable deal, in my estimation, that made some economic sense to us, and I just really like the fit that a Todd Fedoruk can bring."
Sauer, 27, signed a four-year, $7 million deal. The 6-foot-4, 220-pounder played in 54 games last season with one goal and five assists and was a plus-17.
Sauer has played five seasons on the NHL. He was the Avs' third-round choice (88th overall) in the 2000 draft. He was signed as a free agent by Anaheim in 2002 before being traded back to Colorado in 2004.
Fedoruk, 29, a 6-foot-2, 240-pound left wing, signed a three-year deal worth about $3.1 million.
He played in 69 games last season with Dallas and Minnesota, with six goals and seven assists, He was a plus-2. He was a seventh-round draft choice of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1997.
"We are excited to add Kurt to our defensive corps," said Maloney. "We see him as someone who can match up against top forwards and handle a lot of ice time.
"Todd's a guy that has played with some good players, he drives to the net, provides a presence, not unlike Danny Winnik, only he's big and thick and strong and gives us a presence, so I like the fit. So far we have done two things that we started out to help - we helped our defense and gave ourselves a little more toughness up front."
Sauer said he was excited when he learned of the deal but quickly got his mind back to his new job.
"Right away, you like to think about the contract, and what it does for you as family and then start to think, 'They're giving you that much money, they expect you to do more on ice and get better minutes,' and you're always excited about that possibility and you have to own up to why they offered you the money."
Fedoruk, happy to be getting a fresh start, said he has always heard good things about the organization, and players look at places that would be attractive to play in, and Phoenix is one of those.
"We came to terms, and it seems like both sides were pretty happy at the end," he said. "My role is I've been around a bit, a veteran role. Hopefully, I'll be playing more than fighting is obviously what I've tried to accomplish.
"There's a history of my fighting career, but I always wanted to market myself more as a player, and coming into free agency, that's where I saw myself as a player, a guy who will do things necessary to provide the physical aspect (who) can chip in with some skilled players if need be and help out some of the younger guys."
The Coyotes' plan for day two of free agency might be scaled down a bit, said Maloney. If he finds another defenseman he thinks will be a good fit, he'll act on that. "But if you look at our forward group, we've got a pretty good group, so I feel a lot better than 24 hours ago."
Vrbata, Weller leave
Vrbata signed a three-year, $9 million contract that included a no-trade clause. He played one year for the Coyotes. He had a strong start but tailed off down the stretch, finishing with 27 goals and 29 assists for 56 points, the second-highest point total on the team.
"We did make an offer at the end, not to the level he received, but thought it was a very lucrative four-year offer," Maloney said. Vrbata, a 27-year-old right wing, was obtained prior to last season by the Coyotes in a trade with Chicago for Kevyn Adams.
His agent, Rich Evans, said Vrbata had nothing but good things to say about the Coyotes organization.
Weller, one of the feel-good stories of the NHL last season when he broke into the league at the age of 27, agreed to a two-year $1.2 million one-way offer from the Wild. The Coyotes matched the numbers, but wanted Weller to accept a two-way contract.
Top choices sign
First-round draft choices, forward Mikkel Boedker (8) and Viktor Tikhonov (28) signed three-year entry-level contracts worth $875,000 per year.
