Some two weeks into free agency and more than a week after the marquee signings of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, the NHL trade market remains focused on Columbus Blue Jackets winger Rick Nash, "runner-up" prize Bobby Ryan of the Anaheim Ducks (who may even be a better pickup), and Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo.
However, there is still the question of Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Keith Yandle, whose name popped up in trade talks three weeks ago on the day of the NHL Entry Draft, and would certainly be an intriguing addition for a team that missed out on Suter or Matt Carle (who signed with the Tampa Bay Lightining shortly after Suter signed in Minnesota).
Whenever Yandle's name has come up, it's been made clear that Phoenix general manager Don Maloney and his staff would not make a deal just to make a deal, and that it would take a very good offer to pry the All-Star blueliner out of the desert. However, with Coyotes captain Shane Doan still mulling over a return to the desert, and the team's ownership situation still in some limbo as Glendale residents Ken Jones and Joe Cobb attempt to block the city's lease with a new ownership group led by former San Jose Sharks executive Greg Jamison, it might wind up turning out that moving Yandle is the best move.
The Coyotes have navigated the team's financial uncertainty in recent seasons with surprising success, making the playoffs in three consecutive seasons under head coach Dave Tippett, capped off by a 2011-12 season that saw Phoenix win the Pacific Division and advance to the Western Conference Finals. However, the summer has already seen leading scorer Ray Whitney depart for the Dallas Stars, Doan could easily be next to go, and while veteran forward Steve Sullivan was a nice pickup, Phoenix is fairly likely to enter the 2012-13 season in worse position than it ended 2011-12.
In that context, keeping Yandle probably doesn't make sense. Giving up a top player in the present for future assets is always a tough decision, but if Phoenix doesn't get its issues resolved quickly and decisively, a focus on the future may be the best strategy, and to that end, the kind of assets the Coyotes could get for the All-Star defenseman are more valuable than Yandle's production over the next four years.
Maloney is right to be slow on trading Yandle. If Doan returns and the Jamison sale can be completed, the Phoenix can certainly continue to compete in the present and keep building towards the future. If Doan leaves, however, then it may be time to move Yandle for forward prospects, make way for blueline prospects like Brandon Gormley and Max Goncharov, and build towards a brighter future with Jamison or another owner.