Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Coyotes’ Maloney on deadline deals: ‘We’d just like a little bit more than is being offered’

Don Maloney, Dave Tippett

Phoenix Coyotes’ general manager Don Maloney, left, talks and head coach Dave Tippett looks on as Maloney talks about the upcoming NHL hockey season at a news conference, Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013, Glendale, Ariz.(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

AP

Its no secret the Arizona Coyotes are sellers as the March 2 trade deadline fast approaches, but GM Don Maloney hasn’t been wowed by offers.

Maloney was on Arizona Sports 98.7 Wednesday morning discussing his strategy surrounding the trade deadline.

“We have a clear price in mind for not only Antoine [Vermette], but any of our people here,” said Maloney. “We know we’re having a difficult season. We need to bring some young assets in.

“We want to introduce more youth and speed into our lineup, which is what we plan on doing going forward.”

In addition to Vermette, players rumored to be available include Keith Yandle, Martin Erat and Zbynek Michalek.

However, Maloney hasn’t been impressed by offers thus far.

“We have good assets. We have good people that other teams would like to acquire,” he said. “We’d just like a little bit more than is being offered right now.”

Arizona (20-31-7) sits five points ahead of the last place Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference and will likely miss the playoffs for a third consecutive season.

“We know looking at our year we have to be quicker. We have to have a lot more energy into our group. We need to defend better. So all of those areas are going to be addressed. Hopefully a little bit right now at the trade deadline, but certainly in the offseason we think we can do some things to make us certainly a lot more entertaining next year.”

The Coyotes have lost four straight and have just one win in their last seven games. Arizona is back in action Saturday when they play host to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Follow @dcmahiban