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

Report: Radim Vrbata, Coyotes could be reunited once again

Vancouver Canucks v Phoenix Coyotes

GLENDALE, AZ - MARCH 04: Radim Vrbata #17 of the Phoenix Coyotes during the NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Jobing.com Arena on March 4, 2014 in Glendale, Arizona. The Coyotes defeated the Canucks 1-0. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Getty Images

Radim Vrbata and the Arizona Coyotes just can’t stay separated for too long.

Arizona Sports’ Craig Morgan reports that the two sides are closing in on a one-year contract.

Morgan didn’t specify how much money might be involved, but even for a budget-conscious team like the Coyotes, a single season can only do so much damage. It’s a low-risk proposition that, considering Vrbata’s past in the desert, could bring nice rewards.

While Vrbata made a nice first impression riding shotgun with the Sedin twins in Vancouver, his 2015-16 season was rough, solidifying the notion that things just seem to go better for him in Arizona.

Three of his four career 20+ goal seasons came with the Coyotes, and it’s not outrageous to picture him flirting with 20 or more on a team that could use his shooting skills.

A power play with Vrbata, young talents like Max Domi and quality scoring blueliners Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Alex Goligoski might just help Arizona steal some extra wins next season.

Vrbata seems aware of Arizona being something of a comfort zone, and has been for some time. Back in 2012, he told the Chicago Tribune that “it seems like it’s a good place for me.”

Arizona would be a perfectly sensible place for Vrbata in 2016-17 now, too, so we’ll see if it becomes official.