On March 1, the Calgary Flames traded defenseman Chris Tanev to the Dallas Stars in exchange for prospect Artem Grushnikov and the Stars' second-round pick in the 2024 NHL draft. 240303 Post Tourigny For a defenseman of Tanev’s caliber, this seems to be an underwhelming value that could very well shake up the trade market for other rental defensemen. Specifically it can affect the Arizona Coyotes in a big way as they have a number of blue liners on expiring contracts including Matt Dumba, Troy Stecher and Josh Brown. Dumba is the player that has been rumored most to potentially be moved before Friday’s trade deadline, but after this Tanev deal his value may not be at what general manager Bill Armstrong would have maybe originally thought. Dreger reported on Monday that the defenseman market is ‘shrinking’ which is certainly not something that Coyotes’ fans want to hear just days before the trade deadline. If the Coyotes were to trade Dumba, in an ideal world Armstrong would fetch a first-round pick, but with the way the current market is looking, the likelihood of that is not necessarily favorable. However, the value of rental defensemen tends to rise up the day or week of the trade deadline, so everything is still very unknown up to this point. Even if the Coyotes weren’t able to get a first-rounder in any trade that they make before Friday afternoon, Armstrong is clever and can find other ways to gain valuable assets in a deal.
