The Arizona Coyotes are bringing back Christian Fischer on a one-year contract.
While the team did not announce the average annual value, the contract is reportedly worth about $1.13 million, according to CapFriendly.
The move comes as a depth move, as Fischer averaged just over 13 minutes of ice time during the 2021-2022 season.
“We are very pleased to sign Christian,” Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong said in a statement. “He is a hard-working forward and a great teammate who is well-respected in our dressing room. We look forward to having him back next season.”
Last season, the former first-round pick tallied 10 points in 53 games.
In his career 318-game career with the Coyotes, the 25-year-old has 43 goals and 41 assists.
Fischer was picked 32nd overall in the 2015 NHL draft.
What’s Next For The Coyotes?
Over the past year, the Coyotes have been focusing on the future and couping up draft picks.
For example, it took on former New York Islanders forward Andrew Ladd‘s $5.5 million cap hit for three draft picks. This deal included a second-round pick and a couple of conditional picks.
In the 2022 draft, which just concluded days ago, the Coyotes had three first-round picks.
The organization welcomed defenseman Logan Cooley with the third overall pick, followed by Conor Geekie and Maveric Lamoureux later in the round.
While the Coyotes have been in rebuild mode, it now has just over $28 million in cap space – meaning it could be major players in free agency, which kicks off Wednesday.
The free agency class is set to feature Johnny Gaudreau, Evgeni Malkin and Nazem Kadri.
Meanwhile, the Coyotes are reportedly in the market for a goaltender.
The top free-agent goaltender is set to be Darcy Kuemper, who the Colorado Avalanche will not be bringing back after acquiring Alex Georgiev from the New York Rangers.
While the Coyotes can offer players money, it likely won’t be able to offer them a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup.
The 2021-2022 season marked the ninth time in the last 10 years the team missed the playoffs.
