ESPN’s Kevin Weekes is reporting that several teams are expressing interest in trading for Arizona Coyotes goaltender Karel Vejmelka. Weekes doesn’t get into the specifics of which teams have shown interest but does add the Vejmelka enjoys being member of the Coyotes. Ultimately if he stays or goes will come down to whether a team is willing to meet Arizona’s asking price.
The 27-year-old netminder has a very cap-friendly contract at $2.725MM per year and has another on his deal after this season. At a glance, it doesn’t look like a bargain because Vejmelka’s traditional statistics have been brutal. Since joining the Coyotes, Vejmelka has played 114 games in which he has registered a record of 33-63-11. He also has a sub .900 save percentage and a 3.54 goals-against average.
There is no defending those numbers as they aren’t great, however, his overall statistics are badly damaged by a very poor rookie season back in 2021-22. Last year, Vejmelka was quite solid, evidenced by his 11.1 goals saved above expected (Money Puck).
In other evening notes:
- TSN’s Pierre LeBrun is reporting that unsigned unrestricted free Phil Kessel has not closed the door on returning to the NHL and is still waiting to be signed. In the meantime, the three-time Stanley Cup champion is exploring the possibility of playing in some games in the Swiss League. Nothing has been decided yet, but the 36-year-old clearly still has the drive to play and would love to hit the 1000-point mark for his NHL career. The NHL Iron Man is no guarantee to reach the Hall of Fame, but if he were to pass the 1000-point mark it would go a long way to him having a chance to make it.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that they’ve placed forward Bryan Rust on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury. Rust has had a nice season thus far as he bounces back from a poor showing last year. In 22 games this year the 31-year-old has 10 goals and 10 assists. The Penguins badly need Rust to return to the lineup as the team has struggled to score goals and will finish this evening with a 13-13-3 record which has them sitting seventh in the Metropolitan Division ahead of the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets.