NHL Trade Buzz: Coyotes will be sellers following 11-game skid, GM says

Welcome to the NHL Trade Buzz. There are 14 days remaining until the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline (3 p.m. ET on March 8). Here’s a look around the League at the latest deadline doings:

Arizona Coyotes

The Coyotes’ run of 11 straight losses (0-10-1) has pushed them into being sellers prior to the trade deadline, general manager Bill Armstrong told The Athletic on Friday. Arizona (23-29-4) was 23-19-3 and contending for a playoff spot before the slide but has fallen 12 points behind the St. Louis Blues for the second wild card in the Western Conference.

That made the decision easy for Armstrong.

“Yeah, I’ve been open and transparent with our fan base and our players in the sense that they’ll dictate where we’re going, whether we’re buyers or sellers,” Armstrong said. “And at this point, we’re not rich as an organization to go down a road and not receive assets if we’re not going to get into the playoffs.”

Forward Jason Zucker, who signed a one-year contract with the Coyotes on July 1, and defenseman Matt Dumba, who signed a one-year contract on Aug. 7, are eligible to become unrestricted free agents this offseason, and are the leading candidates to be traded for pieces of the future.

Zucker has 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 46 games this season after the 32-year-old had 48 points (27 goals, 21 assists) in 78 games last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Dumba has nine points (four goals, five assists) in 52 games and the 29-year-old is third on the Coyotes in averaging 20:02 in ice time per game.

Minnesota Wild

Marc-Andre Fleury’s future with the Wild could be impacted by their next two games at the Edmonton Oilers on Friday (9 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, BSNX, BSWIX) and at the Seattle Kraken on Saturday, but it will ultimately be the goalie’s decision whether he is traded before the deadline, general manager Bill Guerin said on KFAN on Minneapolis earlier this week.

“I think Marc has earned the right to call the shots here,” Guerin said. “It’s a complicated situation. But the best thing right now is to just play hockey and not complicate with ‘what-ifs.’ I don’t know what’s going to happen. … I’ll be talking to ‘Flower’ down the road. It won’t take long to figure it out.”

Minnesota (26-24-6) trails the St. Louis Blues by four points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. Fleury has said he is focused on helping the Wild qualify for the playoffs, but if they fall further behind in the standings, Guerin will need to decide whether to sell before the deadline and potentially have that conversation with Fleury, who can become an unrestricted free agent after this season.

The 39-year-old is 11-10-3 with a 2.96 goals-against average, .897 save percentage and one shutout in 27 games (23 starts) this season, but has picked up his play recently, going 4-1-0 with a 2.23 GAA, .918 save percentage and one shutout in seven games (five starts) since Jan….