Nielsen had 14 goals, 27 assists, 60 PIMs and a +9 plus/minus through 64 games with Abbotsford (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension worth $870,000 AAV. The 23-year-old centre has yet to make his NHL debut after being acquired as an undrafted free agent from the Vancouver Giants (WHL) after the 2020-21 season.
Irwin had two goals, three assists, 79 SOG, 36 PIMs and a -8 plus/minus through 61 games played with Washington in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract with an AAV of $775,000. The 35-year-old will be joining his seventh NHL team in Vancouver, having picked up 25 goals and 93 points across 461 career games played.
Juulsen failed to pick up a point through 12 games played with Vancouver in 2022-23 but had six PIMs and five SOG and has signed a two-year, two-way contract extension with the Canucks. The 26-year-old defenseman was Montreal's 2015 1st round pick (26th overall) and has 10 points (2G/8A) through 68 career NHL games played.
Morelli had 12 goals, 29 assists, 72 PIMs and a +19 plus/minus through 72 games with Hershey (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, two-way contract worth $1.55 Million ($775,000 AAV). The 27-year-old centre has never played in an NHL game after signing as an undrafted free agent from the University of Nebraska-Omaha (NCAA) in 2018-19.
Geertsen had four goals, four assists, 136 PIMs and a -8 plus/minus through 61 games with Utica (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, two-way contract extension worth $1.55 Million ($775,000 AAV). The 28-year-old defenseman has played in 25 career NHL games, failing to pick up a point but picking up 77 PIMs and a -6 plus/minus.
Clague split his time between the NHL and AHL during the 2023 season. During his time with the Sabres, the 25-year-old defenseman had four assists in 33 games while averaging a modest 15:06 TOI/gm. Given the additions of Connor Clifton and Erik Johnson in free agency, Clague seems destined to start the 2024 season in the AHL.
Sautner had two goals, 10 assists, 50 PIMs and a +3 plus/minus through 68 games with Manitoba (AHL) and has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension worth $775,000. The 29-year-old defenseman has played in 23 career NHL games with three assists and a +2 rating across three seasons in Vancouver. He last played in the NHL in 2019-2020.
Viel played in four games for San Jose in 2022-23 but failed to pick up a point, alongside his two PIMs and four SOG and has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000. The 26-year-old right winger played in 49 career NHL games with San Jose across three season, scoring three goals and two assists alongside 139 PIMs.
Pouliot had two assists, four SOG, six PIMs and a -1 plus/minus through eight games with San Jose in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 with Dallas. The 29-year-old defensemen was drafted in the first-round of the 2012 draft (8th overall) to Pittsburgh and has eight goals, 54 points and 241 SOG through 221 career NHL games with six different teams.
Harmonic had six goals, 15 assists, 136 SOG, 71 PIMs and a -5 plus/minus through 75 games with Ottawa in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, $2.2 million contract extension ($1.1M AAV). The 32-year-old defenseman has played in 793 career NHL games, picking up 50 goals and 229 points across his 13 year career thus far.
Onyebuchi is an undrafted free agent out of the WHL, that played 81 games with the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) over the last two seasons. The 6-foot-3, 210 lbs. defenseman has commonly been found among the team's PIMS leaders during his WHL and AHL stays.
Barron sticks with the Coyotes' organization after pocking up 19 goals and 23 assists (42 points) in 114 AHL games with Tucson over the last two seasons.
Galchenyuk was traded from Colorado to Nashville for Ryan Johansen the week before free agency but never received a contract from the Predators. So, he returns to the Coyotes' organization, where he had 21 points (6G / 15A) in 60 games during the 2022 season. Arizona is one of the most likely destinations for him to get NHL playing time, however they look deeper than they have in recent years after also adding Jason Zucker, Alex Kerfoot and Nick Bjugstad in free agency.
Stecher returns to the Coyotes after being dealt to the Flames as a rental at the 2023 trade deadline. The 29-year-old blueliner finished the season with 14 points (3G / 11A) in 81 games and brings a veteran presence to a Coyotes' blueline that is mainly young and inexperienced.
Gudas spent the last three seasons in Florida, where he had some of the best seasons of his career. He doesn't offer a lot offensively, posting just 44 points (7G / 37A) in 203 games, but he's a tough, rugged defenseman that led all defensemen in hits (917) during his three years with the Panthers. Not only did he have the most hits, he had 227 more hits than second (Luke Schenn).
Butcher had six goals, 37 assists, 16 PIMs and a+11 plus/minus through 65 games with Texas (AHL) and has signed a one-year, two-way contract ($775,000 AAV) with Pittsburgh. The 28-year-old defenseman last appeared in the NHL for Buffalo in 2021-22 and has picked up 16 goals and 114 points through 275 career games.
Weatherby had six goals, 11 assists, 51 PIMs and a -8 plus/minus through 70 games with both San Jose (AHL) and Grand Rapids (AHL) and has signed a one-year, two-way contract ($775,000 AAV) with Nashville. The 25-year-old centre was San Jose's 2018 fourth-round pick (102nd overall) and has five goals and 11 points across 50 career NHL games played.
Leonard spent most of the 2023 season in the AHL, finishing second on the Milwaukee Admirals in points (44), third in goals (17) and fourth in assists (27). With Arizona, he should battle for a roster spot in training camp, but seems destined to start the year in the AHL due to his two-way contract.
Jonsson-Fjallby had six goals, eight assists, 54 PIMs and a -1 plus/minus through 50 games in 2022-23 with the Washington Capitals and has signed a two-year, $1.55 Million contract ($775,000 AAV) with Winnipeg. The 25-year-old left-winger joins the Jets with 73 career NHL games experience, racking up 18 points (8G/10A) and 12 PIMs across two seasons.
