Arizona Coyotes place Dysin Mayo on waivers

Per Elliotte Friedman, Arizona Coyotes defenceman Dysin Mayo has been placed on waivers.

The 26-year-old defenseman is in the first season of the three-year $2.85 million contract he signed this past offseason. Mayo earns $950,000 annually in the NHL. In 13 games played this year, he has no points and a minus-6 rating.

He was a relatively unknown talent in the American Hockey League, so the Coyotes surprised a lot of people by giving Dysin Mayo a full-time spot on the roster for the 2021-22 season. He played 67 games for the second-last place Coyotes team.

In his rookie season, he scored four goals and 12 points, along with 27 PIMs and a worrisome -22 rating. In a season without many feel-good moments for his team, Mayo ranked fourth among Coyotes defencemen in ice-time, averaging 20:55 per game.

After a decent rookie campaign, the Coyotes haven’t been happy with Mayo’s performance this year. He has been a healthy scratch for 13 of his team’s 26 games this season. Mayo is a defensive defenseman who doesn’t put up points. Players that don’t put up points have to make up for it in other ways, such as hitting, blocking shots and overall strong defensive play.

Last season, Mayo averaged roughly two hits and blocks per game. This year, his blocked shots numbers have dropped along with his ice-time. In the games that he’s played this year, he’s been stuck on the bottom pairing, playing less than 12 minutes per game.

The Coyotes gave him one last chance on Nov. 23 against the Carolina Hurricanes. He played 17 minutes that night in a Coyotes victory. He hasn’t played in a Coyotes uniform since that game.

Still, a right-handed defenseman with term left on a team-friendly deal will garner some interest around the NHL. A number of teams could use a cheap right-handed blueliner, among them the Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks, and Buffalo Sabres.