Coyotes re-sign pending RFAs Capobianco, Lyubushkin

Earlier today Craig Morgan reported that the Arizona Coyotes have re-signed pending restricted free agents Kyle Capobianco and Ilya Lyubushkin.

In replies to this initial tweet, Craig Morgan noted that the deals are one-way, meaning the players will get paid the same if they are in the AHL or NHL.

Kyle Capobianco was drafted by the Coyotes 63rd overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and has spent most of his professional career in the AHL with the Tucson Roadrunners. In his time in Tucson, he has twice been selected for the AHL All-Star Game.

While Capobianco has been limited to just 12 NHL games, he has seemed ready to make the leap to the NHL for a while now. With a two-year, one-way deal you have to wonder if the Coyotes are ready to bring him up to the NHL full time.

Lyubushkin went undrafted, after playing in the KHL signed with the Coyotes during the 2018 offseason. He is a more defensive defenseman and played 51 games for the Coyotes this past season.

It seems like the Coyotes are poised to trade a defenseman during the offseason, with Niklas Hjalmarsson confirming he will not waive his no-trade clause and rumors of Oliver Ekman-Larsson being available. We don’t know much about what the Coyotes blue line will look like next season, but deals like this give us a clearer picture.