The Arizona Coyotes’ final restricted free agent has been signed. Today, the Arizona Coyotes announced that forward Jan Jeník had signed a one-year, two-way deal after months of negotiating.
Per Frank Seravlli, the deal is $775,000 in the NHL and $100,000 in the AHL, with a guarantee of $125,000.
The Coyotes originally drafted Jeník 65th overall at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. He has spent most of his professional career with the Tucson Roadrunners (110 games played, 30-54-84) but has played 17 NHL games across three seasons, where he has four goals and an assist.
Jeník missed 37 games last season due to injuries, but he looked good in the AHL when he played. He had 23 points in 30 games. It remains to be seen whether he can make the Coyotes’ opening night roster or if he will be sent back to training camp.
The fact that it took Jeník this long to sign clearly indicates frustration. Any young player wants to be playing in the NHL, and as a player the previous GM drafted, it is not clear what his place is with the Coyotes. Unfortunately for Jeník, he didn’t have a lot of leverage, so he signed a one-year deal, which gives him the chance to show what he can do in training camp.
For more about Jan Jeník, we recently ranked him 23rd on our annual 25 Under 25 list, which can be found here.