NHL Rumors: Coyotes Might Not Trade Forward

In his most recent 32 Thoughts piece, Elliotte Friedman noted that the Arizona Coyotes would prefer to keep Lawson Crouse than trade him.

Crouse's name has been in the rumor mill over the last few months, but this development certainly doesn't mean that a trade is imminent. However, that also doesn't automatically mean that he won't be moved. If teams offer the Coyotes the right price, we could still see the power forward dealt. Keep in mind, Arizona is in a monstrous rebuild.

It's already been reported that the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Philadelphia Flyers have expressed interest in Crouse. Both Boston and Tampa Bay would love to have him for their playoff runs, as he is a player who is simply built for them. As for Philadelphia, although they are near the bottom of the standings, he could be a good long-term investment. On a side note, he also is close friends with Travis Konecny.

In 40 games this season, Crouse has 10 goals and 10 assists. It has been a career year for the young winger, so it makes sense that the Coyotes are leaning toward keeping him around. Furthermore, he is still under team control, as he will be a restricted free agent this offseason. Thus, they aren't in a position where they need to trade him.

Alas, we may have a trade target off the board, but we'll have to see what ends up occurring from here. Just this offseason, the Coyotes said they wouldn't trade Jakob Chychrun, and now he's the biggest name on the market.