On Tuesday afternoon, the Phoenix Coyotes announced they have swooped in and signed unrestricted free agent forward Eric Belanger to a 1-year deal, said to be worth $750,000. Belanger was thought to be re-signing with the Washington Capitals, who he was acquired by in a trade deadline deal last season, but it looks like the Capitals could not open enough room underneath the cap to fit him in and the Coyotes were able to take advantage.In 2010, Belanger scored 15 goals and 26 assists in 77 games between Minnesota and Washington, ranking him 186th in league scoring, 136th among all forwards. He will fit nicely in the middle six of the Coyotes line-up, giving the team a little more defensive depth up front, including taking key face-offs.
The Coyotes now have 22 players on their Summer roster, including 14 forwards, six defensemen and two goalies, plus three buyouts on their books for an annual salary cap hit of $49.2 million, which is a very cost-efficient price for a playoff-challenging team. There isn't going to be much room to wiggle in for new blood, but when the training camp roster is posted, I think we'll get a better idea of who is going to be sitting on the bubble.
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