On Tuesday, the Phoenix Coyotes came to terms with restricted free agent defenseman Keith Yandle, avoiding any further drama in the Summer. It sounded like there was a very tumultuous negotiation between the Coyotes and Yandle's camp, with even talk that the team may have been shopping his rights around the league. Fortunately, the deal has been done, a 5-year, $26.5 million deal, which works out to be a $5.3 million cap hit per season.
Yandle was the league's 3rd best defenseman in scoring in 2011, picking up 59 points (11 goals and 48 assists) in all 82 games for the Coyotes, boosting his overall stock.
With that being said, Yandle's new deal now pays him among the league's elite, having the 15th-highest salary cap hit among defensemen for the 2012 season, to date. Brian Campbell, now of the Florida Panthers, leads all defensemen in this category at $7.14 million.
| Forwards | Defense | Goalies |
| Shane Doan | Keith Yandle | Mike Smith |
| Ray Whitney | Adrian Aucoin | Curtis McElhinney |
| Radim Vrbata | Michal Rozsival | Jason LaBarbera |
| Lee Stempniak | Derek Morris | |
| Taylor Pyatt | David Schlemko | |
| Raffi Torres | Rostislav Klesla | |
| Martin Hanzal | Oliver Ekman-Larsson | |
| Boyd Gordon | ||
| Paul Bissonette |
It looks like there is quite the logjam on the back end for the Coyotes, but much to their credit, it isn't a very expensive one. With 19 players signed on (nine forwards, seven defensemen and three goalies), the Coyotes projected salary cap number is now sitting at $43.1 million, leaving the team to fill $5.2 million to spend, just to get to the salary cap floor. On the agenda: three more forwards.
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