Red Wings Drop Datsyuk's Contract, Coyotes Move Up

To Arizona	Pos	Age	GP	G/W	P	Years	Cap
Pavel Datsyuk	F	37	66	16	49	1	$7.5 mil
2016 1st Round Draft Pick (16th - Jacob Chychrun)
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To Detroit	Pos	Age	GP	G/W	P	Years	Cap
Joe Vitale	F	30	1	0	0	1	$1.117 mil
2016 1st Round Draft Pick (20th - Dennis Cholowski)
2016 2nd Round Draft Pick (53rd)

The drama that was the looming cap hit for Pavel Datsyuk has come to an end and to no one's surprise, it was the Arizona Coyotes who were able to take that cap hit on and move up in the draft in the process.

The Red Wings didn't really want to give up too much for a team to take on their burden, where there were rumours of them having to deal some of their key roster players to get the job done.  Well, this didn't end up being the case, as they were able to swap 1st round picks, acquire another pick and a depth player instead.  Not a bad job, really.

The Coyotes were high on the free-falling Jacob Chychrun, who was slated to be a much-higher draft pick last Summer, so when the opportunity presented itself, the new GM for the team jumped on it and did the deal.

The immediate hockey pool impact is next to nothing, but with the Red Wings clearing out over $6.4 million in cap space for next season, they immediately become big players in the free agency market, which starts their sneak-a-peek tomorrow.