During the final push toward a playoff spot last season, Vrbata went ice cold. He could not score when the Coyotes needed him too. It’s true that all players get into a long funk, but in the last 22 games, he did not score a goal and only notched seven assists.

Based on his performance, I would not categorize him as clutch player. His value is certainly less than what his agent suggests.

“Look at the World Championships. He put the puck in the net when he
got there (five goals in seven games). He played well, and any concern about
putting the puck in the net was dispelled by real good work at the World
Championships, playing against the elite players in the world.”

Richard Evans, Vrbata’s agent quoted in the Arizona Republic

Elite players in the world? Maybe but, in a short tournament of less than 20 games.

Radim Vrbata was a streaky player last season, and it was difficult to determine the rhyme or reason behind it. However, when we did go cold, other players would pick up the slack. But the favor had to be returned some time, and that favor went unpaid in the last two months of the season.

Even though Evans states to the contrary, Vrbata will most likely not wear a Coyotes’ sweater for next season.

Vrabata had the best numbers of his NHL career with 27 goals, and 29 assists with a plus-6 rating. However, he was a streaky player who went consecutive games without a goal or a point, only to get red hot again where everything he shot went past the goaltender.

The tough part of this particular deal with Vrbata was how he closed the year. He did not score a goal in 22 games, right when the Coyotes were still in the playoff hunt. He scored seven assists during the stretch with a minus-5 rating. As the NHL veteran on the squad, he needed to help Shane Doan carry the load and could not finish the deal.

Therefore, in my mind, the value of Vrbata goes down for me. We expected Peter Mueller to learn the game and just try to contribute only to have him score three goals and ten assists during that same stretch of 22 games.

The young prospects did all they could to help the Coyotes win and with the potential of adding Blake Wheeler to the mix, along with the signing of Hobey Baker award winner Kevin Porter and Chad Kolarik, there may not be a solid spot for Vrbata.

It is up to him though and how much he is willing to do to stay. If his agent and his team focus solely on the numbers, then I would speculate that the contract discussions could linger further. I would recommend, not that Vrabata’s team reads the blog or not, to come in slightly under value if he truly wants to stay here. To me, he didn’t prove himself when the team needed him the most. Many times in the last few games he would give up the pass instead of shoot the puck.

If the recent performance of the young players on the hockey team are any future indication (i.e. Peter Mueller, Martin Hanzal, Dan Carcillo, Dan Winnik, and Kyle Turris), I would go with the young prospects first if the deal didn’t make sense for the franchise.

General Manager Don Maloney is a smart executive – he’s proven that over and over again. He has the clear vision of where this hockey club needs to be and he wants the right players in the right spots to get there.

The Coyotes get a young player in Vrbata that was second on his team in overall scoring, and has outperformed Adams in almost all of the statistical values with his career stats of 75 goals and 95 assists. Last season, he was tied for first on power play goals with five.

Vrbata comes with a $1.225 million price tag to Adams $650,000, but with the cap room that the Coyotes have, they can absorb the cost. Vrbata looks like a player that will only get better and he will see plenty of ice time.

Unfortunately, I didn’t want to see Adams go, but in this case, the Coyotes fill a much needed spot with Vrbata.

Therefore, both sides benefit from the trade today.