ARIZONA ACQUIRES NICK RITCHIE
The Arizona Coyotes acquired winger Nick Ritchie and a conditional draft pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs for forward Ryan Dzingel and defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin.
What does it give the Arizona Coyotes
In Ritchie, the Coyotes land an underachieving power forward who now heads to his fourth NHL organization at age 26. The move to Arizona could be viewed as Ritchie's last shot at turning potential into production at the highest level. The 'Yotes also acquired an early draft pick from Toronto in this deal (Arizona's choice of either a second-rounder in '25 or a third-rounder in '23).
What does it give the Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs are up against the salary cap, so any move that can alleviate their issues even a little bit can be considered a win. Ritchie is under contract through 2022-23 ($2.5 million), so Toronto decided to move him for a pair of expiring contracts in Lyubushkin and Dzingel (the latter is expected to be placed on waivers immediately). Toronto GM Kyle Dubas did his best to undo his bad move.
Fantasy impact
Ritchie should get an opportunity with the Coyotes down the stretch, so he could be worth a pickup in very deep leagues (and some keeper formats). Neither Dzingel nor Lyubushkin have much value.
