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Maloney: There’s ‘significant interest’ in Zbynek Michalek

Arizona Coyotes v Philadelphia Flyers

Zbynek Michalek

NHLI via Getty Images

The Arizona Coyotes traded goaltender Devan Dubnyk back in January and moved forward Antoine Vermette to Chicago tonight. With Arizona near the bottom of the NHL’s standings though, GM Don Maloney likely isn’t done dealing.

One player in particular that might be wearing a new jersey soon is defenseman Zbynek Michalek. The 32-year-old has 73 hits and ranks 12th in the NHL with 130 blocks in 53 games this season. He’s in the final season of a five-year, $20 million contract.

Michalek also hasn’t played since Feb. 14 due to an upper-body injury, but that hasn’t stopped teams from calling.

“The injury does not help the process (of trading Michalek) but I wouldn’t say it hurts,” Maloney told Fox Sports’ Craig Morgan. The general manager added, “He’s well on the road to recovery and there is significant interest in his services.”

The rental market for defensemen is thin, especially with Andrej Sekera, Cody Franson, and Kimmo Timonen already off the trading block.

The Detroit Red Wings, Anaheim Ducks, Tampa Bay Lightning, and St. Louis Blues are believed to be among the teams interested, per Fox Sports.

Maloney added that the Coyotes were considering additional trades that don’t involve Michalek, but he didn’t go into detail.

Follow @RyanDadoun