Coyotes' Michael Stone: Gets qualifying offer

Stone (knee) was extended a qualifying offer by the Coyotes on Monday.

Analysis:

Fellow blueliner Connor Murphy was also given a qualifying offer. It's important for the Coyotes to keep contract distractions for Stone at a minimum since his focus this offseason is recovering from surgery on his ACL/MCL. The 26-year-old defender, who notched career highs in assists (30) last season, is due for a nice raise after earning a base salary of just $1.45 million in 2015-16 -- that was the back end of a three-year deal.