The departure of Arizona Coyotes general manager Don Maloney appears to have no baring on the future of defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Related: Coyotes relieve Don Maloney of GM duties
Following the announcement that the club relieved Maloney of his duties, president and CEO Anthony LeBlanc went on record to once again put to bed any trade rumours involving the club's top D-man.
According to LeBlanc, "there is absolutely no potential" that Ekman-Larsson will be dealt for a draft pick.
With that, Ekman-Larsson can be expected back with the club next season as well as captain Shane Doan, who will be welcomed back if that's what the 39-year-old wants.
"If Shane Doan wants to come back, we're thrilled," LeBlanc said, according to NHL.com's Dave Vest. "We're going to let him dictate the time frame on that."
With the team not expected to make a significant run at moving up in the draft, LeBlanc also went on record suggesting the team will push hard in free agency.
"I do anticipate we're going to be active (in free agency)," LeBlanc said, according to ABC 15 Sports. "We're just not going to spend money for the sake of spending money, that's for sure."
Arizona should enter free agency with a lot of money to spend, with roughly $40 million in cap space at their disposal, according to capfriendly.com.
