The Arizona Coyotes have decided not to sign forward Conner Bleackley, allowing him to re-enter this month's NHL Entry Draft.
The club had until Wednesday to sign Bleackley and by not doing so will now receive a supplemental second-round pick in this year's draft, giving them eight selections in total.
"We're going to take the compensation pick," General manager John Chayka said, according NHL.com's Mike Morreale. "There's a lot of value in that pick. That's not to diminish anything Conner has done or the type of player he is. He had a good Memorial Cup. He's a good player, but at this point (the draft pick) is a more valuable asset for us."
Bleackley was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round, 23rd overall in 2014, but was dealt to the Coyotes this season along with Alex Tanguay and Kyle Wood in exchange for Mikkel Boedker and Eric Gelinas.
The 20-year-old is coming off his fourth full season with the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League, where he had 13 goals and 46 points in 55 games.
