Coyotes ink Connauton to 2-year deal

The Arizona Coyotes shored up their back end Wednesday, agreeing to a two-year contract with defenseman Kevin Connauton, the team announced.

His new deal comes with a $2.75-million price tag, sources told Arizona Sports' Craig Morgan.

"We are very pleased to sign Kevin to a contract extension," general manager John Chayka said. "Kevin is a versatile defenseman with a great work ethic. He had an excellent season last year and he adds depth to our blue line. We're happy to have him back."

Connauton, 28, is coming off a very respectable season for the Desert Dogs, as the underrated rearguard registered a career high in goals (11) and chipped in with 10 assists in just over 15 minutes of ice time per night.

With Connauton's signing, Arizona now has all of its top six defensemen under contract for next season; a list of players that also includes Niklas Hjalmarsson, Jason Demers, Alex Goligoski, Jakob Chychrun, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Connauton was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the third round of the 2009 NHL Draft.