Coyotes don't expect to trade 5th overall pick

Unless a deal is too good to pass up, the Arizona Coyotes will be selecting fifth overall in this month's draft.

The Coyotes made a splash last season after they dealt their first-round pick at the draft, but this year general manager John Chayka is more confident in the talent that should be available when Phoenix makes its selection.

"We feel strongly about that group of players (at the top of the draft) and we know there's going to be a player at No. 5 that we're really excited to get," Chayka said, according to Dave Vest of coyotes.nhl.com. "Last year, obviously, we traded our first-round pick, and part of that was we didn't feel as strongly or as passionately about that pick as we did say Clayton Keller (at No. 7) the year before, and not as passionately as we do this year. There's a lot of conviction in our scouts and their beliefs in the players that we believe are going to be there when we pick fifth, so we plan on holding the pick and taking the pick and getting a great player."

Last year the Coyotes dealt the seventh overall pick and defenseman Anthony DeAngelo to the New York Rangers for Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta.

Earlier in the day The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun reported that the Coyotes have talked about potentially moving up or down in the draft and that one of the teams they have spoken with is the Montreal Canadiens who hold the third overall selection.

So until the Coyotes make their pick, nothing appears set in stone.