Arizona Coyotes sign forward Zach Sanford to one-year contract
The Arizona Coyotes have signed forward Zach Sanford to a one-year, two-way contract, the club announced Friday afternoon.
Sanford, 28, split the 2022–23 season between the Nashville Predators and the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals.
The six-foot-four, 206-pound left wing collected 12 goals and 28 points in 45 games with the Admirals during the 2022–23 regular season. He added three goals and seven points in 16 games during the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs.
Sanford also appeared in 16 games with the Predators in 2022–23, picking up two goals and an assist. The Predators did not qualify for the playoffs in 2023.
The Coyotes did not share the terms of Sanford’s contract with the team.
Welcome to the desert, Zach! 🏜️
Read more: https://t.co/fBrrljwPEM pic.twitter.com/h5o1vJVSfv
The Washington Capitals originally selected Sanford in the second round (No. 61 overall) of the 2013 NHL Draft. The Salem, Massachusetts product spent two seasons at Boston College after being drafted before turning pro with the Capitals in 2016.
Midway through Sanford’s first professional season, the Capitals sent him to the St. Louis Blues at the 2017 trade deadline as part of a package to acquire Kevin Shattenkirk. Sanford finished the 2016–17 season with four goals and eight points in 39 games split between the Capitals and Blues.
Sanford returned to the NHL in the 2018–19 season, skating in 60 games with the Blues and picking up eight goals and 20 points. He also scored four points in eight games during the playoffs to help the Blues win their first-ever Stanley Cup.
After spending two more seasons with the Blues, Sanford was traded to the Ottawa Senators in 2021 in exchange for forward prospect Logan Brown. The Senators subsequently flipped Sanford to the Winnipeg Jets at the 2022 trade deadline.
In Arizona, Sanford will reunite with Coyotes general manager Bill Armstrong, who also won the Stanley Cup with the Blues in 2019 while serving as the club’s assistant GM.
Through 305 career NHL games over parts of six seasons with the Capitals, Blues, Senators, Jets, and Predators, Sanford has collected 49 goals and 98 points. He’s added eight points (two goals, six assists) in 25 career playoff contests.