Jul. 15—Granite Stater Zach Sanford has a new team a long way from home.
Sanford, a former Pinkerton Academy and Boston College star, signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Arizona Coyotes, it was announced Friday. Terms of the deal were not announced.
Arizona will be the sixth NHL team for Sanford, a left wing, who was drafted by the Washington Capitals in 2013. He played two seasons with the Caps, five seasons with the St. Louis Blues — where he won a Stanley Cup, in 2019, then brought the Cup for a day trip to his old school, Green Acres Elementary School in Manchester — then moved on for short stints with the Ottawa Senators, Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators.
Sanford finished this past season in Milwaukee, Nashville’s AHL affiliate, where he notched 28 points in 45 games.
In 305 NHL games, Sanford has 49 goals and 49 assists, and is a minus-8.
In Arizona, Sanford will play for an organization with an uncertain future. The Coyotes will continue to play this coming season at the 5,000-seat Mullett Arena on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, with an option to play there the following season. Meanwhile, the team is seeking a new home in the Phoenix area and is reported to be looking at up to six sites after Tempe voters rejected a plan to build a new arena in that city.