Since taking over as the Arizona Coyotes general manager in 2020, Bill Armstrong has put the team on the right path to be a contender in the future through his rebuilding plan.
When Bill Armstrong became the Arizona Coyotes general manager back in 2020, he made one thing very clear.
“I didn’t come all the way here to the desert to get a tan,” Armstrong said back in his introductory press conference in 2020. “I came here to win a championship.”
He also warned fans that building a contender won’t happen overnight and that the team is in a rebuilding state.
The rebuild has indeed been long and at times hard to watch for fans in the Valley. Over the past few years, the Coyotes have finished at the bottom of the Western Conference standings prioritizing stockpiling draft picks, taking on bad contracts and accumulating as much young talent as humanly possible.
Going into the past couple seasons, there have not really been any expectations on the Coyotes to do any sort of damage, but this year has a different feel to it.
The young players that Armstrong hand picked inclduing Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Josh Doan and Conor Geekie have added a different element to training camp. The vision that Armstrong has had for all these years is not just a pipe dream any more, it’s on display for the rest of the world to see.
“I think it's a bright spot for our organization,” Armstrong said. “It creates a lot of interest in our team when you see these young players come in and have a little bit of success.”
On top of these young players, Armstrong felt this offseason it was time to go out and target veteran players such as Jason Zucker, Matt Dumba, Alexander Kerfoot and Nick Bjugstad that will not only take leadership roles but help the team become more competitive.
This is what Armstrong refers to as “Phase Two” of the rebuild. While the Coyotes are still not Stanley Cup contenders, this is another huge step in a rebuild that is still in progression.
“I mean, there's some excitement, Armstrong said. “We're at a positive point as an organization where we're getting out of that element of the rebuild or where we choke on all those bad contracts. So now you're coming to the rink and you're seeing a higher skill level in the organization, some excitement, and that's a positive. As a gm, you get excited when you come to the rink every day and you see that skill level.”
Being a general manager, it takes patience and perseverance to go through a rebuild like this. Many general managers don’t get to stick around to see what they built due to the impatience of many organizations around the NHL.
Armstrong stayed true to his plan and never wavered. He was rewarded with a multi-year contract extension this summer because of the way he has been able to turn around the Coyotes organization.
There is still a long way to go before the results of Armstrong’s rebuild are determined but for now it seems he has put the team on the right path to be successful in the future.