The Arizona Coyotes search for a new General Manager came to an end with the announcement they have hired Bill Armstrong. Prior to joining the Coyotes, Armstrong had been with the St. Louis Blues organization since 2004. Armstrong was a defenseman drafted in the 3rd round of the 1990 NHL Draft by the Philadelphia Flyers. He would play 9 years in the AHL and 4 in the IHL before becoming a head coach in the AHL for two seasons. He joined the Blues organization as a scout in 2004. In 2010 he became the Blues director of amateur scouting and in 2018 Armstrong was named the assistant GM.
The St. Louis Blues have made the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in eight of the last nine years and won the Stanley Cup for the 2018-19 season.
Armstrong has helped build a largely home grown roster in St. Louis. Since Armstrong became director of amateur scouting in 2010, the Blues draft classes have produced 24 players that have appeared in the NHL. The Blues currently have 17 players on their roster that were originally drafted by Armstrong and the Blues front office, including six 1st round selections.
Armstrong inherits a roster in flux after the Coyotes beat Nashville in the Stanley Cup qualifying round and then lost to the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Coyotes roster features several young, promising players in Jakob Chychrun, Conor Garland, Clayton Keller and Barrett Hayton and the organization recently ranked 11th amongst all NHL teams in The Athletic's organizational rankings. He will also have major decisions to make on veterans G Darcy Kuemper, Defenseman Oliver Ekaman-Larsson, and F Phil Kessel amongst others.
The Arizona Coyotes released the following statement regarding the hiring of Armstrong:
"We are thrilled to name Bill as our new GM," said owner Alex Meruelo. "Bill is smart, honest and hard-working and he knows how to build a winning team. He brings the right mix of hockey knowledge, business acumen and leadership qualities that we need in order to achieve our goal of bringing a Stanley Cup to Arizona."
"We are very excited to welcome Bill to the Coyotes as our new General Manager," said Coyotes' President & CEO Xavier Gutierrez. "We were extremely impressed with his experience, vast hockey knowledge, great ability to assess talent, and his tremendous draft record. Bill is a proven winner who has a strong work ethic and is a good communicator. He is a man of integrity and we are confident that he's the right person to build a winning culture here and lead our hockey operations department into the future."
"I am extremely grateful to Mr. Meruelo, Alex Meruelo Jr., and Xavier Gutierrez for this opportunity," said Coyotes' General Manager Bill Armstrong. "We have great ownership that is committed to winning, a very good core group of young, talented players, and a passionate fan base. I'm excited about our future and the opportunity to build this team into a perennial playoff contender."