Five and a half years. That is the average tenure of an NHL general manager today. Long ago, before Bill Armstrong joined the Arizona Coyotes (now Utah Hockey Club), he was a player. He spent several seasons in the American Hockey League with the Hershey Bears and Providence Bruins until he retired, earning a coaching role with the Bruins. He maintained that position for four years until he was hired by the Trenton Titans of the ECHL, where he was head coach for two seasons.
Armstrong was hired in the summer of 2004 as an amateur scout for the St. Louis Blues. This is where he spent the next decade and a half, learning what it takes to build a winner. While he wasn’t GM, he played a significant role in doing so when the Blues beat the Boston Bruins in seven games, taking home the Stanley Cup.
Related: Utah GM Bill Armstrong Follows Past Strategies at 2024 NHL Draft
While Armstrong was in St. Louis, this was the lone championship he helped bring back to the 314. However, during those years of scouting, whether as an amateur scout or as the director of amateur scouting, the lessons learned were brought to Arizona, where he had a full plate of moves to make, moves that would later dictate the franchise, even five years later. Armstrong has pushed himself into the conversation as one of the better GMs in the NHL, and here’s why.
Roots in St. Louis: Where Doug Armstrong Played a Vital Role
When Armstrong was in St. Louis, there were plenty of big names throughout the organization, especially in the scouting department; Larry Pleau, Al MacInnis, Keith Tkachuk, and Martin Brodeur. Needless to say, there was no shortcoming of previous history within the organization’s scouting department and upper management. Then there was Armstrong, someone who wasn’t the most prominent name by any stretch, but by no means was he a stranger to the game and what it meant to be a scout.
While all those names surely played a large role in the development of Armstrong’s understanding of what it takes to be a scout and eventually a GM, Doug Armstrong gave the extra hand most of the time. “He was just so calm,” Bill Armstrong said. “He thought through the entire process very well. As GM, you have to do that. You have to sit back and take a look at all sides and approach with caution, but he wasn’t afraid to have really smart hockey people around him. He wasn’t afraid to have people with talent and opinions. He understood that when you have those types of people, they’re specialists in something that you’re not so you’ve got to let them talk and get a feel for their side of things; pull that information out so you can make better decisions.”
Bill certainly learned a lot from Doug and still applies many of the teachings he experienced and learned in St. Louis to Arizona and now Utah. His nearly 18 years of experience with the Blues have helped him with the process he’s going through with Utah. Some challenges aren’t in the GM handbook, like relocating or having your best player fracture his femur; it’s an extremely unpredictable job.
Unpredictability is inevitable, and one can only hope they can prepare for it. So far, Armstrong has done that in Arizona/Utah, even with the vast hurdles he’s endured.
Armstrong Faced Major Hurdles After Being Hired as GM in Arizona
Once Chayka departed from the Coyotes, the search for the next GM began, and after a short while, Armstrong was hired, and a new era dawned on the Grand Canyon State. After being bounced from the 2020 Bubble Playoffs in a sounding 4-1 series defeat to the Colorado Avalanche, things needed tweaking. It was not a minor trade here and there to improve the third line or get a winger for the fourth line, but it was time to reset.
Of course, Coyotes fans have been through it all with failed rebuilds, rushing rebuilds, and even outside hockey relocation rumors, which eventually came true. Armstrong felt it, and a rebuild was inevitable with the current roster. He stayed quiet at the 2021 Trade Deadline, and after the team failed to make the playoffs during the 2020-21 season, Armstrong tore the team down.
From taking on bad contracts with Andrew Ladd, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Anton Stralman, the team was being stripped down to its core. Another hurdle Armstrong faced was trading captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson and fan favorite Conor Garland. The trade resulted in a first-round pick (the Coyotes’ original was forfeited due to violating the NHL’s combine testing policy), along with other assets, but needless to say, the rebuild was kicked off with a bang.
A bang that resulted in a domino effect with trade after trade, where they had then piled an abundance of draft capital for years and years to come. It’s impossible to go through a proper rebuild without vast amounts of draft capital, and with Armstrong, that strategy stayed the same. They weren’t going to use free agency to build a team up; it was going to be the proper, yet long way through the draft.
Building a Winner Through Drafting, Not Free Agency
It’s never easy to trade away players like your captain and others who’ve played an integral role with the team for the past couple of seasons, but Armstrong knew he had to. He can trade all the players he wants, but the returns will be the make or break for him, and so far, he’s been exceptional in that department.
In 2021 after the blockbuster trade with the Vancouver Canucks, he drafted a handful of players that are actively helping the team now. In the first round, Dylan Guenther highlighted the draft and the son of Coyotes legend Shane Doan, Josh Doan, who was taken in the second round. Then, in 2022, he took Pittsburgh native Logan Cooley, who showed glimmers of brilliance last season, which should only excite fans. He also took Conor Geekie and Maveric Lamoureux in the first round with later picks.
With two first-rounders in 2023, Armstrong was destined to make a splash, and when he took two Russians in Dmitri Simashev and Daniil But, he did just that. He did it again in 2024, drafting Tij Iginla and Cole Beaudoin, two highly skilled forwards. These are some players that Armstrong knows he won’t be able to get through free agency; it’s impossible.
Drafting key players, as Armstrong has done so far, is step one in building a long, sustainable winner, and he’s done that thus far.
Armstrong Climbs Ranks as One of the Most Complete GMs
No GM is perfect, and certain situations are impossible to avoid. That being said, good GMs do whatever they can to avoid putting themselves in a vulnerable position, and that’s what Armstrong has done in Arizona/Utah exceptionally well so far. From drafting to understanding to not give out massive contracts during Day 1 of free agency, he’s playing the long game, as mentioned, and while it may be a slow process, it’ll be worth it in the end. While this rebuild won’t guarantee a Stanley Cup, it will, however, guarantee a competitive team that’ll be constantly winning games, and perhaps a Stanley Cup if things line up.
